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NBA legend Chris Mullin talks collecting, Knicks, Mets and his NYC heroes
Brooklyn-born Chris Mullin was a catholic high school basketball phenom and playground legend on the iconic courts of New York City.
For college, Mullin didn't go far from home, attending Saint John’s University, where he led the Red Storm back to national prominence. The silky-smooth lefty was the only player in history named Big East Player of the Year three times. Mullin capped his college career by winning the 1985 Wooden Award as the nation’s top player while leading Saint John’s to the Final Four.
Selected seventh overall in 1985 by the Golden State Warriors, Mullin became one of the top scorers of the era, averaging more than 25 points for five consecutive seasons.
Mullin was part of the iconic Run TMC trio in Golden State, joining Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond as the most prolific scoring trio in the league.
Mullin was a five-time All-Star and a member of the legendary 1992 Dream Team, capturing his second Olympic gold medal. He was inducted into both the College Basketball Hall of Fame and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and coached St. John’s, his alma mater, from 2015-19.
In this exclusive interview with Sports Collectors Digest, Mullin discusses his basketball influences, collecting habits and never-ending love of the sport.
What is the first experience you remember being approached for your autograph?
I remember in college there was a break between the western championship and the Final Four. We had a little sendoff from New York down to Lexington [Ky.] for the Final Four. There was a big party. This was 1985, they had the college players available for autographs, which, at that point in time, seemed kind of strange. The turnout was amazing. From that point on it has been pretty consistent.
What have your experiences been like with fans over the years?
I have had mostly good experiences. The cool part is, even at this point in my life, when someone comes up and it was a game they were at or they offer a story about the item they want autographed, those things are cool.
I’ve seen you interact with fans. You are very generous with your time, very personable and those that meet you leave with an incredibly positive experience. How important is that autograph experience for you?
It’s important. It’s part of the responsibility. It’s important to have good rapport and respect both ways. As far as the autograph itself, I went to 16 years of catholic school. One of the most important things was your handwriting. That was emphasized. Some things are tougher to autograph than others. It’s not always good but if I have the right surface I can sign it legibly.
You grew up in Brooklyn as a big fan of the local teams and players. What players inspired you most?
Absolutely. When I was growing up the Knicks were a great team. They were coached by Red Holzman and they had incredible players like Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and Phil Jackson. They won championships when I was growing up. That was the team that was closest to me and the team I felt closest to. Walt Frazier was my favorite player. That was my guy growing up.
Mostly in the ’70s, it was the Celtics, Knicks and Lakers. Those were the only teams you saw on TV. I was watching the Celtics a lot. When I was in grade school, my coach told me to watch John Havlicek. He was the perfect player for me to watch and emulate. He became a big idol of mine. I watched him throughout my career and tried to emulate him. I loved Pistol Pete. I was a big fan of a lot of different players. I loved the ABA back in the day. I loved Dr. J and George Gervin pre-merger. I loved the red, white and blue basketball, to this day I still love it.
Once you became an established pro, did your inspiration shift to teammates, opponents and contemporaries?
When I got to high school, and even through my college years, the two players I looked up to were Magic and Larry Bird. They set the standard when they played the NCAA Final in 1979. They had a huge impact not only on the way the NBA changed but their style of play and the fact that passing was the biggest part of their games and including their teammates and being unselfish. Magic and Larry had a huge impact on my generation and me in particular because of the way they played and the skill set they displayed on the court. Those two, from high school and college, were the guys I watched most.
Did you collect sports cards as a kid?
Yeah, baseball cards were our thing in my neighborhood. We used to flip them. You had to match the colors. There were different shades of color. I still have a pretty huge collection of baseball cards. We would run up to the corner store and buy a pack of cards when we could. We would collect the sticks of gum, too. We used to line those long sticks of gum up with the cards. We used to carry them around all the time and flip them in the street. We did it in the school yard before class. We did it at lunch time. That was a big hobby for us. Basketball cards weren’t as popular back then. It was definitely baseball cards.
Who were your favorite baseball players back in the day?
Fortunately, the Mets were good back then, too. The Mets won the championship in 1969 and 1973. The Mets were my team and are still my team. Deep down I am a fan of the Mets. Gil Hodges lived in my neighborhood, not that I knew him, but we felt a connection to the Mets. Watching those Mets teams with Tom Seaver, those were some great, great teams. That was my squad.
Your rookie card came in the iconic 1986-87 Fleer set. Do you remember seeing yourself on a card for the first time?
Yeah, I remember the card you are talking about. For me, it was different because I grew up equating sports cards to baseball. When the basketball cards started coming out, my feeling was, will this ever catch on? It has to start somewhere. Obviously, they have more than caught on. It grew with the popularity of the NBA. The card game has grown with the game itself. When you are blessed to play a sport for a living and when you can have your hobby make money for you and you enjoy it and you can pass it on to your kids, it’s a cool circle of life.
We spent time together late last year when there was a RUN TMC reunion of sorts with Flex NBA at The National in Atlantic City. How special was it for the band to be back together and the reaction from fans at the event?
It’s cool to see that relationships can endure over time. Mitch and Tim are two of my best friends. We played together over 30 years ago and yet we are still really close. Our families are really close. That is the other side of sports that brings people together. It goes beyond winning and losing and scoring points. The things you do on the court bring you together as friends and family. That is a blessing in itself.
The 1980s and ’90s were the golden era of professional basketball. Do you feel that energy and excitement from people you meet?
We bumped into Dave Winfield, who is one of my idols. I was similar to you, like, there goes Dave Winfield! We feel the same way, we look up to other athletes, entertainers and people in other industries. We know exactly what that feeling is like. Just sharing your time means a lot, not just in a memorabilia or collecting standpoint, but just in general. With technology now sometimes we forget giving someone a smile or eye contact is not a bad thing. It may be outdated but it’s not a bad thing, being old school and actually saying hello to someone.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports and has written about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett and Sports Collectors Daily. He works full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania and collects RCs of star players in baseball, basketball and football. If you want to talk about the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @reidrattlecage on all social media platforms.
