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I mostly remember Mookie from his Atlanta Hawks days, where he was a pretty good (not great) PG (almost Tony Allen-eque, valuable but not someone you build around).
http://www.si.com/nba/2015/03/05/moo...l-frank-murphy
Couple highlights:
"The answer to a music history trivia question: An ascending Seattle grunge band needed a name before going on tour as the opening act for Alice in Chains. During rehearsal lunch breaks they would buy basketball cards, and one day they got a chuckle out of the cute, melodic name: Mookie Blaylock. They were basketball fans and they liked Blaylock’s unselfish, fundamental style, so they took the name “Mookie Blaylock” and went on tour. Soon after, they changed their name to “Pearl Jam,” but they named their first album Ten in homage to Blaylock’s jersey number."
"Since 1995, Blaylock had been arrested seven times for DUI, including six times since 2007. On a stop in April of 2010, his blood alcohol content was .360, according to police reports—four-and-a-half times the legal limit—and when he stepped out of his car, he left it in neutral so that it almost rolled backward into the police car. In November 2012, he blew a .272. His March 2013 arrest occurred after he hit another car in a grocery store parking lot, got out of his car and staggered around for a bit, then climbed back in the driver’s seat and tried to flee the scene, according to police reports."
"His headiness as a player was all the more remarkable considering that he was stoned a large part of the time. “He was one of the few NBA players who could smoke marijuana and play the best 48 minutes you’ve ever seen,” said Danny Solomon, a former Hawks ballboy who is still one of Blaylock’s best friends. “And he was doing it for so long that it took a lot to have an effect.”"
"Indeed, aside from a small handful of scattered incidents, Blaylock was a low-maintenance player and a good teammate. Lenny Wilkens, Blaylock’s longtime head coach with the Hawks, once sat Blaylock down for a concerned lecture after his 1995 arrest for DUI, carrying an open alcohol container, and marijuana possession. But overall, said Wilkens, Blaylock “was serious about his play. He was always on time, and he was receptive to coaching. I enjoyed coaching him.”"
"Jon Koncak, a former Hawks teammate, recognized this quality in Blaylock during their playing days. Koncak, like most of his former teammates, was fond of Blaylock overall. The two played golf together at a club Koncak belonged to. But afterward, on two occasions, Koncack noticed charges on his account that he didn’t recognize.
“To just show up and play, and not say a word, and not say, ‘Thanks,’ I just remember being stunned. That told me he didn’t quite get life in the real world,” said Koncak. “When [news of the accident] came out, I thought back on that, because it did give insight into what happened. You can draw a correlation.”"
http://www.si.com/nba/2015/03/05/moo...l-frank-murphy
Couple highlights:
"The answer to a music history trivia question: An ascending Seattle grunge band needed a name before going on tour as the opening act for Alice in Chains. During rehearsal lunch breaks they would buy basketball cards, and one day they got a chuckle out of the cute, melodic name: Mookie Blaylock. They were basketball fans and they liked Blaylock’s unselfish, fundamental style, so they took the name “Mookie Blaylock” and went on tour. Soon after, they changed their name to “Pearl Jam,” but they named their first album Ten in homage to Blaylock’s jersey number."
"Since 1995, Blaylock had been arrested seven times for DUI, including six times since 2007. On a stop in April of 2010, his blood alcohol content was .360, according to police reports—four-and-a-half times the legal limit—and when he stepped out of his car, he left it in neutral so that it almost rolled backward into the police car. In November 2012, he blew a .272. His March 2013 arrest occurred after he hit another car in a grocery store parking lot, got out of his car and staggered around for a bit, then climbed back in the driver’s seat and tried to flee the scene, according to police reports."
"His headiness as a player was all the more remarkable considering that he was stoned a large part of the time. “He was one of the few NBA players who could smoke marijuana and play the best 48 minutes you’ve ever seen,” said Danny Solomon, a former Hawks ballboy who is still one of Blaylock’s best friends. “And he was doing it for so long that it took a lot to have an effect.”"
"Indeed, aside from a small handful of scattered incidents, Blaylock was a low-maintenance player and a good teammate. Lenny Wilkens, Blaylock’s longtime head coach with the Hawks, once sat Blaylock down for a concerned lecture after his 1995 arrest for DUI, carrying an open alcohol container, and marijuana possession. But overall, said Wilkens, Blaylock “was serious about his play. He was always on time, and he was receptive to coaching. I enjoyed coaching him.”"
"Jon Koncak, a former Hawks teammate, recognized this quality in Blaylock during their playing days. Koncak, like most of his former teammates, was fond of Blaylock overall. The two played golf together at a club Koncak belonged to. But afterward, on two occasions, Koncack noticed charges on his account that he didn’t recognize.
“To just show up and play, and not say a word, and not say, ‘Thanks,’ I just remember being stunned. That told me he didn’t quite get life in the real world,” said Koncak. “When [news of the accident] came out, I thought back on that, because it did give insight into what happened. You can draw a correlation.”"
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