Mullin, Christopher P.
Basketball
b. July 30, 1963, New York, NY
The quintessential "gym rat," Mullin spent much of his boyhood practicing shooting and playing pickup games in gyms and on playgrounds. He grew into a 6-foot-7, 220-pounder who could make 3-point shots from NBA range.
At St. John's University, Mullin set school records with 2,440 points, 211 steals, and an .848 free throw percentage. He was a consensus All-American in 1984-85, when he won the Wooden Award as the top college player of the year, and he was also voted player of the year by UPI and the U. S. Basketball Writers Association. As a college junior, he starred on the 1984 gold medal Olympic team.
He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the seventh overall pick in the 1985 draft. After holding out for a better contract, Mullin finally signed, played 24 minutes that very day, and hit the game-winning shot with 15 seconds remaining.
Mullin, who wore No. 17 as a tribute to his boyhood hero, John Havlicek, was often compared to another Boston Celtic legend, Larry Bird, because of his all-around skills and his use of intelligence and basketball savvy to make up for his lack of foot speed and leaping ability. But the Warriors weren't a very good team and an unhappy Mullin didn't play up to his ability at first. He also had an alcohol, though he didn't know it or admit it until 1987, when Don Nelson became the team's coach. Nelson persuaded him that he needed treatment, and Mullin spent 48 days in a treatment facility.
He reached true NBA stardom in 1988-89, when he averaged 26.5 points, 5.9 reboounds, and 5.1 assists per game to make the All-NBA second team. That was the first of five consecutive seasons in which he averaged more than 25 points a game. He made the All-NBA first team in 1992, when he won his second gold medal as one of eleven NBA players chosen for the Olympic "dream team."
Injuries began to plague him during the 1992-93 season. A torn thumb ligament limited him to 46 games that season. He also missed considerable playing time in each of the next four seasons with various physical problems.
Healthy again in 1996-97, Mullin averaged only 14.5 points a game but had a field-goal percentage of .553 and also averaged 4.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.65 steals. That season, he became the 31st player in NBA history to log 15,000 points, 3,000 rebounds, and 3,000 assists.
Mullin was then traded to the Indiana Pacers, where Bird was coaching. He spent three seasons there, mainly as a role player. In 2001, he returned to the Warriors for his final season. After retiring, he became a special assistant in the team's front office and in April of 2004 he was named the Warriors' executive vice president of basketball operations.