The Washington Wizards just added two names to their coaching staff who know a thing or two about pressure. Patrick Ewing comes aboard as an assistant coach. Steve Clifford will work as an adviser. But the biggest reaction came from a 19-year-old rookie who hasn’t played a single NBA game yet.
AJ Dybantsa saw the news and fired off a quick public message to Ewing on X. “See you in DC,” the forward wrote. That’s it. Two words. But for a guy who spent last month working as a special correspondent during the NBA Finals between the Knicks and the Spurs, it felt like a handshake across the internet.
Ewing’s path back to Washington
This is actually Ewing’s second stint with the Wizards. He was an assistant coach in D.C. way back in 2002 and 2003. Since then he’s bounced around with Houston, Orlando and Charlotte. But the most recent chapter of his career has been in New York’s front office, where he helped the Knicks finally end a 53-year championship drought. That’s not nothing.
Now he’s on Brian Keefe’s bench trying to pull the Wizards out of the lottery cycle. And the roster suddenly looks a bit more interesting than it did a year ago. Dybantsa joins Trae Young, Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr as the pieces Washington is banking on. That’s a weird mix of veteran star power and raw potential, but weird isn’t always bad.
Dybantsa wasn’t alive when Ewing was anchoring the Knicks in the Finals. The Hall of Famer made two appearances in the NBA Finals, got named an All-Star 11 times and made seven All-NBA teams. He carried the weight of being the No. 1 pick and the guy everyone expected to save the franchise. Sound familiar? Dybantsa walked into the league with the same kind of hype.
What Ewing can actually offer
Ewing is 63 now. He’s been a star, a punching bag, a front office guy and an assistant. That range of experience matters when you’re trying to mentor a 19-year-old who’s suddenly supposed to help turn a franchise around. Ewing can tell Dybantsa what it felt like to have a city stare at him every night and expect wins. That’s a conversation most people on the Wizards staff can’t have.
The two already met briefly during the Finals while Dybantsa was doing his media gig. Now they get to work together every day. And based on that two-word tweet, Dybantsa seems genuinely eager to get started.
Ewing has been in this league for a long time. He knows what happens when the spotlight gets hot. Whether his message lands with a high-scoring rookie who has never faced real NBA failure yet — that’s the part worth watching.
Leave a Comment