1. Patrick Ewing, Center
Definitely the most notable name on this list, the New York Knicks former first overall pick and Hall-of-Fame big man Patrick Ewing obviously had a long and storied rivalry with Jordan and the Bulls in his NBA career. The Knicks and Bulls met up multiple times while Jordan was making big time playoff runs in the Eastern Conference.
In the regular season alone, Ewing and Jordan met up 43 times, mostly while the legendary shooting guard was a member of the Bulls. But there were four other occasions where Jordan faced Ewing when he was a member of the Washington Wizards in one of the final two years of his NBA career.
Jordan owned the edge in the regular season over Ewing, with a record of 30-13. But where Jordan really owned Ewing and the Knicks was in the playoffs. Jordan and the Bulls owned Ewing in the playoffs with a record of 19-8. In those 27 games played against Ewing in the playoffs, Jordan averaged 33.1 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks.
Meanwhile, Ewing averaged 22.4 points per game, 10.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.1 blocks. Ewing was still a stud against Jordan in the playoffs, but just came up short all too often. There was never a single time where Ewing and the Knicks beat the Bulls, while Jordan was on the team.
The 11-time NBA All-Star selection Ewing was left without a ring in his career, despite being one of the most talented and productive star big men throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s.