Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock (born March 20, 1967) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He spent 13 years in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, and the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

College career

A push-and-pass

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

, Blaylock was rated among the best defensive stoppers in the game. The former

Garland High School Garland High School is a high school located in Garland, Texas, which serves grades 9-12. It is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school is a member of the AP program, the IB program, and is known for its football team, ...

, Midland College (where he earned NJCAA All American honors in 1987), and

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

star is most highly regarded for his quick hands and a ball hawking defensive style that produced more than 200 steals in a season five times and two NBA All-Defensive first-team selections. He was also a capable outside shooter, a fine passer who generally ranked among the league's assist leaders, and a durable instigator of the fast break. In 1988, he helped to lead the Sooners to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

title game.

Professional career

Chicago Bulls - New Jersey Nets match on March 28, 1991

Blaylock was selected by the

with the 12th overall pick of the 1989 NBA draft and settled quickly into Nets' rotation. He was traded with Roy Hinson to the

prior to the 1992–93 season for

Rumeal Robinson Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to play point guard for the ...

, where he flourished under newly signed coach

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as ...

. He spent seven years with the Hawks, leading them in career three-point field goals (made and attempted) and career steals. He was also selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. He was traded to the

in a deal that brought Bimbo Coles, Duane Ferrell, and the 1999 10th overall draft pick, Jason Terry, to Atlanta, and finished off his career playing as a reserve for the Warriors.

NBA achievements

* Led the NBA in steals two years in a row (1996–97 and 1997–98), joining

Alvin Robertson Alvin Cyrrale Robertson (born July 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 1993, and for one final season in 1995–96. Robertson holds the record for th ...

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iv ...

, and

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

as the only players to achieve that feat. * Led the NBA in three-point attempts and finished second in three-pointers made in the 1996–97 season. * Is the Atlanta Hawks' all-time franchise leader in three-point field goals made (1,050), three-point field goal attempts (3,023), and steals (1,321). * Set the Atlanta Hawks' single-season franchise records for three-pointers made (231) and attempted (623) in 1995–96.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, 50 , , 17 , , 25.3 , , .371 , , .225 , , .778 , , 2.8 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 70 , , 35.9 , , .416 , , .154 , , .790 , , 3.5 , , 6.1 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 67 , , 35.4 , , .432 , , .222 , , .712 , , 3.7 , , 6.8 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, 80 , , 78 , , 35.3 , , .429 , , .375 , , .728 , , 3.5 , , 8.4 , , 2.5 , , 0.3 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 36.0 , , .411 , , .334 , , .730 , , 5.2 , , 9.7 , , 2.6 , , 0.5 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 38.4 , , .425 , , .359 , , .729 , , 4.9 , , 7.7 , , 2.5 , , 0.3 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 35.7 , , .405 , , .371 , , .747 , , 4.1 , , 5.9 , , 2.6 , , 0.2 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 39.2 , , .432 , , .366 , , .753 , , 5.3 , , 5.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.7* , , 0.3 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 69 , , 38.6 , , .392 , , .269 , , .709 , , 4.9 , , 6.7 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.6* , , 0.3 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 48 , , 36.7 , , .379 , , .307 , , .758 , , 4.7 , , 5.8 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 73 , , 72 , , 33.7 , , .391 , , .336 , , .705 , , 3.7 , , 6.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 69 , , 59 , , 34.1 , , .396 , , .324 , , .697 , , 3.9 , , 6.7 , , 2.4 , , 0.3 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 35 , , 0 , , 17.1 , , .342 , , .357 , , .500 , , 1.5 , , 3.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 889 , , 800 , , 34.9 , , .409 , , .336 , , .736 , , 4.1 , , 6.7 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 13.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .400 , , .500 , , — , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , — , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 4, , 37.0, , .309, , .167, , .750, , 4.0, , 7.8, , 3.8, , 0.5, , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 33.0, , .360, , .333, , .833, , 4.3, , 4.3, , 1.0, , 1.3, , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11, , 11, , 37.7, , .340, , .344, , .833, , 5.0, , 8.9, , 2.2, , 0.5, , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 40.3, , .367, , .393, , .636, , 4.3, , 5.7, , 1.3, , 0.0, , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 42.6, , .421, , .393, , .667, , 4.3, , 6.4, , 2.2, , 0.8, , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 44.1, , .396, , .329, , .667, , 7.0, , 6.5, , 2.1, , 0.2, , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 4, , 38.3, , .415, , .296, , .583, , 5.0, , 8.3, , 2.3, , 0.3, , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9, , 9, , 39.8, , .326, , .353, , .467, , 4.0, , 4.0, , 2.0, , 0.2, , 12.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 54 , , 54 , , 40.0 , , .370 , , .350 , , .683 , , 4.9 , , 6.6 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 14.2

In popular culture

As fans of the basketball player, the band members of

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, g ...

originally named their group "Mookie Blaylock", but they were forced to change the name. They settled on naming their debut album '' Ten'' after Blaylock's jersey number. In

Tom Robbins Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1932) is a best-selling and prolific American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy drama"), such as ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues''. Tom Robbins has lived in La Conner ...

's 1994 novel ''

Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas ''Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas'' is a 1994 novel by Tom Robbins, published by Bantam Books. Overview Like Robbins' other books, the plot involves an eclectic mix of characters and complicated scenarios, and mixes the mundane with the mysterious, ...

'', character Larry Diamond uses the name "Mookie Blaylock" as a pseudonym for hotel stays. In the '' Homestar Runner'' cartoon "Kick-A-Ball", the Umpire tells the Announcer that Mookie Blaylock gave him the ball featured in the cartoon, a reference to a similar scene in an earlier cartoon about

Mookie Wilson William Hayward "Mookie" Wilson (born February 9, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and coach remembered as the Met who hit the ground ball that rolled through Bill Buckner's legs in the bottom of the 10th inning of g ...

Personal life

In 2011, two of Blaylock's sons, twins Daron and Zack, committed to play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. The sons are graduates of Walton High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. His youngest son, Dominick, is also a graduate of Walton High School, and plays football for the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Mookie Betts Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, while with the Red Sox, he became ...

, an outfielder for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

was named after Blaylock. Blaylock resides in

Zebulon, Georgia Zebulon is a city in Pike County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,174 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Pike County. The city and county were named after explorer Zebulon Pike. History Zebulon was incorporated in 182 ...

. During the afternoon of May 31, 2013, Blaylock was involved in a head-on collision in

Clayton County, Georgia Clayton County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2021, the population was estimated to be 297,100 by the Census Bureau. The county seat is Jonesboro. Clayton County is included in the Atlanta metr ...

. He was initially placed on

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

, but his condition later improved. Blaylock's vehicle traveled left-of-center, causing the accident. A family member stated he had a history of

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...

s, and although it was unknown if Blaylock was experiencing any symptoms at the time of the collision, he was under doctor's orders to not drive due to the seizures. Blaylock had a history of alcohol abuse, and it was determined he suffered a seizure due to alcohol withdrawal. Although initially surviving the crash, a passenger in the other vehicle, Monica Murphy, a mother of five, died as a result of injuries from the collision. Blaylock was charged with vehicular homicide, driving on a suspended license and failing to stay in his lane. Blaylock had an outstanding warrant in

Spalding County, Georgia Spalding County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,306. The county seat is Griffin. The county was created December 20, 1851 and named for former United St ...

on charges of

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

and drug-related offenses at the time, but "investigators did not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash." However, Blaylock had a history of DUIs; at least seven of them. On October 27, 2014, Blaylock pleaded guilty to killing Murphy. Facing seven to ten years at trial, Blaylock accepted a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

. According to the plea, Blaylock served three years in prison and the fourth as a suspended sentence, followed by eight years of probation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaylock, Mookie 1967 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American criminals African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American male criminals American men's basketball players American people convicted of manslaughter American sportspeople convicted of crimes Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Texas Garland High School alumni Golden State Warriors players Midland Chaps basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players People from Garland, Texas Point guards People from Zebulon, Georgia Prisoners and detainees of Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex

College career

Professional career

NBA achievements

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

In popular culture

Personal life

See also

References

External links