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Stan Van Gundy accused the Knicks of fooling Patrick Ewing in 2009: "Sort of pretends to appreciate him"
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- Stan Van Gundy accused the Knicks of fooling Patrick Ewing in 2009: "Sort of pretends to appreciate him"
In most cases, NBA teams show immense loyalty and respect toward their franchise players. However, for former Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy , that wasn't the case between the New York Knicks and Patrick Ewing .
Van Gundy believed that Ewing and the Knicks' relationship had been quite awkward. From his standpoint, Stan thought the Knicks were just faking their admiration for Big Pat. His bold take on the situation was rooted in the fact that the Knicks have never offered Ewing a coaching job all these years, which has been a common practice in almost every franchise regarding their legends.
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Admittedly, though, SVG found Ewing and the Knicks' situation bittersweet. On one hand, Van Gundy was thrilled to have a Hall of Famer like Ewing on his coaching staff in Orlando. On the other hand, he felt for the Knicks legend.
"I'm not trying to needle anybody or tell them their business," Van Gundy said in 2009. "What's amazing is they honor the guy, I don't know, every year. They honor him, but while they've got a lot of ex-players in their organization, they've never made any move to try to hire him. That to me is amazing."
"The organization to me sort of pretends to appreciate him and like him," Stan added of Ewing.
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The Knicks never interviewed Ewing
During the mid-2000s, the Knicks were spiraling through the Isiah Thomas era, a period defined by drama and conflict rather than basketball. The way Van Gundy saw it, the Knicks should have already reached out to Ewing at the time to salvage the team.
Stan found it baffling that during the team's darkest hours, New York never even bothered to at least invite the man who carried the franchise on his back for 15 seasons for an interview.
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"This is a guy that not only was the face of their franchise, but when your best player works as hard as he does and competes as hard as he does, he gives your team a chance to be great. They say great things about him, but when it's time to put up or shut up, they don't do anything," Van Gundy pointed out.
"There are other ex-players that got interviews for their head coaching job, but then a guy who's been in the league with three different teams as an assistant can't get an interview," he added.
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MJ recruited Ewing
Years ticked by, but never once did the Knicks consider Ewing as a strong candidate for a head coaching position.
"I'm just like any person who is coaching in this league," Patrick said at the time. "I'm just looking for an opportunity, that's all."
When the Knicks finally did throw Ewing a bone in 2012, it didn't look like a real opportunity but more of an insult. They offered him a coaching job for their D-League affiliate, which Big Pat understandably declined.
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Having recruited Ewing to the Washington Wizards coaching staff back in the early 2000s, Michael Jordan didn't hesitate to bring his old foe in once again. In 2013, the Charlotte Bobcats , now Hornets, appointed Ewing as an associate head coach.
What MJ gave Ewing wasn't a head coaching position, but it speaks volumes about Jordan's trust and confidence in Patrick's work. Ewing's run with the Hornets lasted until 2017. He then transitioned to college basketball and coached Georgetown until 2023.
As for the Knicks, they still haven't talked to Ewing about a possible coaching job.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
