Patrick Ewing rejoins Knicks as basketball ambassador

Patrick Ewing, the New York Knicks’ all-time leading scorer, has rejoined the franchise as an ambassador to assist both basketball and business operations, the team announced Friday.

Ewing, 62, will work directly with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and the team’s front office.

“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. I can’t wait to get started in this new position and to officially be back with the organization that I love so much,” Ewing said in a statement. “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.”

The Hall of Fame big man, selected by the Knicks with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft, steadily anchored New York rosters for a decade and a half. The franchise’s last period of stability before now — and its last two NBA Finals trips (1994, 1999) — came during Ewing’s dominant tenure.

After he retired as a player in 2002, Ewing embarked on a 14-year career as an NBA assistant coach, serving on staffs with the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Houston Rockets. In Houston, Ewing was part of ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy’s staff. Thibodeau was also a member of that staff and was an assistant under Van Gundy on Ewing’s later Knicks teams.

In 2017, Ewing was named coach at Georgetown, his alma mater, and he led the Hoyas to a surprise Big East tournament title at Madison Square Garden in 2021. But Georgetown fired Ewing in 2023 after the program slumped badly in his final two seasons.

Ewing rejoins a Knicks franchise at a time when the fanbase — amped over the prospect of having a contending club to root for — is highly engaged. During the team’s run to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, Ewing and a number of noteworthy former Knicks, including John Starks, sat courtside and regularly drew standing ovations from sold-out Madison Square Garden crowds whenever they were shown on the videoboard.