Nothing is as memorable during an NBA game as one player putting another on a poster. Dunking over an opponent is a huge win, and when stars do it to other stars, it’s even more epic.
Scottie Pippen became the man on the Chicago Bulls in 1994 after Michael Jordan’s first retirement. And while he couldn’t lead them to a championship, his dunk on Patrick Ewing in the playoffs became an iconic moment in his career.
A ballboy seemingly revealed what was said after the dunk. A tweet, which was then posted by Ballislife showed a man who claimed to be the ballboy explaining that Scottie said, “Eat deez n*ts.” It’s not hard to see why Ewing got up in such anger if that is actually what was said.
The Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks faced one another in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1994, and the series ended in victory for the Knicks. Patrick Ewing got the last laugh as they beat the Bulls 87-77 in Game 7 of that series, making it the first time the Chicago Bulls had lost a playoff series since 1990. He may have gotten dunked on viciously, but Ewing was able to get the better of Pippen in the long game.
Scottie Pippen vs. Patrick Ewing Head-To-Head Stats
In the 1994 series, Patrick Ewing averaged more points and rebounds per game than Scottie Pippen. Naturally, Scottie Pippen had more assists and steals per game. Ewing averaged 22.9 points and 12 rebounds a game, while Pippen had 21.7 points and 7.7 rebounds on average.
Over their careers, Patrick Ewing maintained an average of 22.1 points per game against Scottie Pippen, while the Chicago Bulls man while Scottie averaged 18.1 points per game against him. Considering that Pippen had Michael Jordan on his team a lot, his record of 28-18 against Ewing in the games they played also makes sense.
Accolades again favor Scottie Pippen, as he had six NBA championships to Patrick Ewing’s none. They both made seven All-NBA Teams, although Scottie made the All-NBA First Team three times, to Ewing’s one. He was also named to seven more All-Defensive Teams than the Knicks legend.
They had some legendary battles during their careers, and it’s safe to say that Pippen and Ewing are among the 90s greats that had a true rivalry the kind of which the NBA misses to this day.
