Not much was expected from Cuttino Mobley after he was selected in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft. But with no other reliable options at point guard, Mobley served as the Houston Rockets’ starter for the majority of his lockout-shortened rookie campaign. This iteration of the Rockets looked quite different from the roster that had won back-to-back NBA Championships just four years prior, but it was still a team stacked with veterans.
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Hakeem Olajuwon’s championship running mate, Clyde Drexler, was no longer with the franchise by the time Mobley was drafted. But the team had added two other future Hall of Famers in Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley, making for a unique locker room environment.
Mobley discussed the importance of young players having veterans to lead them through the early stages of their careers. Mobley believes that if he and Steve Francis had more veterans in the locker room after their first years, they could have been even better. He shared how important Vince Carter’s veteran help was with the Toronto Raptors before discussing his own star-studded locker room.
“Scottie bumped heads with Charles because Charles wasn’t dedicated no more in the game,” Mobley shared on Podcast P with Paul George. “But Charles was super smart, and he got away with the way he played because he was just so smart. He didn’t really focus on his body.”
Mobley then directed his attention to Olajuwon, who had been with the Rockets for over a decade by the time the former guard joined the squad. “Dream, was just, you know, done … It wasn’t where he was hustling for us so we can grow,” Mobley continued. “It wasn’t his fault. It was just what it is, right?”
The Rockets never reached the level of success that was expected with the three legends in tow. As a young player just trying to find his legs in the NBA, though, Mobley was taught distinct lessons for his own career from each of Barkley, Pippen, and Olajuwon.
“The crazy thing is, fellas, God loves me so much. Let me tell you why,” Mobley said before praising his former teammates. “You have Hakeem Olajuwon, you have Charles Barkley, you have Scottie Pippen.
“Hakeem showed you how to be a pro. Scottie showed you how to be a pro. Then Charles showed you how to stay in the league because he did something the opposite of what you should be doing,” Mobley continued.
Barkley didn’t end his career “the right way” in many pundits’ eyes. Rather than aging gracefully, Chuck disappointed in his last few years, infamously preventing himself from having one last shot at a ring.
“Like not taking care of your body as much, you know, no filter, right? Just things like that,” Mobley said of Chuck before discussing his contrast with the other icons on the team.
“Whereas Scottie’s like, up in the morning, working out, shooting extra, doing all these things,” Mobley continued. “Hakeem was off the court, flawless. He’s reading, he’s quiet, he dresses well, he’s calm with you. So I got different personalities in my first year so I could take that on to my career. But then it was like all your dads leave you.”
Mobley’s veterans eventually left one by one, with Pippen the first to find a new squad prior to the 1999-00 campaign. Barkley retired the next year, leaving Olajuwon as the lone Hall of Famer on the roster for one more year. By Mobley’s fourth season, all had departed or retired.
He may not have spent as much time with his legendary teammates as he might’ve hoped. But Mobley clearly learned a lot from his short time with Houston’s ill-fated “Big Three”. Mobley went on to have a productive 11-year career in the association, where he averaged double-digit points in all but his first season.
