Mahorn had a reputation for physical play, and was a member of the late 1980s Detroit Pistons teams known as "The Bad Boys", and with them won the 1989 NBA Championship. After his playing career, Mahorn would go on to be an assistant coach under Pistons teammate and head coach Bill Laimbeer with the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and was part of two WNBA Championship teams (2006, 2008). He would eventually become head coach of the Shock, and later became head coach of Trilogy of the BIG3, leading the team to the inaugural BIG3 Championship in 2017, making Mahorn the only one in history to have won a championship in the NBA, WNBA, and BIG3.
Mahorn was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the second round of the 1980 NBA draft. While on the Bullets, Mahorn and all-star teammate Jeff Ruland were dubbed the "Beef Brothers" for their physicality and tough play when paired together on the court.[3]
Mahorn's career is perhaps best known for the period after he was traded by the Bullets to the Detroit Pistons. He was unhappy with the trade initially and, as he claimed in a 2014 ESPN documentary, showed up to training camp overweight and out of shape. After teammate Bill Laimbeer took him aside and spoke with him about what he was brought there for, Mahorn acquiesced and became an integral part of the Pistons’ core. In 1989, Mahorn - dubbed by Piston announcer George Blaha the "Baddest Bad Boy of them all" - won his only NBA championship with the Pistons.[4]
Two days after the Pistons won the championship in 1989, the NBA held an expansion draft for its two newest franchises, the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves. League rules dictated that only eight players on each roster could be protected from being drafted by either team, and the Pistons elected not to extend that protection to Mahorn. As such, he was made the second pick in the expansion draft and the first to be taken by the Timberwolves; the Pistons were conducting their victory celebration in Detroit while the draft was happening and Mahorn was taken aside during the festivities, so he could be told. Pistons general managerJack McCloskey tried to reacquire Mahorn to no avail, and years later Mahorn was shown to still be bothered by what transpired as the story of the expansion draft brought him to tears during the 2014 ESPN film about the team.
Mahorn, as it turned out, would never play for Minnesota. After refusing to report to the Timberwolves, he ended up being traded instead to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he teamed with superstar Charles Barkley (despite previous rivalries with him) to form the top-rebounding duo of "Thump N' Bump".[5] After two seasons, Mahorn signed a two-year contract with Il Messaggero Roma of the Italian Serie A in 1991.[6] Teaming up with Dino Radja, Mahorn helped Roma win the 1992 FIBA Korać Cup. He started the 1992–1993 season with Roma but was kicked of the team in October after throwing a chair in a heated argument with head coach Paolo Di Fonzo.[7] In November, he returned to the NBA and signed with the New Jersey Nets.[8] He played with the Nets for four seasons, before returning to the Pistons in 1996–97 under coach Doug Collins. He retired after the 1999 season, after a second stint with the 76ers.
Coaching
WNBA
Mahorn then served as a color commentator for Pistons radio broadcasts, and as an assistant coach under former teammate Bill Laimbeer with the WNBA's Detroit Shock. Laimbeer and Mahorn led the Shock to two WNBA titles (2006, 2008).[9]
On July 22, 2008, at a Sparks-Shock game, Mahorn attempted to break up a brawl. When attempting to restrain Lisa Leslie, he put his left hand out and Leslie fell to the ground. Mahorn was suspended for two games.[10]
On June 15, 2009, he became the head coach of the Shock, a position he held until the franchise moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma after the season. Shortly afterward, Mahorn continued his work with Pistons radio, doing color commentary alongside Mark Champion.
BIG3
In 2017, Mahorn became head coach of Trilogy, the eventual champion of the BIG3 basketball league's inaugural season. His team's players included Al Harrington and Kenyon Martin.[11]
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