Patrick Ewing says the Knicks could have won it all in 1997: 'We got in that fight, and we all got suspended'

Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks missed two golden opportunities to win an NBA championship. They lost 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 NBA Finals. Five years earlier, they were closer to the Larry O'Brien trophy as they lost in Game 7 to the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals.

But if you ask Ewing, the Knicks' best chance to win a championship during his era wasn't in 1999 or 1994. According to the former Georgetown Hoya, it was in 1997 that they didn't even make the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I thought the best chance we had at a championship was the year when we got in the fight," said Ewing. "The year we got in the fight with Miami—'97."

The Knicks were peaking at the right time

The team finished the 1996-97 regular season by winning 29 out of its last 42 games and matched its third-best regular season in franchise history with 57 wins. They were the No.3 seeded team in the East and swept the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the playoffs, holding them to just 95.67 points per game in the series.

Next up for them was Miami, and after stealing Game 1 in Miami, the Knicks won Games 3 and 4 at home to take what looked like an insurmountable 3-1 series lead. But just as when we thought it was a matter of time when New York would finish the series, something happened that changed the complexion of the series.

"We were just clickin' at the right time," added Ewing. "Everything was going well for us, thought we would have beaten the Bulls that year and would have beaten Utah. But we got in that fight and we all got suspended."

The Knicks blew a 3-1 series lead to the Heat

Miami was comfortable ahead, and it looked like they were about to pick up a win when Charlie Ward and P.J. Brown got into a commotion that caused several Knicks players to come off the bench. Suspensions were handed out, and New York played without Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, and John Starks in Game 6. Johnson and Starks also missed Game 7.

Without their top four scorers, the Knicks lost Game 6 at home. Playing without Starks and LJ in Game 7, New York lost for the third straight game and were ousted in the 1997 playoffs. The Heat lost to the Bulls in the ECF and Chicago defeated the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals.

The Knicks and Bulls split their 1996-97 season series 2-2. New York and Utah were also 1-1 that year so you can't fault Ewing for liking their chances. But it's hard to doubt Michael Jordan back then, especially since he was still at the peak of his powers. It would have been interesting to see the Bulls face the Knicks instead of the Heat. You have to respect Ewing for his opinion. But 1997 was still part of the Bulls' dynasty run.