Rick Mahorn seems to still be smarting from a playoff sweep he suffered 30 years ago at the hands of Michael Jordan, judging from his comments.
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Drafted by Washington in 1980, Mahorn was an integral part of the Bad Boys Pistons lineup that won their first title in 1989. He played for Detroit in 6 seasons spread over 2 spells – first from 1985-1989, and then from 1996-1998.
Mahorn played in the NBA for 19 seasons, retiring in 1999. He plied his trade primarily as a defensive-minded power forward at his peak. Later on in his career, declining athleticism meant that he was consigned to a center’s role on the court.
Mahorn was often one of the worst culprits of the Pistons’ roughing-up of Michael Jordan. They managed to ‘limit’ his impact somewhat, but Jordan was never one to take beatings lying down. He might have lost 3 times to Detroit, but they could never have swept him like he did to them.
Rick Mahorn on why he didn’t watch the Michael Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’
This is what Mahorn had to say in response to questions about whether he’d watched ‘The Last Dance’:
“I do. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t watch the Jordan doc because I wouldn’t give a damn or hell about what Jordan did. We whooped that a** that’s all that matters.”
“But it’s a matter of respect. I finally watched the 30 for 30 probably this year for the Bad Boys because it was something that, I said, ‘I already know about all that.’ But you learn about the players that are around you. It keeps us in contact. It’s nice to get that.”
“We were never acknowledged as one of the best teams in the league, it was always the Celtics, the Lakers and then it was Chicago. You skip over two teams that won back-to-back with the Pistons and also the Houston Rockets.”
“You gotta give these teams their due, because we’re in history. It didn’t skip from the Lakers to Chicago. It was a blip in all this stuff. The thing is, I’m glad that we’re finally getting the respect and the NBA is giving it to us.”
