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NBA Draft: 30 greatest draft picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Georgetown Hoyas, 1985 (No. 1). Patrick Ewing. 24. player. 27. . Center

Greatest NBA Draft picks in league history: Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks

Few players had a college career as dominant as Patrick Ewing, who attended Georgetown University and three times made the NCAA title game, winning it all in 1984. He was a three-time First-Team All-American, the 1985 Player of the Year and became something of a cultural icon. He was a well-deserved No. 1 overall pick by the New York Knicks in 1985.

Ewing never found the title in the NBA that he achieved in college, although he was a part of a number of dominant regular season teams. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls held down many a star in the Eastern Conference, perhaps none more so than Ewing.

In the three seasons Jordan left open in the 1990s, Ewing and the Knicks made it to the NBA Finals in two of them, losing a heartbreaker to the Houston Rockets in 1994 and a more lopsided series to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

Over 15 seasons with the Knicks, Ewing was an NBA All-Star 11 times and an All-NBA selection seven times, although just once on the First Team. Three times he was an All-Defensive team selection due to his prowess as a rim protector. The Knicks’ legacy was as a smashmouth defensive squad.

Ewing left in free agency at the end of his career for a couple of low-impact seasons, but most of what he had to offer, he gave to the Knicks.