The “Ewing Theory” is named after New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing. Although Ewing went down with injury in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks won without him and reached the NBA finals. The Ewing Theory theory explains how some teams can continue to win despite losing a star player.
 
“Ewing Theory” has been cited in print since at least 2000. In May 2001, ESPN’s Bill Simmons wrote “Ewing Theory 101,” explaining:
 
What’s the Ewing Theory? Where did it come from?
The theory was created in the mid-‘90s by Dave Cirilli, a friend of mine who was convinced that Patrick Ewing’s teams (both at Georgetown and with New York) inexplicably played better when Ewing was either injured or missing extended stretches because of foul trouble.
 
   
Wikipedia: Bill Simmons
William J. “Bill” Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports columnist, analyst, author, and podcaster. He currently is the Editor-in-Chief for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He also contributes columns and podcasts to the website.
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Simmons also has created numerous internet memes, most notably the Ewing Theory (though he claims he did not come up with the idea) and the Manning Face.
     
Google Groups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.boston-celtics
BSG’s NBA Coinfidential
Way Of The Ray
12/6/00
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23. Detroit (8-10)—The Ewing Theory has them in full contention for the last playoff spot. This might be the only team in the league that doesn’t have a single inside scorer—none of their bigger players can post up.
 
ESPN Page 2
Ewing Theory 101
By Bill Simmons
Page 2
Editor’s Note: This article originally ran on May 9, 2001.
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What’s the Ewing Theory? Where did it come from?
The theory was created in the mid-‘90s by Dave Cirilli, a friend of mine who was convinced that Patrick Ewing’s teams (both at Georgetown and with New York) inexplicably played better when Ewing was either injured or missing extended stretches because of foul trouble.
 
Curious to see if this phenomenon applied to other stars/teams, Dave noticed people were pencilling in the ‘94-‘95 UConn Huskies for a .500 season because “superstar” Donyell Marshall had departed for the NBA. Dave knew better; a lifelong UConn fan, he thought the Huskies relied too much on Marshall the previous season and could survive without him. Like Ali predicting the first Liston knockout, Dave told friends the Huskies would thrive in Marshall’s absence—and that’s exactly what happened. By midseason, UConn was ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time in school history; the Ewing Theory had been hatched.
 
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Kings fans see a conspiracy
Tiberon
12/13/01
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Four words. Bill Simmons’ “Ewing Theory.”
 
Urban Dictionary
The Ewing Theory
A theory hashed by ESPN.com writer Bill Simmons and his friend Dave Cirilli. It that explains the reason why teams inexplicably become better after their star player leaves the team for any reason (trade, injury, etc.). Two elements must be present for a situation to be explained by the Ewing Theory: 1) The team has a star player who receives a lot of attention but never wins anything, and 2) The star player leaves the team and everybody writes the team off.
The Knicks lose Patrick Ewing to an injury in a 1999 NBA playoff series with the Indiana Pacers. Everyone writes them off. The Knicks then win three of the next four games and win the series to advance to the NBA finals.
by Ryan Tang February 23, 2005