Patrick Ewing

Patrick Ewing was the heart and soul of 1990s New York Knicks basketball — a physical, bruising, mid-range-dominant center who carried his team to the Finals in 1994 and defined an era of East Coast toughness. At 7'0" with a feathery mid-range jumper, Ewing was the rare big man who could hurt you from fifteen feet and also dominate in the post with an array of up-and-under moves and turnaround jumpers.

Ewing's Knicks were the anti-Showtime — grinding, physical, defensive teams that made opponents earn every point. In 1993-94, with Jordan retired, Ewing led New York to the Finals against the Rockets, averaging 18.9 points and 12.4 rebounds in the playoffs. The Knicks lost in seven games in a series that could have gone either way, and Ewing's legacy was forever shaped by that near-miss.

Over 17 seasons, Ewing averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He was an 11-time All-Star and a dominant defensive presence who anchored one of the most iconic franchises in basketball history during its most relevant modern era. That he never won a championship speaks more to the difficulty of the Jordan-era Eastern Conference than to any deficiency in Ewing's game.