Former NBA player Patrick Ewing tests positive for COVID-19

In a statement released by Georgetown University, their Men's Basketball Coach Patrick Ewing tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Ewing is now "under care and isolated" in a hospital in the Washington area. To date, he is the only person in the Georgetown Men's basketball program to have tested positive for COVID-19.

Patrick Ewing is an NBA legend who played mostly for the New York Knicks and was an 11-time All-Star. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame twice, as a player in 2008 and as a member of "The Dream Team" in 2010.

Ewing is also in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2012 for leading Georgetown to qualify for the NCAA finals in three of his four years as a player. He now serves as the head coach of his alma mater.

In his Twitter post, Coach Ewing confirmed the news and encouraged everyone to take the virus seriously and stay safe. He is now 57 years old and in the high-risk bracket of the novel coronavirus. 22.4% of coronavirus deaths are in that age bracket. 95% of all coronavirus related deaths worldwide are people aged 45 and above.

As an NBA player, Ewing is listed as one of the all-time greats. He is in the NBA history top 50 players of all time and in ESPN's top 75 Players of all time. Ewing averaged 22.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game when he played for the Knicks. He was one of the most stalwart defenders ever to play the game, but could not receive such individual accolades due to intense competition among his peers. He played with the likes of David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Michael Jordan.

Unfortunately, Ewing never won a championship during his time in the NBA. He is one of the many all-time greats in the '90s that didn't win a championship ring due to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls winning the majority of the championships in that era.

Ewing is the first NBA legend to publicly announce that he has contracted the disease. He joins Knicks owner, James Dolan, as one of the NBA personalities in the COVID-19 high-risk bracket.