Mookie Blaylock

Last updated

Mookie Blaylock
Personal information
Born (1967-03-20) March 20, 1967 (age 57)
Garland, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school Garland (Garland, Texas)
College
NBA draft 1989: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the New Jersey Nets
Playing career1989–2002
Position Point guard
Number10
Career history
1989–1992 New Jersey Nets
1992–1999 Atlanta Hawks
1999–2002 Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 11,962 (13.5 ppg)
Assists 5,972 (6.7 apg)
Steals 2,075 (2.3 spg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock (born March 20, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and the Golden State Warriors.

Contents

College career

A 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) push-and-pass point guard, Blaylock was rated among the best defensive stoppers in the game. The former Garland High School, Midland College (where he earned NJCAA All American honors in 1987 [1] ), and University of Oklahoma star is most highly regarded for his quick hands and a ball hawking defensive style that produced more than 200 steals in a season five times and two NBA All-Defensive first-team selections. He was also a capable outside shooter, a fine passer who generally ranked among the league's assist leaders, and a durable instigator of the fast break. In 1988, he helped to lead the Sooners to the NCAA title game.

Professional career

"Mookie" (#10) playing for the New Jersey Nets, being guarded by Michael Jordan on the court with players Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Chris Dudley, Chris Morris and others Chicago Bulls - New Jersey Nets match on March 28, 1991.jpg
"Mookie" (#10) playing for the New Jersey Nets, being guarded by Michael Jordan on the court with players Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Chris Dudley, Chris Morris and others

Blaylock was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 12th overall pick of the 1989 NBA draft and settled quickly into Nets' rotation. He was traded with Roy Hinson to the Atlanta Hawks prior to the 1992–93 season for Rumeal Robinson, where he flourished under newly signed coach Lenny Wilkens. He spent seven years with the Hawks, leading them in career three-point field goals (made and attempted) and career steals. He was also selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. He was traded to the Golden State Warriors in a deal that brought Bimbo Coles, Duane Ferrell, and the 1999 10th overall draft pick, Jason Terry, to Atlanta, and finished off his career playing as a reserve for the Warriors.

NBA achievements

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
 * Led the league

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1989–90 New Jersey 501725.3.371.225.7782.84.21.60.310.1
1990–91 New Jersey 727035.9.416.154.7903.56.12.30.614.1
1991–92 New Jersey 726735.4.432.222.7123.76.82.40.613.8
1992–93 Atlanta 807835.3.429.375.7283.58.42.50.313.4
1993–94 Atlanta 818136.0.411.334.7305.29.72.60.513.8
1994–95 Atlanta 808038.4.425.359.7294.97.72.50.317.2
1995–96 Atlanta 818135.7.405.371.7474.15.92.60.215.7
1996–97 Atlanta 787839.2.432.366.7535.35.92.7*0.317.4
1997–98 Atlanta 706938.6.392.269.7094.96.72.6*0.313.2
1998–99 Atlanta 484836.7.379.307.7584.75.82.10.213.3
1999–00 Golden State 737233.7.391.336.7053.76.72.00.311.3
2000–01 Golden State 695934.1.396.324.6973.96.72.40.311.0
2001–02 Golden State 35017.1.342.357.5001.53.30.70.13.4
Career88980034.9.409.336.7364.16.72.30.313.5
All-Star1016.0.400.500—1.02.02.0—5.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1992 New Jersey 4437.0.309.167.7504.07.83.80.59.5
1993 Atlanta 3333.0.360.333.8334.34.31.01.39.0
1994 Atlanta 111137.7.340.344.8335.08.92.20.513.0
1995 Atlanta 3340.3.367.393.6364.35.71.30.018.0
1996 Atlanta 101042.6.421.393.6674.36.42.20.817.1
1997 Atlanta 101044.1.396.329.6677.06.52.10.216.4
1998 Atlanta 4438.3.415.296.5835.08.32.30.314.8
1999 Atlanta 9939.8.326.353.4674.04.02.00.212.6
Career545440.0.370.350.6834.96.62.10.414.2

As fans of the basketball player, the band members of Pearl Jam originally named their group "Mookie Blaylock", but they were forced to change the name. They settled on naming their debut album Ten after Blaylock's jersey number. [2] [3] [4]

In Tom Robbins's 1994 novel Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas , character Larry Diamond uses the name "Mookie Blaylock" as a pseudonym for hotel stays. [5]

In the Homestar Runner cartoon "Kick-A-Ball", the Umpire tells the Announcer that Mookie Blaylock gave him the ball featured in the cartoon, a reference to a similar scene in an earlier cartoon about Mookie Wilson.

Personal life

In 2011, two of Blaylock's sons, twins Daron and Zack, committed to play football for the University of Kentucky. [6] The sons are graduates of Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. [6] His youngest son, Dominick, is also a graduate of Walton High School, and plays football for Georgia Tech, having transferred after previously playing for the University of Georgia. [7] Mookie Betts, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was named after Blaylock. Blaylock resides in Zebulon, Georgia. [8]

During the afternoon of May 31, 2013, Blaylock was involved in a head-on collision in Clayton County, Georgia. He was initially placed on life support, [9] but his condition later improved. [8] Blaylock's vehicle traveled left-of-center, causing the accident. A family member stated he had a history of seizures, and although it was unknown if Blaylock was experiencing any symptoms at the time of the collision, [8] he was under doctor's orders to not drive due to the seizures. [10] Blaylock had a history of alcohol abuse, and it was determined he suffered a seizure due to alcohol withdrawal. [10] Although initially surviving the crash, a passenger in the other vehicle, Monica Murphy, a mother of five, died as a result of injuries from the collision. [8] [9] Blaylock was charged with vehicular homicide, [11] driving on a suspended license and failing to stay in his lane. [12] Blaylock had an outstanding warrant in Spalding County, Georgia on charges of DUI and drug-related offenses at the time, but "investigators did not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash." [8] However, Blaylock had a history of DUIs, at least seven of them. [10]

On October 27, 2014, Blaylock pleaded guilty to killing Murphy. Facing seven to 10 years at trial, [10] Blaylock accepted a plea bargain. [13] According to the plea, Blaylock served three years in prison and the fourth as a suspended sentence, followed by eight years of probation. [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Midland College NJCAA All Americans, 1987". midland.edu. Midland College. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ Stout, Gene (August 23, 2001). "Pearl Jam: 'Ten' plus ten". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  3. ↑ Slowikowski, Tim (June 24, 2003). "From Mookie Blaylock to Pearl Jam: The Matt Cameron Interview". PopMatters . Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ Simmons, Bill (April 21, 2006). "State of NBA, Love & Trust". Page 2 . ESPN.com . Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  5. ↑ Robbins, Tom (1995) [1994]. Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (2nd ed.). Bantam Books. p.  380. ISBN   0-553-37787-6.
  6. 1 2 Carvell, Michael (September 30, 2011). "Twin sons of ex-Atlanta Hawk Mookie Blaylock headed to Kentucky — for football". AJC Recruiting Blog. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Roster: Dominick Blaylock". georgiadogs.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Manasso, John (May 31, 2013). "Ex-NBA guard Mookie Blaylock critically injured in car crash". Fox Sports. NewsCorp. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Stevens, Alexis (May 31, 2013). "Former NBA star Mookie Blaylock critical, 1 killed after wreck". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Hanlon, Greg (March 4, 2015). "Mookie Blaylock's downward spiral and the family he dragged with him". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 8, 2021– via SI.com.
  11. ↑ "Mookie Blaylock charges upgraded". ESPN.go.com. Associated Press. June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  12. ↑ Glier, Ray (June 2, 2013). "Mookie Blaylock faces at least 2 charges in fatal crash". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  13. ↑ Visser, Steve (October 28, 2014). "Former Hawk Blaylock gets 15 years in fatal crash". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Mookie Blaylock sentenced in fatality". ESPN.com. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
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