Patrick Ewing: I Should’ve Ended My Career with the Knicks

Patrick Ewing opened up about one of the biggest controversies in New York Knicks history: his being traded to Seattle. He expressed remorse over not finishing his career in New York.

Adrian Wojnarowski helped turn Yahoo! Sports into one of the primary destinations for breaking news. He’s a one-man rumors machine who always seems to have his finger on the pulse of what’s going on around the NBA, whether in big or small markets.

Thus, one can’t be surprised by his uncanny ability to pull deep and genuine emotions out of the players he interviews on his podcast.

This time around, Wojnarowski was joined by special guest Patrick Ewing on The Vertical Podcast with Woj. It’s a gripping conversation between Wojnarowski and one of the greatest and most compelling players to ever grace the hardwood.

In a tweet sent from Wojnarowski’s official Twitter account, the rumors guru revealed perhaps the most telling detail from the interview: Ewing’s remorse over not ending his career in New York.

Ewing’s full comments were as follows:

"“In looking back at it, I should’ve stayed. But after 15 years of hearing all the same things. ‘The team is better off without him,’ or hear rumbles in the locker room from your teammates that, ‘We’re better off without him,’ you know, you just get sick and tired of it. And I think that was what happened.  You hear all the rumblings back then that we need to run, play faster. We need to run, do this, do that. They’re better off without him. So I’m like, you know what? Just let me go. Go be better off without me.I decided enough was enough and I asked for a trade. After, what’s this now? What? 13, 14 years later? And I wish I hadn’t have done it, I should’ve ended my career there. The whole experience was great. It was a great experience, a great run. I love the people in New York. They showed that they love me. It was disappointing that I didn’t finish it there.”"

Knicks fans share the sentiment.

Ewing is one of the most popular players to ever don a Knicks jersey. While it was Walt Frazier and Willis Reed who led New York to its only two championship seasons, it’s Ewing whom many contemporary fans peg as the greatest player in franchise history.

Drafted in 1985, Ewing’s Rookie of the Year award was a sign of things to come as he built a resume that includes 11 All-Star Game appearances, seven All-NBA selections, and three All-Defensive Team nods.

Furthermore, Ewing won two Olympic gold medals, an NCAA championship, and led the Knicks to NBA Finals appearances in 1994 and 1999. He’s a member of the Pro and College Basketball Hall of Fames, and has his No. 33 jersey retired and hanging in the rafters at Madison Square Garden.

Yet, for Knicks fans who consciously lived through the Ewing era, one of the longest lasting memories is his stunning departure.

Against popular demand, Ewing was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000. Ewing would spend one season in Seattle before moving on to play for the Orlando Magic in 2001-02—his final NBA season as a player.

That was a tough pill to swallow considering, statistically speaking, Ewing is the greatest player in Knicks history.

Ewing is the Knicks’ all-time leader in career points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and games played. He’s also No. 1 in free throws made and attempted, as well as Win Shares, for fans of the advanced metrics.

If Ewing could turn back the hands of time, he would’ve continued accruing those statistics until the day he hypothetically retired in New York.

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Knicks fans would’ve had it the same way.