“Draymond is like me,” Hardaway said. “I’m the voice. I’m the s— starter that gets us going. Chris and Mitch are like Steph and Klay. … They just go out there and don’t say nothing. Just go out there and do the job.”
Chris Mullin Rumors
Ira Winderman: Tim Hardaway takes the podium for his Hall of Fame press conference with a simple, “Wassup?” Reiterates he was fearful of a sixth rejection as a Hall finalist. Said among his first calls was to Run TMC partners and Hall presenters Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS legends Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond had an important announcement to make to the Chase Center crowd during the Warriors’ April 7 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. “Dub Nation, we received great news last weekend,” Mullin said. “Warrior legend Tim Hardaway is a Hall of Fame member for the Class of 2022.” Hardaway, who was sitting courtside, stood and waved as he got a standing ovation.
It was a long time coming for Hardaway, who missed the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame vote five times. All of those missed opportunities almost kept him from answering his phone when he saw the Hall calling the week before. He didn’t want to hear the words, “I’m sorry, you didn’t get enough votes,” again. But this time, he got better news. Hardaway, Mullin and Richmond — the core of the Warriors’ famous Run TMC era that spanned from 1989 to 1991 — would be reunited in the Hall of Fame.
“Still, every time it goes through my mind I get choked up,” Hardaway told ESPN. “We are a family. We’ve always been a family. … We cherish this. Words can’t describe how I feel for us three being in the Hall for something we did for just two years.”
While Mullin, Richmond and Hardaway might never know what could have been, they do know that those two seasons created a legacy that is still a fan favorite today. “We only played two seasons together,” Mullin told ESPN. “It’s unique, but for us, as we look back, it’s sad in a way. Things happen and we made the best of the time we had together. For myself, it was the most fun, uplifting, energetic time I played. We had so much promise. “So many years later, so many decades later when we get together, we always ponder, ‘What if?'”
The Grateful Dead even held a press conference with Walton (who was then an NBC broadcaster), Marciulionis (then with the Kings), Nelson (then a Suns assistant), and Warriors forward Chris Mullin to promote the sales. Their 1996 design, still in the iconic tie-dye, had no skeleton but did have the Grateful Dead 13-point lightning bolt imprinted on a basketball. Additionally, with a close examination, the net resembled the “Steal Your Face” skull. This design was by Wayne Swarthout and Bob Sauer. “I think it’s genius,” said McNally, who believes that if you asked a graphic artist to combine the Grateful Dead and basketball, that would be exactly what they would come up with. “I thought that was a beautiful design.”
