The New York Knicks were always there in the '90s. They just could never get over the hump.
Most people attribute the Knicks' lack of a championship during that time period to Michael Jordan's dominance, as the Chicago Bulls topped New York five times in the playoffs from 1991 through 1998.
The Knicks did make one finals appearance throughout that stretch, which came in 1994 when Jordan retired from basketball for a year. New York went on to fall to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in seven games.
Patrick Ewing was the best player on those Knicks teams and was easily one of the best players in basketball in general back then, but his failure to deliver a title to the Big Apple resulted in a love-hate relationship between Ewing and the fan base.
However, most Knicks fans now appreciate Ewing for everything he did.
But Ewing's former teammate Charles Oakley doesn't, as he recently put the blame on Ewing for New York's inability to reach the pinnacle:
“He never put us on his back like he should have because every adversity he ducked away from,” Oakley told Damon Amendolara of CBS Sports Radio.
Oakley took numerous shots at Ewing's leadership style, saying that his inability to properly lead held the Knicks back.
This isn't going to sit well with most New York fans, and given Oakley's tenuous relationship with the Knicks organization to begin with, this probably wasn't the best time for him to verbally attack one of the best players in franchise history.
In 15 seasons with the Knicks, Ewing made 11 All-Star appearances and regularly averaged in the neighborhood of 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. Hard to blame him for that.
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