Rick Mahorn

Last updated
Rick Mahorn
Rick Mahorn.jpg
Mahorn in 2007
Personal information
Born (1958-09-21) September 21, 1958 (age 65)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolWeaver (Hartford, Connecticut)
College Hampton (1976–1980)
NBA draft 1980: 2nd round, 35th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Playing career1980–1999
Position Power forward / center
Number44, 4
Coaching career1999–2009
Career history
As player:
1980–1985 Washington Bullets
1985–1989 Detroit Pistons
1989–1991 Philadelphia 76ers
1991–1992 Virtus Roma
1992–1996 New Jersey Nets
1996–1998 Detroit Pistons
1999 Philadelphia 76ers
As coach:
1999–2000 Rockford Lightning
2000–2002 Atlanta Hawks (assistant)
2005–2009 Detroit Shock (assistant)
2009 Detroit Shock (interim)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

Career statistics
Points 7,763 (6.9 ppg)
Rebounds 6,957 (6.2 rpg)
Blocks 1,007 (0.9 bpg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Derrick Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a radio analyst for the Detroit Pistons, [1] works as a co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio, and during the summer is the head coach of the Aliens of the BIG3.

Contents

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.

College career

Mahorn played college basketball at Hampton University. He was a three-time NAIA All-American and owned 18 school records. He scored 2,418 points while playing for the Pirates, averaging 20.3 points per game. [2]

Playing career

The turning point of Mahorn's career was perhaps when he was traded by the Washington 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. [3]

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 manager Jack 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". [4] After two seasons, Mahorn signed a two-year contract with Il Messaggero Roma of the Italian Serie A in 1991. [5] 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. [6] In November, he returned to the NBA and signed with the New Jersey Nets. [7] 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). [8]

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. [9]

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. [10]

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
 † Won an NBA championship

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1980–81 Washington 52013.4.507.000.6754.10.50.4.84.8
1981–82 Washington 808033.3.507.000.6328.81.90.71.712.2
1982–83 Washington 828236.9.490.000.5759.51.41.01.811.0
1983–84 Washington 828232.9.507.000.6519.01.60.81.59.0
1984–85 Washington 776326.9.499.000.6537.91.60.81.46.3
1985–86 Detroit 801218.0.455.000.6815.20.80.5.84.9
1986–87 Detroit 63620.3.477.000.8216.00.60.5.86.1
1987–88 Detroit 676429.3.574.500.7568.40.90.6.610.7
1988–89† Detroit 726124.9.517.000.7486.90.80.6.97.3
1989–90 Philadelphia 756630.3.497.222.7157.61.30.61.410.8
1990–91 Philadelphia 807430.5.467.000.7887.81.51.0.78.9
1992–93 New Jersey 74914.6.472.333.8003.80.40.3.43.9
1993–94 New Jersey 2808.1.489.000.6501.90.20.1.22.1
1994–95 New Jersey 58710.9.523.333.7962.80.40.2.23.4
1995–96 New Jersey 5009.0.352.000.7232.20.30.3.32.4
1996–97 Detroit 2279.9.370.000.7272.40.30.2.12.5
1997–98 Detroit 59012.0.457.000.6763.30.30.2.12.4
1998–99 Philadelphia 1607.9.278.000.3751.40.10.3.10.8
Career111761323.1.493.132.7046.21.00.6.96.9

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1982 Washington 7734.6.438.000.7148.71.91.4.710.6
1984 Washington 4438.5.600.000.80010.81.50.31.59.5
1985 Washington 4110.3.500.0001.0001.80.00.0.83.0
1986 Detroit 4015.3.385.0001.0003.00.00.3.03.0
1987 Detroit 151532.2.541.000.8009.50.30.4.79.7
1988 Detroit 232117.8.344.000.6843.90.60.2.43.3
1989† Detroit 171721.2.580.000.6545.10.40.5.85.7
1990 Philadelphia 101034.2.430.000.7697.01.00.7.89.4
1991 Philadelphia 8826.0.556.000.7865.31.80.3.56.4
1993 New Jersey 4215.8.400.000.0003.30.80.0.52.0
1994 New Jersey 306.3.000.000.0001.30.00.0.30.0
1997 Detroit 219.0.000.000.0000.50.00.0.00.0
1999 Philadelphia 505.8.333.000.5001.60.20.2.01.6
Career1068622.9.427.000.7505.50.70.4.65.8

Personal life

Mahorn played himself in a 2017 episode of Detroiters titled "Quick Rick Mahorn of Dearborn." [11]

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ Pistons Announcers
  2. ↑ "Derrick "Rick" Mahorn (2009) - Hampton Athletics Hall of Fame - Hampton University Athletics". hamptonpirates.com. Hampton University . Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  3. ↑ Rick Mahorn bio- BIG3.com
  4. ↑ Keith Groller (6 November 1990). "Dawkins, Hawkins pushing all right buttons". The Morning Call . p. C3. Retrieved 29 May 2023– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. ↑ Mitch Albom (10 March 1992). "Rickey's Roman holiday". Detroit Free Press . pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved 29 May 2023– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. ↑ Corky Meinecke (13 October 1992). "Mahorn sprung before spring?". Detroit Free Press . p. 4C. Retrieved 29 May 2023– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. ↑ Howard Blatt (10 November 1992). "A bang-up job! Mahorn a Net". New York Daily News . p. 70. Retrieved 29 May 2023– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. ↑ BIG 3 signs NBA legends Drexler, Barry, and Mahorn as coaches - PR Newswire.com
  9. ↑ Arritt, Dan. "Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie suspended after WNBA fight". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 2008.
  10. ↑ Former NBA players Harrington, Martin win inaugural BIG 3 title - CBS Sports.com
  11. ↑ Hinds, Julie. "Why Comedy Central's 'Detroiters' had a winning season". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
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