![]() I had three great coaches – UTEP’s Don Haskins, Golden State’s Don Nelson and Miami’s Pat Riley. My six years in Miami were great too, though I have to mention those too. We only had a year and a half or two years, whatever it was, so it was very, very short. We just weren’t together long enough our stint was very, very short. It wasn’t just the games even when we were playing in practice or just hanging out around each other, we had so much fun. We weren’t together for a long period of time, but while we were together, we had a lot of fun. TH: Those Run TMC days with Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin were a lot of fun. Was there a particular time in your career that was the most fun? They had great handles, got to the rim and made plays for their teams. They were some pioneers who played the game the right way too. I can name a couple of guys, like Rod Strickland and Kevin Johnson. ![]() I will say that there are a lot of guys who are underrated who don’t get talked about enough. I’ll let you all say if I’m underrated or overrated or this or that. I had a lot of fun because I love the game of basketball. I gave my team confidence and put my team in position to win each and every night. The way I look at, I came in and played the way I was supposed to play. I let you all look at that and talk about that. TH: You know what, I don’t look at it or think about it. You’re obviously respected, but given what you accomplished throughout the course of your career, do you ever feel underrated? I’ve had players come up to say, “You were one of the greats,” or, “You had handle on that ball that was ridiculous and I tried to get my handle like yours.” I always appreciate it and it’s great to hear those guys say that kind of stuff about me. It’s very special to hear from these guys who are taking the game to another level – guys like Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, James Harden, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and John Wall. TH: Yeah, some players will say something when they see me. What does it mean to you to have influenced this next generation, and do players often talk to you about how impacted them? ![]() I’ve talked to players who mentioned that they studied your handles. Like I said, that just exerts too much energy. But it’s still cool to shake someone one time and then get right to the rim! You don’t need to shake a guy multiple times on one possession. Instead of making the play and then going straight to the rim, they’re thinking of. Kyrie Irving plays with it a little too much. James Harden plays with it a little bit too much. Just take care of business right then and there – shake the guy and get to the basket. When you start doing too many moves on one particular play, on one particular possession, you’re exerting yourself too much. That’s the way I was taught: Do one move that shakes the guy and then go make a play at the basket. He’s going to do one move and go right by you. When I say he doesn’t exaggerate it, what I mean is he doesn’t shake somebody and then try re-shake them – he just goes right by you. (Laughs) He doesn’t exaggerate it either. ![]() Tim Hardaway: If I had to pick somebody right now, I’d pick Kemba Walker. When you look at today’s players, who do you feel is the best ballhandler in the league? You were such a fun player to watch and you’re known for your excellent ballhandling skills. HoopsHype caught up with Hardaway to discuss his playing days, the best ballhandlers in the NBA today, his stint as a coach, why he hasn’t been inducted into the Hall of Fame, Dream Dribble, the joy of seeing his son Tim Hardaway Jr. follow in his NBA footsteps and more. Most recently, he partnered with Dream Dribble, which has a product that allows players to silence their indoor dribbling and improve their ballhandling. Since retiring, Hardaway served as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons. He’s currently a Hall of Fame finalist who won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2000 and, over the course of his 13-year NBA career, totaled 15,373 points and 7,095 assists (which ranks 16th all-time in NBA history). 10 is retired by both the Miami Heat and UTEP. Tim Hardaway was a five-time All-NBA selection and five-time All-Star whose No.
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