Patrick Ewing never won an NBA championship. Here's what left him empty-handed.

(upbeat music) - Patrick Ewing is one of the greatest centers of all time. Pat, seven feet tall, patient but explosive, imposing but skilled, controlled the rim on both ends, combining his offensive strength with the finesse to burn defenders and the touch to come out for a splash. Ewing retired one of the most successful shot blockers of all time and also ranks high on the scoring charts. The NBA recognized Ewing's skill from the beginning of his career with the New York Knicks. He earned regular recognition in the league and regular All-Star selections. He was named one of the 50 greatest players in the NBA and his number is among those of the legendary Knick champions.

And yet, this college champion and Olympic gold medalist couldn't return New York to its past glory. Because? What stopped Patrick Ewing from winning an NBA title? Inevitably, one of you will respond to the premise of this video with a comment like, Uh, two words, Michael Jordan. This will betray your tragic lack of curiosity. I'm sorry for you. But also, yes, more or less. During Ewing's early career, years coached primarily by Hubie Brown, the Knicks simply weren't good. In the late '80s, Ewing and head coach Rick Pitino had a strong, young supporting cast. Brilliant new point guard Mark Jackson led the Bomb Squad's backcourt and MJ's former teammate Charles Oakley joined Patrick in a hard-hitting attacking zone.

That team won 52 games in 1989, by far the best record of Ewing's career to date. Good enough for a second place finish in the Eastern Conference, behind the Bad Boys Pistons. Ewing earned his first playoff win and then faced reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, 26-year-old Jordan. Chicago wasn't just a one-man show at this point, but Jordan's young supporting cast had not caught up to Ewing's. The Bulls were a sixth seed that the Knicks should have handled. The disaster began in the first game. The Knicks had the game in hand with a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but they let the Bulls pull away without being able to get the ball to Ewing.

In the final minute, the score was tied, although Mark Jackson had multiple opportunities to avoid overtime. He missed a three in the last scripted play in New York. Then, in an unexpected moment, he stole Chicago's next throw-in and came very close to making one of the greatest shots in playoff history. - Oh! Can my heart take it? -Anyway, the first game went to overtime and MJ pulled off a blowout, finishing a 34-point triple-double with nine points in overtime. He will do that. The series seemed to slip away in Chicago. New York fell behind 3-1. But Ewing made it 3-2 with a brilliant Game 5 at home, and the Knicks nearly climbed out of the hole with a miraculous finish to Game 6 in Chicago.

After recovering from a third-quarter collapse, the Knicks trailed by four in the final seconds. Trent Tucker took a pass from Ewing and made a four-point play and Marv Albert called for good. - Incredible. Craig Hodges commits a foul on a three-point play. - After Tucker's free throw tied the score, Jordan fouled out and put the Bulls back ahead at 39 and 40. That wasn't even the end of it. New York ran down the court and gave Johnny Newman an incredibly clean opportunity to spark the seventh game, but he rushed it. Chicago achieved the surprise, but could not do the same against the powerful Pistons.

And so it was for Ewing and the Knicks in 1990. After a stunning first-round comeback against the fading Larry Bird Celtics, the Knicks were eliminated from the second round by those same Pistons, who were headed for a repeat. Then it was really MJ's time. Jordan built a dynasty on the Knicks' heads. New York had a bad year in 1991, firing new head coach Stu Jackson midseason. They barely made the playoffs and were easily swept by the Bulls to begin a ruthless streak that culminated in Jordan's first ring. These Bulls were fully realized with Phil Jackson leading off the bench and Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen stepping up as Jordan's big-pants co-stars.

But the Knicks would find their own identity and nearly intercepted titles two and three for MJ. Nearly. The 91-92 Knicks had a capable new coach, Pat Riley, former manager of the Showtime Lakers. But they weren't Showtime. Around Ewing, Riley commanded an elite defense of the prickly underdogs. While veteran Xavier McDaniel joined Ewing in the starting lineup, newcomer Anthony Mason and rising star John Starks brought heat off the bench. This group took some of the load off of Ewing, lifted New York over 50 wins and earned a late revenge in a first-round series against the Pistons. That set up a rematch with the repeat MVP and his current champions.

An Ewing masterpiece in the first game gave the Knicks a surprising 1-0 lead over Chicago. And New York carried that early lead into Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. But back at Chicago Stadium, Ewing struggled with a sore ankle. The Bulls dominated the decisive game, led by Jordan's 42. Loss, but a close series against the eventual champions. Something to be proud of. Progress. And then t

here

is 1993, a quite different group from the previous year. Replacing Jackson and McDaniel were veteran guard Doc Rivers and forward Charles Smith. Young Greg Anthony took on a larger role. Riley led the '93 Knicks to the best defense in the league and the best record in the East, 60 and 22, better than the Bulls.

In the first round, the Knicks denied Reggie Miller his first playoff win as a Pacer. In the second round, they took down Alonzo Mourning and the upstart Hornets. Hello guys, see you later. So, yes, Ewing, 30, finally seemed ready to defeat MJ. Although Chicago swept its first two series, he made it clear they were in a three-rep mood. Both teams held serve to open the 1993 Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks survived games one and two in New York, stifling a comeback in Chicago thanks to a John Starks dunk so legendary you can simply say "The dunk " and New Yorkers will know

what

you're talking about.

The Bulls more than survived games three and four in Chicago. Pippen beat them in the third game and Jordan silenced talk of him visiting Atlantic City by dropping 54 points in the fourth game. It would be a lot easier to beat this guy if they stopped talking about him. But the Knicks had the seed. Win home games, win the series. And the Knicks entered Game 5 accustomed to success at Madison Square Garden. The fifth game was close. People remember how it ended more than other details, like Ewing leading all scorers with 33, including crucial late baskets. People may not remember BJ Armstrong's three that put the Bulls up two with a minute

left

.

They've forgotten that the game should

never

have been close, that the Knicks were a horrible 20 of 35 from the free throw line, including a bad night by Ewing and this error by Charles Smith that

left

the Bulls still up by one point. the last minute. When Chicago had a chance to ice the victory, Pippen was choked. Ewing then controlled Stacey King's desperation shot, forcing a 24-second violation. What people remember is this. On New York's final play, Ewing stumbled as he drove left, shuffled a pass to Smith and then watched a succession of errors brutally chronicled by Marv Albert. - Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop Pippen's game.

What a work by Scottie Pippen. - Game five will forever be Charles Smith's game. Ewing's tapestry of playoff doom hinges on moments that just cook your insides, and that's a great moment. More to come. Anyway, Game 5 didn't end the series, just New York's home field advantage. Ewing played splendidly at Chicago Stadium in Game 6 and a poor shooting night by MJ allowed the Knicks to stay put. But in the big moments, Pippen had the answer. Like this third quarter, at the end of the shot clock. And another one to put victory out of reach with one minute remaining.

Win at home, win the series, the Knicks didn't, the Bulls did, and then Chicago went and won title number three. Jumping ahead, MJ's title number four in 1996 also came at the Knicks' expense, although John Starks sparked some hope with a stellar performance in New York's Game 3 overtime victory. The Knicks blew a lead late in game four. Ewing and Starks made late mistakes, but Bulls fans remember this one best for Bill Wennington's silky smooth jumper in the clutch. Chicago went up three to one, then took the series in five and then, you know, yeah, Michael Jordan, but that can't be all, for one thing, Ewing had two chances in the prime of his career to make a run without Jordan in the way.

Remember

what

I said about curdling the guts. In 1993-94, Jordan was retired and playing baseball. The title was at stake. What a wonderful moment for the Knicks to win 57 games. Even a season that ended with Doc Rivers' injury barely hurt the league's best defense. New York acquired Derek Harper midseason, sent Starks and Oakley to the all-star game and finished the regular season on a tear. After handling the Nets, the Knicks finally achieved a series victory against the Pippen-led Bulls. In the Eastern Conference Finals, New York survived a serious scare from Reggie and the improving Pacers. Patrick highlighted an excellent performance in game seven with one of his 22 rebounds on this dunk to secure his first trip to the NBA Finals.

They then faced the Houston Rockets, who had barely escaped their Choke City tag with a comeback against the Phoenix Suns in the second round. That said, the Rockets orbited around Ewing's best positional rival and the clear MVP of an NBA without Jordan: Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem outscored Patrick in games one through four of the 1994 Finals, but Starks and Harper led the Knicks to victory in game two in Houston. Then they did it again in the fourth game, which helped them bounce back after rookie Sam Cassell's attack in the third game. Ewing finished the MSG portion of the series with an outstanding fifth game.

That and Anthony Mason's brave performance off the bench sent the Knicks back to Texas in good shape. Up three-2, they just needed to get one more road win to become NBA champions. The sixth game didn't seem like the right one. Ewing shot poorly and the Rockets led by seven with less than two minutes left, but the decisive moment was Stark's moment. The fiery point guard scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. He finished inside to cut the margin to five, made a play to recover the ball and hit again from the center to put the next one within reach later.

When Kenny Smith took advantage of his chance to ice the game, the Knicks had a possession to win it all and an obvious candidate to shoot. Starks accelerated over a sturdy pick from Ewing, but dribbling to his left failed to separate himself enough from Olajuwon, who switched in time to flick his fingertip for what could have been the trophy-winning three-pointer. Game 6 could have been the John Starks game, a glorious story. Instead, Game 7 became the John Starks game and sort of more of a Charles Smith game. Ewing had another subpar night facing Olajuwon and only Harper really stepped up for the Knicks, but the highlight is that Starks followed up his near-heroism in Game 6 with a line drive that simply drains all the blood from your face. .

The Knicks kept Game 7 a bit close, but down the stretch Oajuwon made the critical plays that Ewing didn't. And Vernon Maxwell's three sealed the fate of New York. They had been so close. Well, in 1995, a similar team to the 1994 team posted a similar record and had similar success in the first round of the playoffs. MJ was back, but the Bulls had not reoriented themselves enough to overcome the surging Orlando Magic, who would be the opponent in the Conference finals after New York performed its annual ritual of eliminating Reggie Miller and the Pacers. But about that, you'll see that the '95 Pacers didn't just have Reggie.

They had old friend Mark Jackson as their leader. They had a young forward that was gaining ground. The Davises, Antonio and Dale and the Dutchman from Dunking, Rick Smits. It was Smits who led Indiana in the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals at MSG, dominating his game against Ewing. Despite that, the Knicks maintained a healthy lead in the final moments. Miller had been out all night. He this one had finished. Look at the score and time. Then Miller scored at three, Okay, justPut the ball into the field and take your free kick. Oh shit! Okay, but they tied the game and fouled Starks.

I just have to... Well, one more though. Oh shit! Okay, but a rebound. Just put that-. Oh ***! It's okay, just don't fuck around, oh shit! . Miller made his free throws, Anthony collapsed, and New York's clean victory in the first game vanished like a pierced balloon. Eight points, nine seconds. Another evocative and stomach-churning line in this story, the Knicks rallied in game two and looked poised to restore home-field advantage with a big lead late in game three. But on a night when the Pacers made 46 free throws, they rallied and tied the game with this Smits jumper out of the timeout.

Game three ended in overtime w

here

the Knicks almost pulled off their own version of the end of game one. Down six in the final seconds, Harper stole this incoming pass to make it four. Reggie dribbled with his foot to return the ball and there was Harper again from the outside. A one-point game, then Haywoode Workman missed one of his two free throws, eerily similar to New York's collapse. And when Harper missed a shot, the Pacers were kind enough to give New York another one that Oakley couldn't get past the defense. Buns. However, this series had only just begun.

Indy went up three to one with a blowout in game four, but Ewing's game five winner made the score three to two. New York then pulled off a shocking road victory in Game 6. After all that nonsense, the Knicks only had to win Game 7 at home to eliminate the Pacers again. They fell behind by a wide margin, but got back into the game. Starks hit a 3-pointer and Harper played perfect defense to set up a final shot for overtime. This Ewing unit seemed perfect until he wasn't. The Pacers finally did it. Ewing and his friends weren't even close to a rematch with the Rockets and any window of opportunity to avoid the Bulls had closed.

Chicago made it very clear in that '96 series. But it doesn't matter to avoid the Bulls. The '97 and '98 Knicks couldn't even make it that far. New York's solution to being humiliated by Jordan in 1996 was to try to sign him and Shaq. Good idea, but no dice. Instead, Ewing's new supporting cast included the sore but still productive Larry Johnson, sweet young shooter Allan Houston, and Chris Childs, who would settle into a sort of point guard platoon with Charlie Ward. Yes, the guy who won the 1993 Heisman Trophy, the New York coach after the first post-Pat Riley hire didn't work out, was former assistant Jeff Van Gundy.

The '97 Knicks once again played excellent, crisp, defense-focused basketball. They swept Charlotte in the first round of the playoffs and then went up three games to one in the second round against Riley's new team, the Miami Heat, perhaps thinking about a conference final against MJ, the Knicks made a mistake and lost the fifth game, but the real damage was not the final result. It was the moment Ward tangled with Miami's PJ Brown, who threw him over the baseline and sent players storming off the bench, something the NBA doesn't like. The league's truly ridiculous distribution of suspensions sank the Knicks.

Without Ewing, Miami's Alonzo Mourning (remember him) controlled game six. The guy even hit a three-pointer down the stretch in a close game. Game 7 in Miami was just a blowout. This moment completely changed the series. This brings us to the final chapter of Patrick Ewing's career with the Knicks. Is rare. In December 1997, Ewing, 35, broke his wrist after being hip-checked in the air by Andrew Lang. Pat had been remarkably tough for a guy his size. He missed 20 games in the previous 10 seasons combined, but the broken wrist required surgery, leaving Ewing on the shelf for 56 games and New York's entire first-round playoff series, a revenge against the Heat.

Ewing was reactivated midway through another playoff rematch with the Pacers, who the Knicks were already behind due to Jalen Rose and Travis Best leaving in the first game. The second game flopped due to some silly mistakes at the end of the game. The Knicks needed to bounce back at home and partially did so with a win in game three. But Game 4 came down to Smits beating a faltering Ewing and Miller grabbing a rare offensive rebound to make that three in overtime. Nauseating. Indiana took over from there. Then the Pacers came home and ousted the Knicks from another postseason. 1999 was another season plagued by drama and injuries, not only for Ewing and his aging legs, but also for important newcomers Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, who had replaced some 90s stalwarts.

But in a strange closing season bosses, New York turned a narrow playoff berth into an absurd run. In another battle against the top-seeded Heat, the Knicks pulled off a historic upset. Ewing had his best performance of those playoffs in a decisive game, five best remembered for this Allan Houston running back who won the entire series. By the time the Knicks swept the Hawks and quelled Larry Johnson's Game 3 magic by winning four points to defeat the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, Ewing's Achilles tendon was toast. He would have no role in this unexpected second trip of his career to the NBA Finals.

It probably didn't matter. The Knicks' run in 1999 was astonishing, but with or without Ewing, it was destined to end at the feet of unstoppable newcomer Tim Duncan and his San Antonio Spurs. New York had a more normal 99-2000 season, at least on the court. And once again, Ewing's most spirited playoff game was the decisive one against Alonzo in the Heat in a Game 7 win, which he highlighted with this dunk. After that, it was time for the Pacers once again, and once again Ewing and he had a flat tire. He exited the second game after just a few minutes, then watched the Knicks waste multiple chances in the final minute of a close one.

Houston missed to take the lead, Sprewell missed to tie it and the Knicks let Dale Davis rebound his own free throw. New York bounced back at home, but couldn't beat the Pacers in Indiana and lost in six. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because it did. Ewing's Knicks career ended with an ugly botched trade instead of an extension. And he played his final ramshackle seasons with no real hope of getting a farewell ring, but he let the way New York embraced its hero again after his unpleasant exit prove it, despite some head-to-head losses, to despite moments of anguish, brutal and strange.

Despite an injury-filled twilight, Patrick Ewing meant everything to the Knicks. A legend without a ring is a legend anyway, especially when you remember everything it took to deny it.