The Tape
Was Patrick Ewing better than David Robinson?
Patrick Ewing, 1985-2002, against David Robinson, 1989-2003. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, David Robinson is the bigger scorer: 33.5 a game in 1993-94 against 30.5 for Patrick Ewing in 1989-90. That is a real gap of 3 points, not an era illusion — David Robinson's league averaged 101.5 and Patrick Ewing's averaged 107.
David Robinson is the passer: 4.8 assists a game to 2.2, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
Patrick Ewing: A 21-and-10 center for 15 years who was the second-best player in almost every series that mattered. David Robinson: An MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year and a scoring title closed out with 71 points on the last day of the season.
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Read the file: Patrick EwingDavid Robinson
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