Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing: Ten NBA greats who retired without a Championship Ring (Part 4)
Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller was one of the top shooting guards of his era. He was a remarkable perimeter shooter and his accuracy from the three-point range was simply unmatchable. The 6 ft 7 guard played for Indiana Pacers throughout his career.
He was nicknamed as the “Knick Killer” because of his devastating performances against the New York Knicks.
Miller was picked up by the Pacers as the 11th overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft and from there began a career that saw him named an NBA All-Star five times. He was selected in the All-NBA third team three times and
finished his career as the leading three-point scorer in the league.
In his NBA career, Miller scored at an average of 18.2 points and 3 rebounds and assists per game. In that span, he had a 0.888 percent conversion rated from the free throw line and a phenomenal 0.395 from the three-point range.
Miller helped the Pacers in reaching the 2000 NBA Finals, but Indiana lost the best of seven game finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. This was Miller’s first and last appearance in the NBA Finals and he never got a second chance
to have a shy at the championship ring again.
Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing played as a centre throughout his career. The 7 ft giant remained a member of New York Knicks for 15 years after the franchise roped him in the 1985 NBA Draft as the first overall pick. The Jamaican origin player
also represented Seattle Super Sonics (the now Oklahoma City Thunder) and Orlando Magic for short periods.
Ewing is now serving as the assistant coach of Orlando Magic. During his college tenure, he was rated the 16th greatest player of the college basketball. In 1984, Ewing won the NCAA Men's Basketball Champion award and
then in the same year he was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The very next year, Ewing was awarded with Naismith College Player of the Year honour.
During his first year in the National Basketball Association, Patrick was named the Rookie of the Year and he got selected in the NBA All-Rookie first team. Ewing was plumped for the NBA All-Defensive second team on three occasions;
six times remained a member of the All-NBA second team and once represented All-NBA first team. Patrick was selected as an All-Star 11 times and with the national squad of USA, he won two gold medals in 1984 and 1992.
In 1996, Ewing was included in the list of the 50 Greatest Players of All-Time and in 2008 he was included in the Hall of Fame list.
Ewing scored 24,815 points during his NBA career at an average of 21.0 points per game. He also clutched 11,617 rebounds and blocked 2,894 shots at an average of 2.4 in each game in his illustrious career. During his time, the
Knicks made it to the NBA Finals twice, but failed to clinch the title. Guess who was his nemesis?
Michael Jordan.
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