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Chris Mullin on Larry Bird: Talked sh*t like crazy, but quietly, only to you, which messes you up more. But as a coach he kept it real simple, real fundamental. Be on time, play unselfish and play hard. Sounds silly but… I was there three seasons, we had one guy late one time and that's it. No drama, nothing. We're playing preseason, Larry's first year coaching, we're leaving Indiana and going to Nashville for a preseason game, it's like 10:58, everyone's on the plane, David Craig the trainer comes up to Larry like ‘Travis Best and and Dale Davis, they're coming’, and he says ‘What time is it? It’s 11:00, wheels up’. So the plane’s taking off, Travis and Dale are running after the plane, literally running. We took off everyone's like you know Save Dale! Save Dale! After that day though no one ever late again, that was preseason which was perfect timing. Larry was so so blunt and to the point, I remember one halftime he said ‘you f*cking stars don't stop playing man in five minutes I'm taking your ass out. I remember a game in Milwaukee I'm like four for nine you know, whatever, you’re not playing great but not that bad and he said ‘Mully come here, are you gonna make a f*cking shot or what, man? And he really empowered his assistant coaches.
Playing some of his career's best years alongside Reggie, Chris had the highest regard for the Pacers superstar's dedication to his routine. "I always respected Reggie's work ethic, his routine, man he he did not vary, he did the same thing every day, so dedicated, great teammate….He carried that franchise for almost 20 years," said Mullin.
Noah Levick: Paul George just moved past Vince Carter, Chris Mullin and Baron Davis for 46th place on the NBA's all-time steals list. He passed Carter for ninth on the all-time made 3s list earlier this season.
NBA Communications: Golden State @warriors guard Brandin Podziemski will replace injured Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace on Team T in the 2025 Castrol Rising Stars. Wallace is unable to participate because of a right shoulder strain. Castrol Rising Stars honorary head coaches Tim Hardaway Sr. (Team T), Mitch Richmond (Team M) and Chris Mullin (Team C) previously drafted their teams from the pool of 21 NBA rookies and sophomores who were selected to play. Jeremy Lin is the honorary head coach of the team representing the NBA G League (Team G League). The annual showcase of premier young talent will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 at Chase Center in San Francisco as part of NBA All-Star 2025 (9 p.m. ET, TNT). New this year, the Castrol Rising Stars champion will earn a spot to play in the NBA All-Star Game.
NBA Communications: Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway Sr. drafted their teams today for the 2025 Castrol Rising Stars. Each NBA legend selected seven players from the pool of 21 NBA rookies and sophomores. Jeremy Lin will lead the team of seven players representing the NBA G League.
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Scottie Pippen: When it came to discipline with sleep and diet, Charles Barkley wasn't the most focused in that regard
Scottie Pippen: Who impressed me the most? I was very impressed with Karl Malone, especially in the weight room. He is a beast because of how much he pushed himself. I mean, he stays in the gym for four hours and works until he can’t even pick up a cup of coffee. That’s just who he is—relentless. When it comes to discipline with sleep and diet, though, I wouldn’t say Charles Barkley was the most focused in that regard. Barkley was more into hanging out and enjoying himself. But someone like Chris Mullin stood out—he was incredibly disciplined. Him and Patrick Ewing were all about conditioning, day in and day out. As for who talked the most, outside of Michael—who was nonstop—it was definitely Charles Barkley. He was always poking and talking smack. Of course, people would throw it back at him, saying, ‘Well, you don’t have a championship.’ That’s when he’d have to tuck his tail between his legs."
Mayor Harrell and Knox, the CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission, are envisioning a future where Sonics players become role models and inspire youth to not only participate in basketball, but dream. Seattle has a long history of producing NBA talent, including Brandon Roy, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, Paolo Banchero and Dejounte Murray. Barry thinks the Sonics can help inspire others. “How do you dream bigger if you don’t see it in front of you?” Barry asked. “I was thinking if I never went to Golden State games as a kid to watch Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond, how much of my devotion and love of the game would have been depleted by not having the touch, the autograph, the memories? The impact can’t be overstated. “There’s almost 20 years of kids in Seattle who never saw one game in their city of LeBron James, one of the greatest players who ever played. Twenty years of kids, and parents for that matter, who haven’t had that community, that environment, that experience. It hurts.”
He’s hardly alone in spreading the word. SFIA found a 223.5 percent jump in U.S. pickleball players, with more than 13.6 million across the country picking up a paddle in 2023. He also managed to persuade other NBA Hall of Famers. “I got Chris Mullin to finally start playing, and his wife (Liz) is fanatical about it,” Barry said. “I talked to all the athletes about trying to get outside. I’ve been trying to get Hakeem Olajuwon to start.”
Chris Mullin: "I think load management is overused. When you’re injured, you sit. When you’re chipped up, you play. That’s the way we always did it. The more you rest, the more your body gets out of shape. If you don’t train your body to play 82, that’s how you do get hurt. Your body adapts to what you do to it. If you’re constantly pulling back, resting, and not going full speed, when you do have to go full speed, that’s when you get hurt."
The son of 1983 French Open tennis winner Yannick Noah, Joakim developed a basketball jones at age 12 when he attended the 1997 McDonald’s Championship. The tournament featured six teams and the tourney’s headliner featured a bald gentleman with a signature Nike shoe. You might have heard of him. Yep, his name is Michael Jordan. “Michael Jordan was playing in that game and it was an inspiring moment for me,” recounted Noah. “I don’t remember any highlights from that game, but I remember Manute Bol was on the court; the tallest man in NBA history. I remember Chris Mullin being on that court.
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I know you said you’re not into comparing, but how would you imagine a scrimmage with the ‘Dream Team’ and the current group playing out? Chris Mullin:“It probably would be a great matchup. But the fact that we’re all 60, it might be a little closer than you think (laughs).” I didn’t mean in your 60s. I meant when you were playing! (laughs) Chris Mullin:“‘Oh, I thought you meant if we got together tomorrow (laughs). We’ll leave that one alone. It’s quite obvious. But we’ll leave that one out there for the people to talk about. You know the answer to that, anyway. You know, right?’
Well, Serbia’s coach is quoted as saying ‘this American team is better than the original Dream Team…’ Chris Mullin:“Yeah because he’s got to play against this team! (laughs). Who was that guy, anyway? I’ll look him up. It’ll give me something to talk about.” Svetislav Pesic. Chris Mullin:“He needs to wake up, maybe jump in the Serbia sea or something to wake his ass up a little bit. Maybe, I’ll see him. I’ll be in Paris, so I’ll look him up. I’ll give him a little history lesson.”
Golden State Warriors PR: Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been selected to compete with Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games, making his Olympic debut. Curry will be the fifth player to represent the Warriors at the Olympics with Team USA (Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Chris Mullin). pic.twitter.com/0Z1DkKP2wJ
Raúl Barrigón: .@LAClippers @Yg_Trece Paul George moved up from No. 83 to No. 82 in the scoring all-time list after passing Chris Mullin (17,918).
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