Patrick Ewing: Michael Jordan’s self-belief separated him from everybody else

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan may be mending their friendship. The former NBA stars, both 63, ended their friendship years ago after Jordan took issue with a comment Barkley made about Jordan's ownership of the Charlotte Hornets. But now, Barkley has said the former friends may put their feud to rest. "We had a conversation," Barkley said during an appearance on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Unleashed on Friday, April 17. "We're going to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over." — 4/20/2026 People

NBA History: Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown record their 50th playoff game both scoring 20+ PTS, becoming the 8th duo to reach the mark. They join Larry Bird & Kevin McHale as the only Celtics duos to do so. The other duos: 74 - Jerry West & Elgin Baylor; 68 - Scottie Pippen & Michael Jordan; 67 - Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant; 58 - Kevin McHale & Larry Bird; 56 - Russell Westbrook & Kevin Durant; 53 - Klay Thompson & Stephen Curry; 50 - Tony Parker & Tim Duncan. — 4/19/2026 Twitter

Barkley appeared on "Mad Dog Unleashed" and told Chris "Mad Dog" Russo that he and Jordan would spend time after the NBA season. “We had a conversation,” Chuck said. “We’re gonna get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.” “We’re not like Prince William and Prince Harry. We always have a lot of love for each other. But we talked in the last 72 hours, we just decided to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.” — 4/18/2026 AOL

To Mario Chalmers, LeBron James will NEVER be able to surpass Michael Jordan?????"MJ just has the aura." — 4/18/2026 x.com

"Don't talk too loud," Knicks legend Charles Oakley recalls Patrick Ewing saying. "They got the whole building mic'd-up." Then, a source tells us + @WIRED , Garden security discussed tracking him across America. And that's just the start of our new collab on MSG's deep state. ?️? — 4/17/2026 x.com

Oakley was one of the few people willing to talk on the record. Years ago, he claims, he was attending a game at MSG with his friend Anthony McNair. His former Knicks teammate, Hall-of-Famer Patrick Ewing, was the associate head coach on the opposing squad, and sought out Oakley before tip-off. The pair embraced, chatted briefly, and made plans to talk at the game's conclusion. Oakley and McNair said they were soon approached by security, who informed Oakley he wasn't allowed to stray from his seat or venture into areas where fans are restricted. After the final buzzer, Oakley met Ewing alone near the visitors’ locker room. There, according to Oakley, Ewing warned him about talking because listening devices were everywhere. “Don't talk too loud,” Oakley said Ewing told him. “This place is supposed to be mic'd up.” — 4/17/2026 Wired.com

Marc Stein: Left ankle sprain for Cooper Flagg, team says. He goes out with 10 points in 10 minutes … and as the first rookie to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals since Chicago’s Michael Jordan in 1984-85. — 4/12/2026 Twitter @TheSteinLine

K.C. Johnson: Per Bulls PR, Lachlan Olbrich is fourth rookie in franchise history to post triple-double. He joins Michael Jordan, Jay Williams and Kirk Hinrich. — 4/12/2026 Twitter @KCJHoop

If the players’ votes are any indication — and they usually are — then the silky smooth Thunder star is on his way to a second straight Michael Jordan Trophy. He didn’t just top our player polling; he nearly doubled the support of the second-place finisher, Denver’s Nikola Jokic. And therein lies the irony of it all. While Wembanyama’s choice to spotlight himself appeared to help his cause with the oddsmakers (he’s currently second behind SGA), he didn’t even crack the top five in the players’ vote. But that, as much as anything, is a testament to the strength of the field rather than an indictment of the Spurs phenom’s candidacy. This group is just that great. And Gilgeous-Alexander, in the eyes of most, is the best of them all. Again. The 27-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander is second in the league in scoring (31.1 points per game), with a field-goal percentage (55.3) that dwarfs that of the league’s leading scorer (fellow MVP candidate/Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, who is averaging 33.5 points per game on 47.6 shooting). And for all the focus on his controversial ability to get to the line, it’s merely one of the many ways that Gilgeous-Alexander decimates defenses. — 4/10/2026 New York Times

Jose Alvarado is featured in a new AT&T commercial alongside Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Patrick Ewing and John Starks. It’s the first commercial for Alvarado. “That’s what New York can do for you: get you in commercials,” Alvarado said. “My agent called me and said, ‘We’ve got a special thing, do you want to be in a commercial?’ I said ‘Yeah,’ I didn’t know who was going to be in the commercial at first. But the commercial came out pretty dope.” — 3/20/2026 New York Post

It marked only the fifth instance in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) that a player scored at least 40 points in 26 or fewer minutes, according to ESPN Research. Wembanyama also grabbed 12 rebounds, joining Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing as the only players in NBA history to record a 40-point double-double in that few minutes. The Lakers were missing four regular starters after center Deandre Ayton was a late scratch because of knee soreness and stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were ruled out earlier in the day. Marcus Smart also didn't play for L.A. — 2/11/2026 ESPN

“A free spirit and a person who loved his life,” recalled former Bulls coach Doug Collins, who was hired just before Jawann Oldham’s eventual trade to the New York Knicks to join fellow centers Bill Cartwright and Patrick Ewing. “Incredible, maybe the most balanced seven-foot guy I’ve ever seen,” recalled Cartwright, who later was traded to the Bulls to complete their championship puzzle. “He could do handstands at 7-1. His upper body as so strong; not muscular, but strong. Also probably one of the best big athletes I’ve seen the way he could run and jump. — 1/8/2026 NBA.com

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Patrick Ewing: Michael Jordan’s self-belief separated him from everybody else