NBA great and Georgetown coach Ewing hospitalized with COVID-19

NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, now the head basketball coach at Georgetown University, is in hospital with COVID-19.

Ewing, 57, said on Twitter on Friday he had tested positive for the virus.

“This virus is serious and should not be taken lightly,” the New York Knicks icon said in a statement. “I want to encourage everyone to stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

“Now more than ever, I want to thank healthcare workers and everyone on the front lines. I’ll be fine and we will all get through this.”

Georgetown’s athletics department said in a statement that Ewing was “under care and isolated at a local hospital.

“He is the only member of the men’s basketball program to have tested positive for the virus,” the statement said.

Ewing, who was a member of the 1992 Olympic gold medal-winning “Dream Team,” and also won Olympic gold in 1984, played 17 seasons in the NBA, mostly for the Knicks, earning 11 All-Star selections.

The Knicks sent Ewing good wishes via Twitter saying “Get well soon, Big Fella. Stay strong”.

He was the first overall selection in the NBA draft after leading Georgetown to a national championship in 1985 and was Rookie of the Year in 1986.

After retiring from the NBA he turned to coaching and spent many seasons as an NBA assistant coach before taking over the head coaching job at his alma mater Georgetown. (AFP)