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The 75 Before '94 series ran during the NBA's 75th anniversary season. Since SLAM magazine was founded in 1994, we'd already missed decades of brilliance, and this project was our homage to the stars who never landed a cover.
Hall of Famers, champions, All-Stars — the Knicks have had them all. Even so, a serious case exists that Patrick Ewing is the best Knick ever.
Numbers first, if you like. Ewing is the franchise's all-time leader in six categories, standing alone in points (23,665), rebounds (10,759), blocks (2,758), steals (1,061), games played (1,039) and minutes played (37,586).
Or build the case on something softer, much harder to pin down.
Simple version: Ewing was the Knicks.
Carrying the torch from the championship legends of the '70s, he turned their passion for hard work and defense up a notch. His body went on the line for the city night after night. Offense improved year on year until he finished his career among the best mid-range shooting big men basketball has known. And he never quit.
Blue and orange suited him because the Knicks carried his identity, and his identity was New York's. A fighter who kept going well past the point his shift should have ended. MTA workers in the subway, deli owners behind the counter, teachers with sparse resources, kids at the park with a ball and a dream — all of them could see themselves in Ewing. That's how big the impact was.
So maybe that's the real answer to the best-Knick question. He was a mirror of New York.
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