Report: Patrick Ewing agrees to join Washington Wizards as assistant coach

Patrick Ewing has agreed to join the Washington Wizards as an assistant coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. He has been an ambassador with the New York Knicks since October 2024.

Ewing last coached in 2023 when he was the head coach at his alma mater, Georgetown. He took over in 2017 and had a rough go during that time. The Hoyas went 75-109 under Ewing’s watch, including 28-81 in Big East play, and made just one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021.

Georgetown was Ewing’s first head coaching opportunity after working as an NBA assistant. He got his start with the Wizards as an assistant in 2002 and spent time with the Houston Rockets from 2003-07, Orlando Magic from 2007-12 and the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2013-17. That’s when he got the Georgetown job.

Of course, Ewing made his mark as a player in the NBA, largely with the Knicks. He was the 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year and became an 11-time All-Star throughout his career. He was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 for his career with the Knicks and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympics team. In 2009, he was inducted as a member of the “Dream Team.”

Following his time at Georgetown, Ewing left coaching and joined the Knicks as an ambassador. Now, as he gets ready to join the Wizards, he will get to work closely with No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, who lived up to the billing as a top-rated recruit at BYU this past season.

Of course, Patrick Ewing had a front-row seat for the Knicks’ run to an NBA championship this year – their first in more than 50 years. He was in attendance when they clinched the title in San Antonio and said this year’s run gave him a bit more closure after he fell short as a player.

“Give me more peace? Yeah,” Ewing told USA Today. “We definitely wish when we got there, we could have been able to win it. But it just wasn’t in the cards for us. But I think that me being back and me being a part of it, and management and ownership making me feel like I’m part of it, yes, it’s fulfilling. It’s like a dream come true.”