Patrick Ewing is regarded as one of the linchpins in New York Knicks lore, and his 15 seasons with the franchise brought along plenty of noteworthy moments after he was selected with the No. 1 pick in 1985.
Here are Patrick Ewing's five greatest NBA moments, all of which came with the Knicks.
5. Patrick Ewing bangs buzzer-beating dunk on Dennis Rodman
This dunk was of thunderous nature. A heads-up play by Ewing saw the center steal a lazy inbounds pass and take it coast-to-coast against Dennis Rodman, who was caught off guard. The Knicks big man took off from right inside the free-throw line and banged it over Rodman, who thought twice before challenging him.
Ewing actually hit Rodman in the head with his right sneaker and nearly injured himself gravely after landing awkwardly from that poster-worthy dunk. He can be seen clutching his right knee after likely hyperextending it while airborne.
4. Patrick Ewing dunks over Alonzo Mourning
This is Georgetown on Georgetown crime at its finest. At the time, the Hoyas were known to be a big-man factory, and Ewing and Mourning were two of its finest and proudest products.
Ewing did not give a single fly about it, dribbling once and hammering it down over the fellow Georgetown alum in what went down as undoubtedly the most notable dunk of his career.
3. Patrick Ewing limps Knicks to win over Bulls in 1992 Eastern Conference Finals
A performance worthy of invoking the name of the great Willis Reed. Patrick Ewing dealt with a painful lower leg injury but managed to limp his way to push the Knicks, pouring in 27 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in a Game 6 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Ewing had two of his worst games of that postseason in Games 4 and 5 of the series, but he came back in a major way in Game 6 to force a Game 7. The Bulls would ultimately take the series in seven games, but Ewing's heroics helped the Knicks stave off elimination in front of the home crowd.
2. Patrick Ewing hits game-winner vs. Pacers in 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals
Ewing was a walking 20-10 presence and one of the most dangerous forces in the Eastern Conference in the '90s. This shot over three Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals is proof of just that.
The Knicks center had struggled all game long, making only 8-of-20 field goal attempts in the game before getting the ball in the last seconds of regulation. Ewing went to his patented reverse-pivot jump stop and buried this floater with supreme confidence, despite being surrounded by a sea of Pacers defenders. All class.
1. Patrick Ewing sends the Knicks to the 1994 NBA Finals with a clutch put-back dunk
Ewing never won an NBA championship, which renders this as his greatest moment in the league. While it was by no means show-stopping, this dunk was the key play that sent the Knicks back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973.
Ewing camped in the lane to follow a wild John Starks layup attempt, sneaking in for the offensive rebound and the fingertip put-back dunk that would give the Knicks a 91-90 advantage with 27 seconds left, resulting in a 94-90 win.
Despite the low-scoring game, Ewing trotted out a whopping 24 points and 22 rebounds (11 offensive) along with seven assists, a steal, and five blocks to boot in the best playoff performance of his career.
The Knicks would go on to lose a hard-fought seven-game series against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals, but Ewing's put-back dunk was the play that spearheaded them in that direction.
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