New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing listed his four best NBA teammates and discussed being traded by the Knicks on a recent podcast.
With no basketball being played, sites, like this one, have used the extra time to focus on historical pieces, such as constructing Patrick Ewing’s all-teammates team. And perfectly timed, the former New York Knicks legend recently provided his own answer to the topic of who would make a starting lineup of his best teammates.
Appearing on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, the Hall-of-Fame center was asked to name just four players among all of his teammates over his 17-year career who he would choose to play with.
The 11-time All-Star mentioned John Starks first, citing his incredible toughness and resiliency. Knicks fans remember it was Starks’ cold hand in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals that ultimately cost Ewing a championship. But without Starks acting as a spark plug scorer, the Knicks might have never reached that point. Credit Ewing for understanding the importance of Starks during his time in New York.
The Oak Man was the second name Ewing listed. Despite Oakley’s recent criticism, Ewing has continued to take the high road in crediting the rugged forward’s toughness on the court. It’s unclear if the podcast was recorded before Oakley’s most recent comments.
Larry Johnson was the next player the Big Fella mentioned. While Johnson was no longer the super-athletic forward he was early in his career by the time he arrived in New York, Ewing said the team helped shape his game to become a three-point shooter and great leader on the court.
After naming two frontcourt players, along with John Starks, Ewing listed Allan Houston as the fourth player that stood out among his NBA teammates.
And realizing that he was missing a point guard, he said he would have to “flip a coin” in choosing between Charlie Ward or Mark Jackson.
So Ewing’s all-teammates team would include Charles Oakley and Larry Johnson in the frontcourt, with Allan Houston, John Starks, and either Charlie Ward or Mark Jackson making the guard rotation.
Patrick Ewing also discussed being traded by the New York Knicks.
Patrick Ewing gave his heart and soul to the Knicks for 15 seasons, before he was traded to the Seattle Supersonics as a 38-year-old. While the Big Fella says he regrets wanting to end his career somewhere else, he talked about how, at the time, he was tired of hearing rumblings about the Knicks being better off without him.
"“In hindsight, I should have stayed,” Ewing said on the Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles podcast. “But after fifteen years of hearing the same thing, rumblings from your teammates, or in the media, saying that, ‘The Knicks are better off without him, they need to move on from him.’ After fifteen years of hearing that, you just get tired of it. So I got tired of hearing it, and I just thought it was best for me to move on.”"
It’s interesting that Ewing references hearing rumblings from teammates about the team being better off without him.
Ewing’s former teammate Charles Oakley – who offered words of encouragement after learning Ewing was diagnosed with Covid-19 – recently criticized the Hall-of-Fame center for failing to lead the Knicks past the Chicago Bulls in the nineties.
During an interview with Barstool Sports, Oakley said that several teammates were frustrated with Ewing’s leadership at the time, but they are “scared” to talk now.
"“There’s a lot of things people seen what happened in the Garden, and never say nothing. I said stuff,” Oakley said. “Stuff was said back then. Mason said stuff, I said stuff, Chris Childs said stuff. A lot of people said stuff. But they scared to talk now. So it is what it is.”"
Moving on from the Ewing-Oakley beef, the 7-foot star said the strangest part about joining the Supersonics was hearing his name announced during player introductions.
"“The funny thing is, after fifteen years of hearing, ‘Starting center from the New York Knicks.’ So every time [the Sonics] were announcing the starting lineup, I’m waiting for them to say [the same thing], and they kept saying, ‘Seattle Supersonics,’ and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not a Knick anymore,'” Ewing said on the Knuckleheads podcast."
It was strange for Knicks fans, too, seeing Ewing’s name printed across a Seattle jersey, and even more awkward, an Orland Magic jersey during his final year in the league.