Who is better? David Robinson or Patrick Ewing?

Question

I Honestly pick D-Rob Because before Tim Duncan he got close to the Championship...and Ewing didnt til Allan Houston came along...

Answer 1

I wouldn't say that Robinson "got close" to a championship before Duncan arrived.... I think his teams did rather poorly in the playoffs until Duncan got there...

1989 - Spurs last year before Robinson. They finish 21-61

1990 - Spurs improve to 56-26...this improvement was not entirely attributable to Robinson, as other key additions included Terry Cummings, Maurice Cheeks and rookie Sean Elliot. The Spurs lost in the 2nd round to conference champion Portland

1991 - 55-27, lost in first round to Golden State, coached by Don Nelson (44-38)...this was considered a major, major upset at the time. Golden State used a small lineup to beat the Spurs.

1992 - 47-35 - lost in first round to Phoenix.

1993 - 49-33 - lost in 2nd round to conf champion Phoenix (and MVP Charles Barkley)

1994 - 55-27, lost first round to Utah (53-29). Not a major upset

1995 - 62-20, Robinson wins MVP of regular season. They lost the Western Conference finals to Houston (47-35)...this was the series in which Olajuwon totally destroyed Robinson. Considred a huge upset at the time.

1996 - 59-23, lost in 2nd round to 55-27 Utah. Again, not a huge upset.

1997 - Robinson plays in only six games in the regular season, the Spurs finish 20-62, and land Duncan in that year's draft.


Robinson's teams did not really do all that well prior to Duncan's arrival, although they enjoyed a good bit of regular season success.


As a basketball player, Robinson was flat-out a freak of nature. He was extremely quick for a big man, and had explosive leaping ability. He could also jump very quickly several times in a row if he had to, which is unusual for a big man.

Both Robinson and Ewing were very good offensive players. They didn't try to do a lot of crazy things out there, they knew what their abilities were and played within them. Seems that both of them were very well-coached while in college, and they both played four years.

As far as Robinson's maturing faster than Ewing, this is true..however, there was a slight difference in age when they each arrived in the NBA.

Ewing entered Georgetown at 19, and entered the NBA at 23. Robinson entered the Naval Academy at 18, but then served two years in the Navy (or Navy Reserve), so he was actually 24 when he entered the NBA... there's a big difference between 23 and 24 when you're talking about professional athletes.

Couple of other things to keep in mind about Robinson... he was very, very, very intelligent. He had a great many interests besides basketball.. he scored 1320 on his SATs and was a math major at the Academy. He was only 6'9 when he started at the Academy, but grew to 7'1 during his time there... I really don't think that he necessarily had a pro basketball career in mind when he entered Annapolis. And, it is generally thought that being a gentleman with many varied interests adversely affected his "killer instinct" on the court.

Here is an excerpt from Robinson's Wikipedia article:

"At the Naval Academy, Robinson was an outstanding all-around athlete and chess player; during the physical tests that the Academy gives all incoming plebes he scored higher in gymnastics than anyone in his class. This was even more impressive due to his height: 6 ft 7 inches at the time. To put this in perspective, virtually all male gymnasts are well under 6 ft tall, and the service academies prohibit enrollment to anyone taller than 6 ft 8 in. However, the academies do not drop students who grow past this height limit after enrolling, which later benefited Robinson."



Ewings teams:

1985 - last year without Ewing, finished 24-58

1986 - rookie year, finished 23-59, did not make playoffs. The key loss was Bernard King (missed entire season with injury) Ewing only played 50 games.

1987 - 24-58 - King only played 6 games that year. Of course, you can't sit around all your life waiting for Bernard King to come back. Ewing only played 63 games.

(I'm not sure what injuries Ewing would have had to make him miss so many games in his first two seasons).

1988 - 38-44 - First time in playoffs - Lost to Celtics in first round.

1989 - 52-30, Lost to Bulls in 2nd round (six games). Key addition was Charles Oakley

1990 - 45-37 Lost 2nd round to conf champion Pistons

1991 - 39-43, lost in first round to the Bulls, who would go on to win their first title.

1992 - 51-31 (Pat Riley's first year coaching there), lost 2nd round to Bulls in seven games. Bulls won another title that year.

1993 - 60-22, lost in East Finals to Bulls in six. Bulls won it all again that year.

1994 - 57-25 Lost in Finals to Houston... Olajuwon outplayed and was clearly superior to Ewing in the Finals. Jordan's first year of his first retirement.

1995 - 55-27 - lost in 2nd round to Pacers.

1996 - 47-35 - Lost in 2nd round to Bulls, who won their 4th title that year... Riley had been replaced by Don Nelson, who was then replaced by Jeff van Gundy for the final 23 games of the regular season.


1997 - 57-25, lost 2nd round to Heat, who were coached by Pat Riley.


1998 - 43-39 - lost 2nd round to Pacers

1999 - 27-23 in strike season, advanced to finals as #8 seed, lost to Spurs in championship series.

It certainly took Ewing much longer to make the playoffs, but neither player enjoyed much playoff success until they had been in the NBA for almost 10 years.

Robinson was a better athlete than Ewing. He was faster, quicker and probably stronger. Ewing was, overall, a more aggressive and assertive player on the court, and because of that, probably came closer to "making the most" of his talent.

Both were worthy #1 overall picks.

Both needed good players around them if they were to enjoy any kind of playoff success. While the Knicks have never really been a good team since Ewing left, the Spurs have been a good team without Robinson, thanks to Duncan (and Parker, and Ginobli...)

Frankly, it's hard to say who was "better"... Robinson was a better athlete who won a little more (regular season and playoff-wise), and he had more of an immediate impact on the NBA upon his arrival... Ewing probably came closer to maximizing his abilities. Both are obviously well qualified for the Hall of Fame, and will easily make it. Ewing is, I'm sure, one of the five best players in NBA history who didn't win a championship....along with Barkley, Karl Malone, Elgin Baylor and John Stockton.

Shooting: Even...Robinson could face the hoop and was better at driving to the basket...he also had a nice jumper from 15 ft on in... Ewing could also hit the J from inside 15 ft, and was famous for his turn-around jumper on the baseline.
Rebounding: Very close, slight edge to Robinson
Defense: Close, edge to Ewing
Passing: Robinson
Stamina: Robinson
Knowledge of the game: Even

It's very, very close between these two in terms of individual skills. I might go with Robinson, but that's also because of his team's overall regular and post season success.

Answer 2

Even though, I think Robinson was a better player than Ewing but Robinson got some major help when the Spurs won the lottery and nabbed Tim Duncan. Anytime you have a frontline that dominant, you're almost bound to win a championship. Patrick lead the Knicks to the finals in 1994. If Patrick had Duncan battling by his side, they would have taken home the crown easily. So let's not use a championship ring as a tool of measuring their talent.

Answer 3

Ewing was the better player on the account that Ewing did more with less. Go ahead and list Robinson's team when he won a championship, not taking anything away from the Admiral but I am saying that Robinson was inconsistent. Ewing was a nightmare for centers to stop, he was more physical and better on defense (unless Air Jordan was in the rafters) but the point is that Ewing was the better player who didnt ever have the right team around him, when Ewing was wearing the knee pads that is when he went to the fade away, which was actually pretty sweet. Obviously Ewing and Robinson werent either true dominant players, but to me Ewing was the more dominant athlete and David came across as the better individual off the court(not that Ewing was a bad guy)...David Robinson was the consimate pro, but Ewing was the better player.

Answer 4

When his legs were good, I would have to say Patrick Ewing. I've seen a lot of clips from that NCAA Championship game where he just kept jumping higher and higher to block shots (even though every shot was called goaltending). David Robinson was good and held up better than Ewing but I'll take Patrick in his youth/prime over the Admiral.

Answer 5

Robinson is more versatile with his height and quite skilled down the paint. Plus, if I remember correctly, Robinson shot better at the charity strike than Ewing did.

Answer 6

You have to go with David Robinson. He's won two championships and played crucial roles on both teams.

Answer 7

I believe both were great players, but David, in my opinion had such a good team behind him, that it made his job a little easier. What would the Spurs be like now if David was playing still. A good player is only as good as the rest of the team. One player can't win a game by himself.

Answer 8

Good question.

I take David, he is more handsome and better build (posture). I remember first time I saw Ewing, his face look like some kind of monkey ( he looked a lot better now last time I saw him)

OOpps, you were talking about basketall skill. I don't know about basketball, but I take the Admiral, and I am gay hahahahahahahaha

Answer 9

David was a great player, leader, and member of the community. I pick him over Ewing, easy.

Answer 10

I have to go with David Robinson, he did win an MVP award, Ewing didn't.

Answer 11

robinson. he won a championship.