What might have been: How MJ blocked Patrick Ewing

College

Ewing and Jordan first met on a recruiting trip to North Carolina --17-year-old MJ immediately started talking trash and threatened to dunk on Patrick. Somehow this became the foundation for a lifelong friendship.

In MJ's freshman year at Carolina, the Tar Heels and Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas met in the NCAA Tournament final, in which Jordan hit the winning shot with 15 seconds left. Ewing had 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, but he never got a chance to answer back because Georgetown guard Fred Brown threw the ball directly to Carolina's  James Worthy in the waning seconds. 

It would become a pattern: Ewing plays well enough to win (he also had 11 rebounds and two blocks vs. Carolina), but a teammate’s gaffe and MJ’s presence lead to losses in the biggest games. Ewing did win a college title in 1984, but who won Player of the Year? Michael Jordan.

1989 and 1991 NBA playoffs

In Rick Pitino’s second year as coach, the Knicks won their first Atlantic Division title in 18 years, improving from 38 to 52 wins. The playoffs seemed wide open for New York: Larry Bird missed most of the season with a heel injury, the Bulls knocked out the 57-win Cavs in Round 1 and against the top-seeded Pistons that season, the Knicks had gone 4-0. But before they got to the Bad Boys, Ewing had to get past the six-seeded Bulls and Jordan. His Airness went off, averaging 35.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and after Pippen got tossed from Game 6 for fighting, MJ exploded. He finished with 40 points and clinched the series with two clutch free throws.

Pitino left to coach Kentucky, but would that have happened if the Knicks made the conference finals? Even with Ewing becoming a perennial All-Star, the Knicks backslid under new coach Stu Jackson. By 1991, they were back to 39 wins, and Jordan dunked all over Ewing in that season's first-round sweep in the playoffs.

1992 second round

In 1991, the Knicks hired Pat Riley, who adopted the Bad Boys philosophy on stopping Jordan: Knock him down. They beat the actual Bad Boys in Round 1 and won the first game of their series with the Bulls behind a monster performance from Ewing (34 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks). It was New York’s first win in 15 tries against Jordan since 1989.

The Knicks’ aggressive defense worked, and New York held Chicago under 100 points for the first six games. Unfortunately, Ewing sprained his ankle in the third quarter of Game 6. He closed out the game with 11 points in the fourth quarter but went home on crutches. Jordan put up 42 in Game 7, and the Knicks lost, 110-81. 

1993 conference finals

In 1993, the Knicks won 60 games, tied for most in franchise history with the 1970 champions. They earned home court over the Bulls and took advantage, winning the first two games thanks to physical play — and Jordan’s gambling spree in Atlantic City. The Bulls evened the series behind a 54-point Jordan game, but down one point in Game 5, the Knicks had a chance to retake command. Enter Charles Smith. Ewing got the ball to Smith under the basket, and Smith got blocked by Jordan, Pippen, Horace Grant and the backboard. Smith missed four layups, the Knicks lost by three points, and even with Ewing’s 26 points and 13 rebounds, the Knicks lost Game 6 and the series.

1994 conference semifinals

With Jordan off playing minor league baseball, the Knicks finally managed to beat the Bulls, though they needed a questionable foul call on Scottie Pippen at the end of Game 5. Ewing, who teamed with Charles Oakley to dominate the boards, proved he could beat a great team — as long as it didn’t have MJ. In this seven-game series, Ewing averaged 22.9 points and 12 rebounds and even made two three-pointers.

In the Finals against the Rockets, a single play once again derailed Ewing’s title hopes. With seconds left in Game 6, John Starks attempted a three-pointer to win the game and the series — and Hakeem Olajuwon blocked it back in his face. That set the tone for Game 7, when Starks missed all 11 of his three-pointers and shot 2-for-18 overall. Once again, a shooting guard’s performance knocked Ewing out of the playoffs. This time the guard just happened to be his teammate.  

1995 conference semifinals

The Knicks were poised to win Game 1 of their second-round series against Indiana, leading by six points with 18.9 seconds left. But then Reggie Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds, and Starks missed free throws and committed a dumb foul. On the last play, Ewing once again didn’t get the ball when Greg Anthony fell.

The Knicks fought back from a 3-1 deficit. Ewing hit the winner in Game 5 with 1.8 seconds left and put up 25 points and 15 rebounds to win Game 6 on the road. The Knicks were home for Game 7 and in a similar situation from the previous year, when Ewing put up 24 and 22 to beat the Pacers. And best of all, Orlando had knocked out MJ and the Bulls days earlier. In the game, Ewing matched Miller with 29 points (plus 14 rebounds and five assists), but he missed the tying layup with seconds left. Final: Indiana 97, Knicks 95.

Afterward, Ewing called it the most disappointing loss of his career.  "I thought I made a great move to get to the hole." he told reporters. "I couldn't have dunked it -- I took off from too far. I thought it was in."

1996 conference semifinals

As good as the 1996 Bulls were, the Knicks had a genuine shot at evening their second-round series at 2-2. After taking Game 3 in overtime, with Jordan and Dennis Rodman each playing over 50 minutes, the Knicks played Game 4 the next day against the tired Bulls. (Load management hadn't been discovered in 1996.) But leading 91-90 with a minute left, Ewing traveled. Rodman, who had 19 rebounds despite partying at "Saturday Night Live" the previous night, passed to Bill Wennington for the game-winning basket. Final: Bulls 94, Knicks 91. Chicago waved “Buh Bye” to the Knicks in Game 5.

1997 conference semifinals

The Knicks shook up their team to counter the Bulls, adding Larry Johnson and Allan Houston. But first, they had to get past old coach Pat Riley and the Miami Heat in the second round. Ewing excelled, dunking over Alonzo Mourning in one win and blocking Tim Hardaway’s last-second three-pointer to preserve another.

Up 3-1 and eyeing a rematch with the Bulls, the series turned when the Heat's P.J. Brown flipped Charlie Ward into photographers’ row. In the ensuing brawl, Ewing left the bench, along with Starks, Johnson and Houston. Each player got suspended for either Game 6 or 7, and the shorthanded Knicks lost both games, setting a precedent for the 2016 Warriors by blowing a 3-1 lead thanks to a dumb suspension.

1999 Finals

The eighth-seeded Knicks made a Cinderella run in 1999, taking out the Heat and getting revenge on Reggie Miller in the conference finals. Unfortunately, Ewing tore his Achilles tendon in Game 2 of that series, so he didn't play in the NBA FInals, lost by the Knicks in five games against the Spurs.  

2000 conference finals

History repeated itself in 2000, when Ewing again got hurt in Game 2 of the conference finals (strained tendon in right foot) against Indiana. The Knicks won two games without him and lost all four games he played. After the season, Ewing would use his (and Jordan’s) agent, David Falk, to force a trade to Seattle, another almost-great '90s team destroyed by Michael Jordan.

Throughout his career Ewing experienced a staggering number of big games where he was thwarted by one unfortunate event — a bad pass, a turned ankle, a guy getting a layup blocked four times. As a result, he never won a championship. 

Ewing's an all-time great, but we'll always wonder what might have been had  MJ not been his dance partner through a rugged era.