Former NBA legend Chris Mullin spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about his career. During the interview, Mullin was asked about his stint with Team USA in 1984, playing under legendary Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bobby Knight. Mullin shared a hilarious story of Knight poking fun at his defense during practice.
“That was 1984, so that probably wouldn’t be happening these days (laughs). Bobby was cool. I liked Bobby. We got along. I don’t know if I would’ve played four years for him. But four months was okay. Bobby was obviously a big stickler for defense. So he was always on me and Wayman Tisdale because we were offensive players.”
“One day at a practice session in Bloomington, I was guarding Michael and was shuffling my feet. I probably fell down, but the ref called a charge. Bobby Knight stopped practice and said, ‘Wait, wait, hold on.’”
“He asked the trainer, Tim Garl, and said, ‘Tim, come out here with a piece of tape and a marker.’ He put a piece of tape and put it on the floor where I fell and wrote, ‘Chris Mullin played defense’ on the spot and put the date on it.”
“He said, ‘I’m going to take a picture of this and send it to Coach [Lou] Carnesecca.’ So I said, ‘Coach Knight, with all due respect, that was the first charge I ever took and it was a highly overrated experience. I’ll never do it again… He looked at me like he wanted to throw me out of practice.”
Mullin may have had a hard time under Knight, but it all worked out for the best, as Knight selected him to play all eight games, and he was able to play a key role in Team USA’s run to the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. Mullin was the second-highest scorer behind Michael Jordan, averaging 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
Mullin Thinks 1984 Team USA Is Underrated
Chris Mullin feels that Team USA’s 1984 roster is heavily underrated. Speaking in the same interview, Mullin spoke about how well the 1984 squad played at the Olympics in Los Angeles, and how they dominated the competition to win the gold medal in their home country.
“Look at the roster. And historically speaking, it’s the last amateur team to win a gold medal. Wayman Tisdale was one of the best players in the country. A lot of those guys don’t get credit because of obviously the ‘Dream Team’ came after that.”
“But at some point, they will because historically that is the last amateur basketball team to win a gold medal. Joe Kleine, Alvin Robertson and Vern Fleming and Leon Wood were great, great players. They’ll get their due.”
Chris Mullin, along with Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, were the three players on the 1984 roster who were selected to join Team USA once again as part of the Dream Team in 1992. The legendary roster that was assembled to win gold at the Barcelona Olympics did just that, steamrolling the competition in dominant fashion.
Mullin was able to be part of two historic Team USA rosters; the last amateur team to win an Olympic gold medal in 1984, and the first team since the Olympics allowed professionals to play as part of the Dream Team. His place in Olympic history along with Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing cannot be understated.
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