30 best NBA players to never win a championship

7. Patrick Ewing

Before being named the newest head coach of Georgetown, Patrick Ewing was a stud center for the Hoyas. He was so much a star that the New York Knicks deemed him worthy of being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. He was undoubtedly the right selection and a pick that the Knicks most surely never regretted for a second.

Averaging 20 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game as a rookie, Ewing’s impact on the Knicks was huge and immediate. He quickly became one of the most dominant big men in the league at the time and carried the Knicks to levels of success they truthfully hadn’t seen in a decade. Obviously that never led to a championship, thanks to the likes of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in the Eastern Conference, but that shouldn’t dismiss Ewing’s own individual accomplishments and greatness.

Discounting his final two seasons in the league spent with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic, respectively, Ewing not only continued his dominance that he displayed as a rookie, but actually improved upon it. During his five-year prime from 1989-94, Ewing posted 25.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.0 blocks and a steal per game while hitting on 51.8 percent of his shot attempts.

Ewing was the rare elite two-way player that could take over games on either end of the floor. Though he never reached the mountaintop in the NBA, his profile from playing in New York made him a legend, but he also has the body of work to back up the hype that came from that.