Ewing was chosen as the 43rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.[3] Soon afterwards, he signed a contract with the Kings.[4] He was later traded to the Houston Rockets in a five-player deal that brought Ron Artest to the Rockets.[5] On August 29, 2008, Ewing followed his father's footsteps once again when he was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for the rights of former first round pick Frédéric Weis.[6] After some initial speculation that he would wear his father's retired number 33, Ewing took number 6 in honor of his favorite player, Bill Russell, which was also his father's number in his final season in the NBA with the Orlando Magic and on the 1992 Olympic national team.[7] Ewing played in two Knicks pre-season games prior to making his New York debut in the Knicks' final pre-season game on October 24, 2008. Ewing entered the game in the fourth quarter to a thunderous ovation by the Madison Square Garden crowd. Ewing helped fuel the Knicks' late rally, where the Knicks would come back from a 21-point deficit. Ewing had two dunks, a three-pointer, a steal and a blocked shot. He had seven fourth quarter points. In total, he played three pre-season games for the Knicks, averaging 8.1 minutes, 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds. On October 27, 2008, Ewing was waived by the Knicks in order to get the roster down to the maximum of 15 players for the start of the 2008–09 season.[8]