Patrick Ewing Joins Wizards Staff as Assistant Coach

Patrick Ewing has agreed to become an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards and head coach Brian Keefe, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

Ewing has been in an ambassador role with the New York Knicks and now returns to the coaching sideline in Washington.

The Wizards value Ewing's presence and his ability to communicate with veteran stars Anthony Davis and Trae Young and their promising young nucleus, led by No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa.

Ewing has worked as an NBA assistant coach for the Wizards, Magic, Hornets, and Houston Rockets, and was the head coach at Georgetown, the program he led to the 1984 NCAA championship.

He coached Georgetown to an unexpected Big East tournament title at Madison Square Garden in 2021, but his time as coach of the Hoyas ended in 2023 after the program went 13-50 in his final two seasons.

Sources say longtime NBA coach Steve Clifford is also joining the Wizards as a coaching adviser, having held similar adviser roles for the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets in recent years.

Clifford coached as an assistant with Ewing in Orlando from 2007 to 2012, and Ewing then served as an assistant under Clifford in Charlotte from 2013 to 2017.

Ewing was selected by the Knicks with the No. 1 pick in the 1985 draft and played 15 seasons in New York, becoming the franchise's career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and games played.

The Knicks made the playoffs in his final 13 seasons, and the Knicks retired Ewing's No. 33 jersey in 2003.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report, which was published on ESPN on Saturday.