Was Patrick Ewing an elite center?

[Roscoe Sheed]

Patrick Ewing was an elite center, but not as good as Hakeem. Ewing was much better than Smits, and you can see that just by looking up their stats. Ewing averaged over 20 ppg every year till he was like 36 years old (over 28 ppg at his peak), and Smits never did. Ewing had nine straight years averaging double-figure rebounds, and Smits never did that for even one season. Ewing was also a better defender, shot-blocker, etc.

I'd put Ewing a notch below Hakeem and David Robinson.

I think he was as good or better than Robinson, but a notch below Hakeem.

[-Luke-]

Definitely closer to Hakeem than to Smits in my opinion.

[cam24thomas]

Ewing was like Embiid is today, just below the top tier.
Olajuwon was like Jokic is today, the top tier.

[MaxZaslofskyJr]

Beaten by Ed Pinckney in college.
Broken promises about winning a championship in the pros.
Second or third tier center only.
Willis Reed was better.

[Optimus_Steel]

What kind of question is this? Yes.

[Capn'O]

What separates Hakeem from Ewing is the years from 93 to 96. Hakeem took his game to another level and separated himself away from Robinson, Ewing and young Shaq. It's why Hakeem is consistently rated within the top 15 GOAT while Robinson and Ewing are top 30 or top 40.

Peak Hakeem, Robinson and Ewing could be the top 3 defensive C's if they played in today's game. I think they could all be better defenders than Brook Lopez who has been very good and arguably the best defensive C this season.

I would agree with this and add that Ewing lost a step in that same period. From 89-93 they were interchangeable. Hakeem had more fluidity and moves, Robinson was quicker, and Ewing was more powerful. Ewing slowed enough so that his power advantage no longer put him on the same tier. He struggled to get deep position at an advantage.




To the OP's question - look at the Knicks' rosters and consider that they made at least the second round 11 out of 12 years from 89-00. Except towards the end, that was almost entirely on Ewing's shoulders. He was absolutely elite.

[CobraCommander]

Patrick Ewing was an elite center, but not as good as Hakeem. Ewing was much better than Smits, and you can see that just by looking up their stats. Ewing averaged over 20 ppg every year till he was like 36 years old (over 28 ppg at his peak), and Smits never did. Ewing had nine straight years averaging double-figure rebounds, and Smits never did that for even one season. Ewing was also a better defender, shot-blocker, etc.

I'd put Ewing a notch below Hakeem and David Robinson.

Agree with everything except I’m Not sure he was below Robinson- I think Hakeem was the best in a league full of monster big men...but Ewing and Robinson were two of those monsters


Ewing would have a ring or more if MJ didn’t exist. Ewing was elite in college and the pros-

[GrindCityHustle]

why is he being compared to Smits?

Big burly centers with a nice touch around the basket. More power than finesse which I give to Hakeem and Robinson.

[Bobbymcgee]

Made it to the NCAA Championship game 3 out of 4 years. Won 1 but could have won 3.

Made it to the NBA Finals 2 times. Could have been there a few times more but Bulls and Pacers were tough.

Averaged more than 20 points per game 13 years in a row.

But, never won an NBA title so I put him one down from Hakeem.

Definitely an elite center though.

[CobraCommander]

Ewing was like Embiid is today, just below the top tier.
Olajuwon was like Jokic is today, the top tier.

Username checks out

[CobraCommander]

why is he being compared to Smits?

Big burly centers with a nice touch around the basket. More power than finesse which I give to Hakeem and Robinson.

But that’s the laziest take ever - even for REALGM that’s bad...Smits mom wouldn’t compare them...neither would Smits

[Cavsfansince84]

Whats the tierlist for 90s Centers? Are Robinson and Olajuwon in the same tier? Where does Ewing rank among those 2?

I'd actually say that Ewing was rated very closely to Hakeem up until 93/94 when Hakeem found another gear offensively and wrecked Ewing in the finals. Ewing also started having injury issues after that. Robinson was rated right with Hakeem too until the 95wcf. Shaq was rated right in that Hakeem/DRob tier almost right away. Ewing had one of the best jump shots all time for a center and got some criticism for not being physical enough in the post. Ewing was older than people realize though. He was a year older than both MJ and Hakeem despite coming out a year later.

[spanishninja]

why is he being compared to Smits?

Big burly centers with a nice touch around the basket. More power than finesse which I give to Hakeem and Robinson.

But that’s the laziest take ever - even for REALGM that’s bad...Smits mom wouldn’t compare them...neither would Smits

yeah, literally never seen anybody classify Smits as "burly" before.

[boomershadow]

Leave Rik Smits alone!

[CobraCommander]

Big burly centers with a nice touch around the basket. More power than finesse which I give to Hakeem and Robinson.

But that’s the laziest take ever - even for REALGM that’s bad...Smits mom wouldn’t compare them...neither would Smits

yeah, literally never seen anybody classify Smits as "burly" before.

Not burly but he could Ball....I’m not disparaging Smits to make Ewing look good...Hakeem was the best of that era...Ewing was in the top tier with Robinson and Mutombo and eventually Alonzo...and Smits....while very good wasn’t that good and wasn’t burly

[Fencer reregistered]

I'd say yes. If not for a historically awful shooting performance from John Starks, Ewing would've ended up with the same number of rings as Hakeem. If Starks was even average, they win that game.

Ewing making his hook shot crossing the lane at the end of game might have helped too.

But yeah -- Ewing led a group of borderline all-stars to non-trivial team success.

[Dave_R]

regular season, yes; playoffs, no (with the caveat that he never had a "Robin" because Bernard King got hurt -- in fact, if he hadn't gotten hurt, Ewing would have been King's "Robin"). Ewing always seemed to choke during big moments (free throws, game 7 missed finger roll he should have dunked, etc.)

[TwitterFingers]

He’s was definitely in the same tier as Hakeem. Hakeem, Robison, and Ewing we’re all very close in terms of production. Shaq would later join tier one

[spanishninja]

But that’s the laziest take ever - even for REALGM that’s bad...Smits mom wouldn’t compare them...neither would Smits

yeah, literally never seen anybody classify Smits as "burly" before.

Not burly but he could Ball....I’m not disparaging Smits to make Ewing look good...Hakeem was the best of that era...Ewing was in the top tier with Robinson and Mutombo and eventually Alonzo...and Smits....while very good wasn’t that good and wasn’t burly

skilled sure but yeah definitely not a grit and grind type of player. I still remember that one game winner he made on memorial day one year in the playoffs.

[CobraCommander]

yeah, literally never seen anybody classify Smits as "burly" before.

Not burly but he could Ball....I’m not disparaging Smits to make Ewing look good...Hakeem was the best of that era...Ewing was in the top tier with Robinson and Mutombo and eventually Alonzo...and Smits....while very good wasn’t that good and wasn’t burly

skilled sure but yeah definitely not a grit and grind type of player. I still remember that one game winner he made from the half-court pass on memorial day one year in the playoffs.

He could ball...would probably be better today in a league were skill is more valued by a big man