While the NBA revolves around the sport of basketball, it is and will always be a business. The league runs a successful multi-billion-dollar business that allows NBA teams to pay their players the salaries they feel they deserve.
Truth be told, as much as players always say they're playing for the love of the game, that's only half of the truth, with the other half being they're playing to earn a hefty paycheck. This reality holds true today as it did decades ago. And in 1991, New York Knicks sentinel Patrick Ewing was uncertain of his future with the franchise.
With the team struggling to even reach the .500 mark, he was torn between demanding to get paid for his worth or taking a pay cut to help the franchise add a few more pieces to what they had hoped would become a championship puzzle.
Picked first in the 1985 NBA Draft, it didn't take long for Big Pat to establish himself as a dominant presence in the paint. After winning Rookie of the Year honors and earning All-Star honors in his first season in the league, he led the Knicks to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference semifinals in '89 and '90.
But just as he expected the team to take the next step during the 1990-91 season, it was clear to the former Georgetown stud that they had fallen behind the East's beast. Touting a 20-27 record at the All-Star break, Ewing was caught between doing what's best for himself or the team.
"My salary has been the same and the salary cap has gone up, and we're still in the same situation," Ewing said . "It's not just my salary. I want to win, but I also want to be paid well for what I do for the team. There is a way to get around it."
Despite averaging 26.6 points on 52.0 percent shooting, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game, Ewing's contributions just couldn't compensate for the Knicks' lack of a solid supporting cast. After Ewing, their second-highest scorer was 32-year-old Kiki Vandeweghe, who averaged 16.3 points.
It was no secret that the Knicks needed reinforcements, and Ewing made it clear as well that he was willing to take a pay cut, but only for the right type of player.
"If I think the person they bring in is going to help the team, I would defer money to get this person who I think is going to help the team."
Ewing expressed how much he loved playing in the Big Apple. Yet at the same time, he considered playing elsewhere if the franchise didn't make the necessary changes.
"Obviously, the talent level isn't the same as it was two years ago. We don't have Rod Strickland. We don't have Johnny or Sidney Green. We don't have the same talent that we did. But we still have talent," he remarked.
The Knicks finished that season with a 39-43 mark and lost in the first round. Fortunately for the Knicks, Ewing eventually stuck around and had his patience pay off as they made it to the NBA Finals in 1994, losing to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in Game 7.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
