Knicks hire Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing as basketball ambassador

Pat’s back.

The Knicks have hired Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing as a basketball ambassador for the 2024-25 season.

Ewing is expected to be involved with players, coaches and executives in the new role. He will also be working with the Knicks’ business operations side.

The move is a homecoming for Ewing, who played 15 years with the Knicks and helped build them into a top Eastern Conference contender in the 1990s.

“As I said the day my number 33 jersey lifted into the rafters at MSG, I will always be a Knick and I will always be a New Yorker,” Ewing said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get started in this new position and to officially be back with the organization that I love so much. The Garden has always been my home and I’m looking forward to working with Leon Rose, Coach Thibodeau, the team and everyone else that makes this place so special.”

Noted Rose:

“The New York Knicks and Patrick Ewing are synonymous with one another, and we are humbled and excited to bring Patrick back home. A monumental figure in New York basketball lore, Patrick brings a wealth of knowledge from his time both on and off the court that is unmatched. We are ecstatic that Patrick will once again be back in the blue and orange.”

Said MSG COO Jamaal Lesane:

“As someone who grew up a huge Knicks fan during the Patrick Ewing era, the entire Knicks organization and I couldn’t be happier that Patrick is back with the team in an official capacity.

Ewing has numerous ties to the current Knicks.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau was an assistant during Ewing’s tenure. Assistant coach Rick Brunson was a teammate of Ewing’s in New York.

Ewing spent plenty of time around a young Jalen Brunson during Rick Brunson’s stint in New York.

His specific role within the organization is unknown at this point, but the effort to get him back with the organization started in earnest earlier in the offseason.

Ewing’s Knicks career came to an unceremonious end before training camp in 2000 when he and the club could not agree on a contract extension. The Knicks traded Ewing to the Seattle Supersonics in a three-team deal that netted them Glen Rice, Travis Knight and Luc Longley.

At the time, Ewing reportedly had grown tired of the fan base blaming him for the team’s failure to win a title.

After retiring as a player, Ewing began a coaching career as an NBA assistant that spanned 14 years. He spent time in Washington, Houston, Orlando and Charlotte.

Each time the Knicks had a coaching vacancy, there would be a groundswell of fan support for Ewing’s candidacy.

But Ewing never came close to landing a job as head coach. The Knicks once were prepared to offer him a chance to coach their G League team, which was perceived as a job beneath Ewing’s credentials at the time.

Ewing became a head coach in 2017 when he took over at Georgetown, his alma mater. He was let go in 2023 after winning a total of 75 games in six seasons. He did not have an official role with a college team or an NBA team last season.

Now, Ewing is back in the game and back at the Garden.