5. Patrick Ewing
Ewing prolonged his career to an unnecessary degree. It’s true that elite athletes will spend the majority of their life retired from the sport they love. So it’s impossible to hate on Ewing for wanting to milk his time as a superstar. But a look at the cold, hard numbers paints a grim picture. Ewing could have retired earlier and made the Hall of Fame quickly. An 11-time All-Star, he found it almost impossible to walk away.
But he could have done so easily after 15 seasons with the New York Knicks. He was a legendary figure for the franchise and it would have been perfect to end things there. However, he continued to play another two pointless seasons with the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic. While he made the playoffs with the latter, he didn’t do much otherwise. Ewing is a hero but he hung around for too long.