Chris Mullin (basketball)

Chris Mullin

No. 17
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	July 30, 1963 (1963-07-30) (age 48)
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
High school	Power Memorial Academy Xaverian (Brooklyn, New York)
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College	St. John's (1981–1985)
NBA Draft	1985 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Pro career	1985–2001
Career history
1985–1997	Golden State Warriors
1997–2000	Indiana Pacers
2000–2001	Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA All-Star (1989–1993) All-NBA First Team (1992) 2× All-NBA Second Team (1989, 1991) All-NBA Third Team (1990) John R. Wooden Award (1985) USBWA Player of the Year (1985) UPI College Player of the Year (1985) 3× Big East Player of the Year (1983–1985) 3× Haggerty Award winner (1983–1985) NCAA Final Four MOP (1942) Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1985) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1984)
Career NBA statistics
Points	17,911 (18.2 ppg)
FT%	.866
Steals	1,530 (1.6 spg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals Men's basketball Pan American Games Gold 1983 Caracas United States Olympic Games Gold 1984 Los Angeles United States Gold 1992 Barcelona United States

Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is a retired American basketball player and former general manager of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He has also been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mullin played shooting guard and small forward in the NBA from 1985 to 2001. After playing at St. John's University, during which he won Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year three times and was a member of the 1984 amateur U.S. team, Mullin was chosen as the seventh pick by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft.

He played with the Warriors from the 1985-86 until the 1996–97 seasons. Thereafter, Mullin played with the Indiana Pacers from 1997 until the 1999–2000 season. He retired after the 2000–01 season, playing for his original team, the Warriors.

Early life and college career

He was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a young player in New York, Mullin studied the games of African Americans and Knicks stars Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe while admiring Larry Bird and wearing #17 in honor of John Havlicek.^[1] As a youth, he regularly traveled to the Bronx and Harlem, predominately African American neighborhoods, to play against the best basketball players in New York City. From a young age, he paved a path for himself to become a legend in the Diocese of Brooklyn. His name began to spread while playing CYO basketball at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish on Flatlands Avenue.^[1] Mullin began his high school career at Power Memorial Academy, where he was a teammate of Mario Elie. He transferred as a junior to the Catholic Xaverian High School of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Signing to play for St. John's University in nearby Queens, Mullin in his freshman year averaged 16.6 points per game (also setting the school freshman record for points scored). In his subsequent three years for the Redmen, he would be named Big East Player of the Year three times, named to the All-America team three times, play for the gold medal-winning 1984 Olympic team, receive the 1985 Wooden Award, USBWA College Player of the Year and lead his team to the 1985 Final Four. Mullin finished his career as the Redmen's all-time leading scorer. He also holds the distinction of being one of only two players in history to win the Haggerty Award (given to the best college player in the New York City area) three times (1983–1985). Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson has credited Mullin with teaching him the importance of rigorous practice in the gym during their one year together at St. John's.

NBA career

In Mullin's first three seasons with the Warriors, he was primarily a spot-up shooting guard playing in the backcourt alongside Eric "Sleepy" Floyd. In his second season, the Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals under George Karl, where they lost to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

For five consecutive seasons, from 1988 until 1993, Mullin scored an average of 25 or more points and five rebounds. Additionally, the Warriors made five straight playoff appearances. Mullin, Mitch Richmond, and 1989 first-round draftee Tim Hardaway formed the trio "Run TMC" that were the focal stars of this playoff run. A 5-time All-Star, Mullin also won Olympic gold twice—as a member of the 1984 amateur team, and for the 1992 Dream Team.

In 1993-94, Mullin's and the Warriors' fortunes began to change. Nelson traded for Chris Webber on NBA Draft day and dealt Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for Billy Owens, hoping to make the Warriors stronger in the frontcourt. Mullin's body began breaking down, however, and he began to miss significant numbers of games. The Warriors had a successful first season with Webber, but he and Don Nelson began to bicker over his use as a player. This led Nelson to resign, and subsequent coaches saw Mullin as injury-prone and began to center the team around Latrell Sprewell. Mullin was traded after the 1996–97 season to the Indiana Pacers for second-year center Erick Dampier and NBA journeyman Duane Ferrell.

Mullin had a successful first season with the Pacers, coached by Larry Bird. He started all 82 games, averaged 11.3 points per game, and helped the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in seven tough games. Bird, however, began to phase Mullin out and give more time to Jalen Rose at small forward. Mullin did, however, appear in three games of the 2000 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. After that season, Mullin was waived by the Pacers. He then once again signed with Warriors for the 2000–01 season, his last season as a player.

Effort more than physicality marked Mullin's playing style. Somewhat lanky at 215 pounds and six-foot seven inches, Mullin managed to hold his own. He was a dead-eye outside shooter and could go to either his left or right and shoot with either hand, despite being naturally left-handed. This made him difficult for many NBA small forwards to guard. In fact, he was compared to NBA legend Larry Bird because both players lacked speed, had a great outside shot and had the innate ability to put their defender off guard.^[2] He was on the All-NBA second team (1989 and 1991), third team (1990), and first team (1992). Mullin also appeared in the 1995 Billy Crystal movie Forget Paris.

After his playing days were over, Mullin was hired as a special assistant by the Warriors, and was named Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the team on April 22, 2004. On May 11, 2009, the team announced that Mullin's expiring contract would not be renewed.^[3] He was replaced by Larry Riley as the Warriors' General Manager.

He is currently an NBA analyst for ESPN.

On Feb. 28, 2011, Chris Mullin was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Induction will take place at the Hall of Fame on Nov. 20, 2011 as part of a three-day celebration that includes the CBE Classic at Sprint Center. ^[4]

On April 4, 2011, Chris Mullin was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place on August 12, 2011.

The Warriors also announced that they will retire # 17 for Mullin.

Personal

Mullin is married. He has three sons and one daughter.^[5]

See also

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

References

1. ^ ^{a b} An Issue That Follows the NBA Like a White Shadow Washington Post, February 19, 2006
2. ^ Chris Mullin: Grown Up, And an All-Star At Last - New York Times
3. ^ Press release: Warriors Elect Not To Renew Chris Mullin's Contract
4. ^ http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=rivals-1194522
5. ^ Warriors staff

External links

• Chris Mullin at NBA.com (archived from 2001)
• Career stats at NBA Encyclopedia
• 2005-2006 REPORT CARD: Chris Mullin & Rod Higgins (Golden State of Mind)
• Oscar Robertson Trophy

Persondata
Name	Mullin, Chris
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 30, 1963
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York
Date of death
Place of death