Part of what made the Knicks' championship run so awesome was seeing all the former players and legends celebrating with the crowd.
One of those who appeared at all the games, home and on the road, was Patrick Ewing. The franchise’s all-time leading scorer has spent the past couple of years employed by the Knicks as a basketball ambassador.
A few weeks back, it was announced that Ewing would be joining the Wizards next season as an assistant coach. On Tuesday, he posted a heartfelt thank-you to the Knicks organization as he prepares to join Brian Keefe’s staff in Washington.
Once a @nyknicks always a @nyknicks pic.twitter.com/lER87QBpK0
— Patrick Ewing (@CoachEwing33) July 28, 2026
Ewing will forever be an all-time great Knicks player
It meant a lot to Knicks fans from the mid-1980s through the 1990s to see Ewing enjoy the 2026 postseason so much. For 15 years, Ewing gave it his all on the floor for New York, only for the team to endure heartbreak seemingly every season. They reached the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999, but neither appearance resulted in a championship.
Finally, the Knicks legend could enjoy a title, even if he wasn’t a player. At the end of his social media post, Ewing wrote:
“I’ll always be a New Yorker, and I’ll always be a Knick.”
Even though he will be moving on to a new team, it would be hard to believe that any Knicks fan would have hard feelings toward him. During his post-playing career, the 63-year-old has gotten into coaching. The first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft got his first job as an assistant with the same Wizards team he is joining in 2002. He has also had stints as an assistant with the Rockets, Magic, and Hornets.
His one head coaching job came in college at Georgetown, his alma mater. In 2021, the Hoyas made a surprise run in the Big East Tournament, beating Creighton by 25 points in the finals. Ewing was relieved of his duties with the school in 2023.
In his playing career with the Knicks, Ewing holds multiple franchise records. Some of those include points (23,665), rebounds (10,759), steals (1,061), and games played (1,039). During his New York tenure, he was an All-Star 11 times while also being named to seven All-NBA and three All-Defensive teams.
Now, Ewing is heading to a Wizards team with first overall pick A.J. Dybantsa, as well as other young talent such as Alex Sarr, Keyonte George, and Tre Johnson. The team also rosters multitime All-Stars Anthony Davis, Trae Young, and Khris Middleton.
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