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NBA great Tim Hardaway talks autographs, trading cards and Run TMC
Tim Hardaway was born in Chicago and starred on the hardwood at Carver Military Academy in the Windy City.
Hardaway took his talents south and played college ball at the University of Texas El Paso. The 6-0 point guard's stock continued to rise as he led UTEP to two NCAA Tournament berths in 1988 and 1989. In 1989, he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best college basketball player in the nation 6 feet tall or under.
El Paso was also the birthplace of Hardaway's famous UTEP 2 Step, a legendary move that continued to serve him well throughout his professional career.
The Golden State Warriors selected Hardaway as the 14th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft. The slashing, scoring and dishing point guard joined one of the most prolific scorers of the era in Mitch Richmond and legendarily shooter Chris Mullin to form RUN TMC, a word play on the classic rap group RUN DMC. The group became one of the most dynamic scoring trios in the NBA.
Hardaway was a three-time All Star with Golden State and was the second fastest player to reach 5,000 career points and 2,500 career assists behind only NBA great Oscar Robertson. His finest season with Golden State came in 1991-92 when he averaged a career-high 23.4 points and 10 assists.
After a trade to the Miami Heat in the middle of the 1995-96 season, Hardaway continued his stellar play, earning two more All-Star game appearances. The veteran guard was a key player on the late-90s Heat teams, going deep into the playoffs on numerous occasions.
After short stints in Dallas, Denver and Indiana, Hardaway retired after the 2003 NBA season.
The man who created the “Killer Crossover,” a superstar who was the face of Nike ad campaigns, on covers of video games and so much more, Hardaway's place in the game is secure. The five-time NBA All Star, 1997 All-NBA first team member and 2000 Olympic gold medalist was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
In this exclusive interview with Tony Reid, Hardaway talks about signing autographs, seeing his first cards, a RUN TMC reunion, his involvement with Flex NBA and much more.
Your very first card was released in 1989-90 while you were a star at UTEP. Your official NBA rookie cards appeared in 1990-91. Do you remember the first time you saw yourself on a card?
Yes, I saw myself on a card when I was in college at the University of Texas El Paso. It was like, ‘Wow, I’m on a card!’ I was making a move going up for a layup. This is cool! Somebody gave me one because they had an extra one. I still have it. I was really blown back by it to tell you the truth. Now they are making cards of me. It was cool.
You’ve been on over 2,200 different cards. Do you have a favorite card of yourself?
(Laughs) I will tell you this … I like them all. Every time I see one I think how cool it is. I see another one that I haven’t seen and that’s just as cool. I remember that. I remember when some of these first came out. Still looking good. I’ve seen most of them, but it’s always exciting when you see yourself on a card and doing something on a card and people are collecting you.
I spoke to Jerry Rice awhile back and people would bring him cards and pictures to sign and he said he could remember the play or moment on the photo, which is incredible. With football they have 16 games to a season. In basketball we have 82-plus games in a season. Some of those moves I remember but some of those moves I don’t remember. I would say I remember most of those moves and moments.
Being a new Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, a member of the iconic RUN TMC, the man known for the UTEP Two Step, the Killer Crossover and so much more, do you have an office or man cave where you have accolades from your career displayed?
No question. I have pictures of my time with the Golden State Warriors, with the Miami Heat, posters of both teams, RUN TMC, Pat Riley, myself and Zo [Alonzo Mourning) on Sports Illustrated. I have pictures of me and my son that came out in a magazine. I got the EA Sports box. I got all types of stuff.
To be on a video game cover is a new level of stardom and recognition. What was that experience like for you?
It was beautiful. Everywhere I went people had that box. They had the EA Sports box and they wanted me to sign their box. Wow. People would ask, ‘Can you sign my box?’ Yeah, of course! When somebody has a really special picture of me, I go out of my way to try to sign it.
Whether it was at Carver High, UTEP or later on, when was the first time you were asked for your autograph?
Yeah. I was at UTEP. It was probably my second year. Somebody said they wanted my autograph because it was going to be worth a lot of money down the line. I was like ‘OK. Cool. I don’t know what you are talking about but anyway.’ He got my autograph on a little picture he made. He asked if I could put ‘1986-87’ on it. I said sure. That was it. I saw the gentleman and his son had it. He asked if I remembered it. It was my very first autograph I signed.
Yet another iconic aspect of your time in the game and influence in the culture was your long line of great Nike kicks. From the Air Bakin, to the T-Bug Zooms to my personal favorite, the Air Raids, when you start having signature shoes and massive ad campaigns, we are talking about yet another amazing experience. What are your lasting memories form that aspect of your career?
That was beautiful. Growing up I watched Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas, they all had their signature shoe. Then when you get to the NBA and it’s time for you to have your own signature that you help develop, shape and make, it’s like going into the Hall of Fame or watching my son play in the NBA. That’s how it feels. I can’t explain it but that is how it feels. Damn, I made it. I got my own shoe. That’s some cool shit.
Flex NBA is a totally new, revolutionary game and app. How did you get involved with the Flex program?
It started when Mitch Richmond called us. He said he had something up, he had something for RUN TMC. It was called Flex. He said he had something that we would all benefit from. We talked to Daniel and he showed us some really cool stuff that you can do with the Flexagons and the cards. You can pop them up right where you are at. You can have us play and make a jump shot right in your room. It was so cool. I know this is the new wave and innovation of cards now. That’s the way they are going. Since we are still relevant, why not be the first trio to come out and be on Flexagons.
I had the honor of meeting you and Mitch and Chris in Atlantic City at The National at the Flex NBA dinner. What a special event for so many reasons. What was it like having the band back together?
Whenever we are together we have too much fun. We enjoy each other. We laugh, we joke, we talk about stuff that’s happening today and also about the stuff from when we played. We go on for hours. We enjoy each other to the fullest. Any chance that we can be together we are on it. I’ll be there. There is no hesitation. We cut out everything and we are going. We always want to be around each other.
If we are talking Flexagons or trading cards, what current NBA stars would you want to collect?
Ja Morant, Tim Hardaway, Jr., of course LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, John Wall, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, I could go on and on and on.
