Patrick Ewing once revealed that he dunked on Michael Jordan in street clothes with ease while getting recruited by colleges.
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Michael Jordan has caused several NBA legends to retire without a single championship. Him and his Chicago Bulls racked up 6 titles in a single decade, teams like the Seattle Supersonics, the New York Knicks, and the Utah Jazz, were left with Hall-of-Famers who could not add that oh-so elusive title to their resume.
Patrick Ewing is unfortunately one of these legends. One of the most underrated centers of all time, the Knicks and the Bulls faced off against one another 5 times in the Playoffs in the 1990s. The 1992 series between them is especially memorable due to the sheer physicality present within the series.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, they would go 1-4 in those 5 series with that one series victory having taken place against a Michael Jordan-less Bulls team in ‘94 that went 7 games.
It’s safe to say that Ewing would most certainly himself a championship if not for Michael Jordan and his dominance.
Patrick Ewing on beating Michael Jordan in pick-up.
Michael Jordan was the bane of Ewing’s existence on the hardwood all throughout his prime in the NBA. Even in college, his Georgetown lost the NCAA Championship in 1982 to Jordan’s UNC off the back of the iconic left baseline jumper from ‘His Airness’ himself.
Ewing revealed during this interview with Dan Patrick that MJ rubs those losses in his face to this day, claiming he loves to ‘rub salt in the wounds’. While Patrick may have never bested the Bulls legend in the Playoffs, he certainly did so when the cameras were off.
While getting recruited by colleges alongside Michael Jordan in the early 1980s, both Ewing and Jordan reportedly played pick-up basketball against one another. According to the Georgetown great, MJ bet that he could stop any dunk attempt from Patrick.
Safe to say that Jordan lost this bet quite swiftly as Patrick quite literally has over half a foot of height over him.
