You just concluded your 11x All-Star NBA career with 23,665 points for a single franchise and 24,815 overall; what’s the next thing on your mind? For former New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing, it was still the desire to compete. However, his declining stats in his last two seasons would tell you why that was not a realistic option. Enter Michael Jordan, who not only gave Ewing a second chance to compete but also the option to back out of it and assume a different professional role.
As most NBA fans would know, His Airness became part-owner and the president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards in January 2000. And as soon as he realized Patrick Ewing was bidding farewell to his NBA career after the 2002 season, he wasted no time in offering the 11x All-Star a position on the franchise that he now partly owned. Pat opened up about it during his recent appearance on The Rematch Show.
“When I retired, was given an opportunity by Michael to come coach, coach, with Doug Collins [Wizards Head coach then]… I did it [further coaching] for a lot of years. Still enjoying the process, still. To me, it’s just like… Give me the opportunity to compete against whoever… Even though it’s not physically competing against, as a player, I’m physically competing, trying to come up with a game plan that’s going to dominate…” Ewing said on the podcast. Further, during the show, the ex-Knicks star opened up on how the whole thing with Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards came into play.
“We’ve been friends for a lot of years. So, when I told him I was going to retire, but I was trying to figure out… What I want to do next because even though, you know, everybody talk about retire, we’re still young,” Ewing recalled. He further mentioned that at just 49, he was in no mood to call it quits from professional life. The need for complete retirement didn’t have any appeal for Pat.
“I still had a lot of years to live. So we [Mike and Pat] were talking that. And he’s like, ‘You know what? Once you come to the Wizards… Try coaching. If you like coaching, you can be on the staff… If not, if I didn’t like it, he’ll move me to the front office, and I can try the front office,’” the ex-Knick revealed on The Rematch Show.
Apr 30, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks former player Patrick Ewing watches during the second quarter of game one of the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
There it was, an opportunity to try one job while the other one waited. Not many have that luxury, but Michael Jordan made it happen for Pat. Unfortunately, Mike relinquished his ownership stake and management positions in September 2001 when he returned to the NBA as a player. Fortunately, though, Ewing found coaching to be interesting and continued in that capacity for different organizations. The bond between the two stars? That remains, as Ewing revealed that to this date, MJ does not let go of the chance to taunt him over one thing.
What is Michael Jordan’s greatest one-up over Patrick Ewing?
If there’s one rivalry that still stirs up memories of fierce competition and heartbreak, it’s the one between Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. Both icons ruled the NBA through the 1980s and ’90s, but only one of them walked away with the glory. While Jordan captured six rings, Ewing, despite a career that earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame, never managed to win it all. And that, as fans know, became a recurring theme in their story.
What’s wild is that the rivalry didn’t even begin in the pros. It actually kicked off in 1982, when a young MJ, just a freshman at UNC, hit a cold-blooded game-winner against Ewing’s Georgetown squad in the NCAA Championship. That shot didn’t just seal a title—it set the tone for years to come. Fast forward to the NBA, and things didn’t get any easier for Ewing. The Bulls ousted the Knicks from the playoffs five different times during Jordan’s reign.
“I played 17 years … six years we played against the Bulls six times,” Ewing said. “We were only able to win one of those times, and unfortunately, he wasn’t there. So, he’s been talking trash from the first day that I met him, and he still continues to talk trash, telling me that I have never beaten him when it counts.”
Having a rivalry of that sort and still maintaining a bond friendly enough to offer all the flexibility you can is something rare. No wonder Ewing recalls all of it quite fondly.
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