Few players are as synonymous with a sports franchise as Patrick Ewing is with the New York Knicks. Ewing played 15 years with the Knicks, leading the team to two NBA Finals appearances and guiding it to a period of sustained success that it hasn't come close to matching in the 26 years since.
As the 2025-26 team prepares for a second straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Ewing has chimed in to offer an essentail reminder: Success is never guaranteed to last.
It's easy to point to the Knicks reaching back-to-back Conference Finals as a sign that a championship is just over the horizon. A franchise's fortune can change in the blink of an eye, however, and Ewing has made sure to remind the current New York squad of exactly that.
During a recent interview with Steve Serby of Yahoo Sports, Ewing was asked what advice he would give to the current Knicks. His response was all about perspective.
“What I would tell them is they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No one knows if it’s going to come back around. When we got there in ’94, I definitely thought that we were going to have another opportunity in ’95 — take advantage of this opportunity. Continue to do the things that they’ve been doing. Continue to play as a team. The five guys on the floor got to do their part, the bench has to do their part. So remember that it’s about team, this is not tennis with one person against another person, all five have to be locked in, be unselfish, be selfish when you need to be selfish, and just play a team game."
No one has done more to elevate the Knicks over the past 50 years than Ewing, but if the current team follows his advice, they could end the 53-year championship drought.
Patrick Ewing reminds Knicks: No guarantee they'll get back to ECF again
Ewing led the 1991-92 Knicks to 51 wins and a seven-game second-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls. It was one of just two times during the Bulls' six championship seasons that they went to a Game 7. A year later, New York met Chicago again—this time in the Conference Finals.
Though New York lost to Chicago in 1993, Michael Jordan's first retirement seemingly opened the door for them to close the distance and win it all. They cashed in, reaching the NBA Finals in 1994—albeit while losing in Game 7.
Fast forward to 2026 and the story is eerily similar. Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum suffered severe injuries in 2024-25 that left the Eastern Conference wide open in 2025-26. The Knicks have capitalized by booking their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals yet again.
Optimism suggests they'll follow in Ewing's Knicks' footsteps and reach the NBA Finals. Perspective says they can't get too far ahead of themselves.
Patrick Ewing to Knicks: It's about the team, not the individual
Yes, the Knicks reached the 1994 NBA Finals—but they reached the Conference Finals in just two of the next 30 seasons. The current team has reversed their misfortune, but nothing guarantees that this brilliant run of success will continue beyond 2025-26.
As such, Ewing's advice is as simple as it is painful: Understand that this could be the last time that an NBA Finals appearance, let alone a championship, feels within reach for the current unit.
It's not a pessimistic comment, but instead a call to action. Rather than becoming comfortable with their perch near the top of the Eastern Conference, Ewing is urging the current team to remember that this could be the last time this team, or any of its players, have this golden opportunity.
If the Knicks follow Ewing's advice and play for one another while understanding how rare it is to have a shot a championship, then the title drought may very well come to an end.
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