During the 1987-88 NBA season, you might have heard Bill Cartwright humming George Benson’s “The Greatest Love of All” (or Whitney’s version). That classic track contains the lyric, “I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow,” which articulated Big Bill’s sentiments about backing up fellow New York Knick Patrick Ewing.
In a 1988 Draft night deal, the 31-year-old Cartwright was finally freed from Ewing’s shadow. The Knicks’ GM Al Bianchi traded him and two draft swaps for a 24-year-old Charles Oakley.