No. 1 – Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing is the Knicks all-time leader in games, points, rebounds, steals and blocks. In other words, he’s the greatest New York Knickerbocker of all time.Ewing was selected by the Knicks first overall in the first NBA draft lottery prior to the ’85-’86 season. He lived up to the hype by winning Rookie of the Year honors the following year.
From ’86-’97, Ewing would make 11 All-Star teams. He never won an MVP playing in the Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan years, but Ewing was considered by most to be the best center in the league throughout his career.
During his 15 spectacular seasons with the team, the Knicks would make the playoffs an incredible 13 times. Ewing played in 139 playoff games as a Knick and made it to the Finals twice.
Despite Ewing’s yearly championship predictions, the Knicks would ultimately fall short every time. The most heartbreaking ending to a season was certainly the Game 7 Finals loss to the Rockets in 1994.
Ewing has long been beloved in NY despite never winning an NBA championship. His greatest achievement in basketball was the ’92 Olympic Gold Medal win with the best basketball team of all time – the original USA ‘Dream Team.’ That team would do more for basketball than any amount of championships ever could.
