With the Knicks set to tip off the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday, legendary center Patrick Ewing takes a shot at some playoff Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What would you tell these Knicks if you were standing in the locker room about the opportunity that is in front of them right now?
A: 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,
Q: Why do you believe these Knicks can win an NBA championship?
A: Anything is possible. These guys have been putting in the work, the coaches have been putting them in great positions to accomplish that. That’s everybody’s goal at the beginning of the year to win a championship, and we’re all hoping that happens.
Q: How do they do it?
A: They have to continue to do what they’ve been doing. We’ve been definitely hot in these last two rounds. We have to continue to do the same thing that we’ve been doing — playing as a team, both offensively and defensively taking care of business, no turnovers, just all the things that they’ve been doing.
Q: Could you paint the picture for me of what the city would be like if the Knicks won it all?
A: Hey … You see the way that the fans have been acting during these first two rounds. You saw the way the fans did when the Rangers won it or the Yankees won it. The whole city, the whole state would be so happy to be so proud to … I think the whole city would go wild.
Q: Why would Patrick Ewing have liked playing with Jalen Brunson?
A: Jalen is one of the most talented players that I’ve seen play. He not only can pass the ball, but he also can take a game over. I wasn’t fortunate enough to play with a talent like that. I think that having an opportunity to play with him would have only made my job that much easier.
Q: What do you think of Karl-Anthony Towns as an occasional hub of the offense?
A: Everybody has to learn how to play off each other. They’ve both been doing an outstanding job of leaning each other. KAT has to continue to do all the things that he’s been doing, he’s been a facilitator and looking to score when he has an opportunity. I think both of them have to continue to do their part if we’re going to win.
Q: What makes OG Anunoby so invaluable?
A: To me, the last two series he’s been our best player. He’s been scoring, he’s been playing great defense. … I think all of them, you look at the team as a whole, it’s been all of them, all of those guys have been doing their part to help the team to get to where it’s gotten to. You can’t just say it’s Jalen or it’s KAT or it’s OG, I think that everybody has been doing their part — the whole entire team. When guys have had the opportunity to come in off the bench, they’ve been doing their part.
Q: From an intangible standpoint, does Josh Hart remind you of John Starks?
A: He definitely does. His heart and soul … John was a better shooter, but Josh wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I think that everybody on that team knows what he brings to the team and knows what he means to the team and he definitely has to continue to do all that.
Q: How has Mitchell Robinson evolved?
A: I think [assistant] Mark Bryant has done an outstanding job of tutoring him, of teaching him. When I look at the talent that he has, I think he still has a lot more that he has to learn. But his energy, his effort … he’s looking more comfortable shooting his free throws.
Q: What do you think of Mikal Bridges lately?
A: He is hitting his stride right now, and he’s only going to get better as the next series goes on an and hopefully into the next one.
Q: What have you learned about Mike Brown coaching this team this season?
A: Mike has been doing an outstanding job. He’s a great coach. His record proves for itself everywhere that he’s been.
Q: What are your three all-time favorite Knicks moments?
A: To beat Indiana to get to the [1994] Finals, finally. That was definitely one of them. … I was hurt, but Larry Johnson’s four-point play [vs. the Pacers in 1999]. It’s funny, when I look at pictures of that, my son was a ballboy on that team, and they have a picture from the other end down by Larry shooting the shot, you could see our bench and my son jumped so high celebrating that play. So definitely that. I’ve had so many great memories that I really can’t put them into order.
Q: How would you describe your emotions when you stood on the scorer’s table with your arms raised to the rafters after winning Game 7 against the Pacers to get to the 1994 Finals?
A: I think that what I was feeling right then and there is all the raw emotion of finally getting there. We had not reached the pinnacle or the goal, but this was the first step, and I just wanted to embrace the city and the city to embrace me, because it was a journey to get to that point. And we just finished a hard-fought series against a talented Indiana team.
Q: If these Knicks were to win it all, would you stand on the scorer’s table and reenact that pose with your arms raised high?
A: I don’t think I’ll stand on a scorer’s table, but I’ll be right in the huddle with them, because I think that Leon [Rose) and Wes [William Wesley, aka World Wide Wes] and Mr. [James] Dolan have done an outstanding job of bringing a majority of us back to make us feel like we are a part of this. So I would definitely be in there celebrating with them. Because I do feel like I’m a part of it.
Q: How would you describe your on-court mentality?
A: I was focused, I was locked in, I had my game face. … I was tunnel-visioned.
Q: Why didn’t New York scare Patrick Ewing?
A: Hey look, there’s nothing to be afraid of. New York is a big city, biggest media market. Like I said, I was tunnel-visioned, I tried to block out the noise, block out the media, block out everybody and just concentrate on my teammates, my coaches and try to be the best version of myself that I could be.
Q: When I think of Patrick Ewing, I think a lot of people use the word warrior. How proud are you of that?
A: I’m very proud of it. I’m very proud of it. Because that’s how I perceive myself. People who play sports, we always talk about that we’re going to war. … It’s not literally, you’re not out there killing people, but we are competing against others. Our job or our goal is to try to dominate the next person. So that’s how I perceive myself, I had my game face on, I try to mentally prepare myself to try to dominate that next person. I’m very proud of it.
Q: What was the worst pain you ever played in?
A: I played in a lot of pain. What’s the worst? I tore my Achilles against Indiana … it was in Indiana. I went back in, I taped it up and I told Jeff [Van Gundy, coach], “I can’t move. I’m going to do my best to get every rebound. I’m not sure if I’ll be effective on the offensive end.” I was able to finish that game and then we flew back to New York. I didn’t know that it was torn. I got an MRI [exam], said I had obviously torn my Achilles. … Spraining my ankle in Game 6 against the Bulls, hobbling around, finished the game, we were able to beat them and go to Chicago where unfortunately we lost Game 7.
Q: What drove you?
A: To win, to try to be the best version of myself that I could be. I always wanted to win. I wanted to be able to bring a championship to New York. I thought it was going to be a lot easier when I was in college to win a championship than I found out that it really was. Growing up in Boston and learning about Bill Russell and those 11 championships that he won, I’m like, “I’m going to get me a few championships.” That’s what drove me, to try to be the best player I could possibly be, and to also bring a championship to New York.
Q: How difficult was it early on for you to be expected to be the savior?
A: That’s just part of the sport. In high school I was the best player on my team, and at Georgetown I was one of the best, I’m not going to say I was the best. I was the most famous. I was fortunate enough to play with some great talent — Reggie Williams, David Wingate, Michael Jackson, Bill Martin, some great teammates. They helped me to be the player that I also became. Then coming to the Knicks, us losing Bernard [King] the year before I got there and then losing him for the next year and a half, that didn’t help. And then when he came back I got hurt. So I didn’t look at it as me being the savior, I just was out there trying to do the best I could to help us to win.
Q: What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
A: The biggest obstacle I guess was Michael Jordan (laugh). The biggest obstacle was definitely Michael Jordan.
Q: If there was no Jordan, how many championships do you think you might have won?
A: Hey look, he was out for two years and we had an opportunity. We got to the Finals, unfortunately we didn’t get it done. Great players want to be able to play great players. I consider myself a great player, so I want to definitely go against Michael, I definitely want to go against Hakeem [Olajuwon], I want to go against Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal]. I think those players make you perform at a high level, so I never looked at it as, “OK, Michael is here or not here, this is my opportunity,” or, “If he wasn’t here I would have won X amount of championships.” I just think that you go out there and perform at your best every time you play. One thing about me is that I have the love for the game, so it didn’t make a difference who was there, I was going to go out and try to perform at my best, and I think that I showed it night in and night out.
Q: What do you remember about the plane flight home from Houston after losing Game 7 or the 1994 Finals?
A: Now you’re bringing up bad memories (laugh). I really don’t remember too much about the flight. I just remember after the game walking off the floor depressed, down. … I think I left the arena with Alonzo Mourning because he came to the game to support me. … People just talk trash to us on the way out. So it was a bad feeling.
Q: Did your 1993-94 Knicks pride yourselves on intimidation?
A: I think we prided ourselves on being a great team. We weren’t trying to intimidate people, we weren’t going to back down from anybody, we weren’t going to take crap from anybody, but we also thought that we were a talented team and had a great opportunity to hopefully win a championship, and we got there but just fell short.
Q: How would the ’94 Knicks do against these current Knicks?
A: You know what, I’m not even going to go there. This team is a talented team, they’re in their era, my team was in my era, we played different brands of basketball. I think that Jalen is a special player, KAT’s a special player and the rest of the guys are special.
Q: What was the best motivational ploy coach Pat Riley used?
A: Pat had a lot of lot of different ploys, but I thought that we were self-motivated, I was self-motivated. Pat was a great coach, he’s won multiple championships, all you can do is take your hat off to him. Wish we could have been with him winning a championship in New York. He told a lot of different stories … but I was self-motivated.
Q: When you think about the ’99 Knicks, what do you think about?
A: The [lockout]-shortened season. I thought we had some talented guys on the team. We had Spree [Latrell Sprewell], we had Allan [Houston], Larry, Marcus [Camby], Kurt [Thomas], Charlie [Ward]. That’s the year I tore my Achilles and I couldn’t finish the year, but the guys did an outstanding job. Larry made that four-point play to help to propel us to the championship. When you talk about the biggest hurt, I would say that was the biggest hurt. Me physically not being able to play. I remember one game, we lost that game, and I went on the bus by myself and I broke down. I started crying, because I was so hurt that I was not able to play and help my team.
Q: If you could go back in time and test your skills against any big man in NBA history, who would it be?
A: I felt like I played in an era where there were some great big men. You got Hakeem, you got Shaq, you got David [Robinson], Robert Parish when I was younger, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] was at the end when I played against him but he was still kicking butt. I think that the guys I played against were fierce enough to play against, so I don’t think I need to go any further. … My idol was Bill Russell, watching him and Wilt [Chamberlain] battle it. But I’m going to say the guys I played against.
Q: Which was more rewarding, winning the 1984 national championship at Georgetown or coaching Georgetown to the 2021 Big East Conference Tournament championship?
A: Of course winning the national championship, that’s the pinnacle right there! But winning the Big East title was very rewarding. To be back at Georgetown coaching, I came full circle. … We went on a run at the right time, guys stepped up. I thought that Coach [John] Thompson was definitely looking down upon us, and we made him proud.
Q: Would you like to coach again?
A: Yes I would.
Q: Would you dream of coaching the Knicks one day?
A: That one I’m not going to answer. The Knicks have a great coach in Mike Brown, and I’m just happy to be there to support him and the team in any way that we can.
Q: Describe the 1980s St. John’s rivalry and Chris Mullin in particular?
A: We’re playing against one of the best or one of the greatest shooters to play this game in my opinion in Chris Mullin. Going against St. John’s … when people talk about rivalry, right, they always equate us with Syracuse. But I think of St. John’s as well. St. John’s had Chris and we both came into college together, we left together, we played with each other on both Olympic teams. … We hated each other back then, we didn’t become good friends until ’84 when we played in the Olympics and actually were around each other. But to compete against him, Walter Berry, Willie Glass, all those guys, those were some great memories.
Q: Whatever comes to mind: John Thompson.
A: Father figure. One of the best people that I ever got the opportunity to work with, or work for.
Q: Mike Jarvis.
A: The same. One of the best people I got to play for and build a relationship and a friendship with.
Q: Mark Jackson.
A: One of the best passers and teammates in the game.
Q: Rick Pitino.
A: One of the greatest coaches in college and NBA history in my opinion.
Q: Jeff Van Gundy.
A: One of the greatest minds in basketball. Great coach, a great friend.
Q: Him hanging on to Alonzo Mourning’s leg during a 1998 brawl?
A: (Laugh) Yes. He needs to learn that he’s small and can’t fight.
Q: Alonzo Mourning.
A: A great friend. One of the best players in the game. Great competitor, but a great role model. But I would say the best thing is a great friend.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Martin Luther King [Jr.], Malcolm X, Jesus.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I think that from where I came from in Kingston, Jamaica, to where I ended up today, I’m proud of the journey. I’m proud of my mom and my dad working hard, scraping up their money to bring their family to a new country, and me falling in love with the game of basketball and what basketball was able to accomplish for us.
