CCT: Mullins' mastery of jump shot catapulted Warriors
Robin Miller
He helped team reach NBA Finals in his first season with San Francisco
By Marcus Thompson II
Contra Costa Times
04/12/2007
Jeff Mullins loves to watch Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, Miami Heat
guard Dwyane Wade and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki.
Watching them takes him back, to his day, to his specialty.
"A lot of players can't shoot off the dribble so well," Mullins said. "They
can shoot a standing jump shot because they stand behind the college line so
much. ... Shooting off the move, going hard and stopping, and going up and
shooting soft, that's something you have to practice. It's a developed skill
that requires continued practice. Because of the 3-point line, a lot of kids
today don't practice it."
Mullins certainly knows what he's talking about. Ranking sixth in scoring in
Warriors franchise history, he made his mark with a pure stroke and his
mastery of the jump shot.
Before Chris Mullin picked up a basketball, Jeff Mullins was the Warriors'
perimeter marksman. For 10 seasons, he stretched defenses, worked the
inside-out game and put up big numbers.
Mullins' route to the Warriors was interesting. He was drafted out of Duke
by the St. Louis Hawks with the sixth overall pick in the 1964 draft. Though
a forward for the Blue Devils, Mullins was better suited to play guard in
the NBA. So he was a bit confused when the Hawks selected him. St. Louis was
already stacked at guard with Lenny Wilkens, Richie Guerin, Chico Vaughn and
John Barnhill.
"I asked Marty Blake, who was the (general manager), 'Why did you draft
me?'" Mullins recalled. "He said, 'So S.F. couldn't get you.' Everybody knew
all San Francisco needed was a guard. I ended up in St. Louis for the wrong
reason. That was a tough team for a rookie. It was a veteran team."
Mullins averaged 5.8 points in 13.3 minutes during his sophomore season, as
the Hawks reached the Western Division Finals in 1966. During the offseason,
he was sent to the expansion Chicago Bulls, and the Bulls traded Mullins --
along with Jim King, a draft choice and cash -- to the Warriors for All-Star
guard Guy Rodgers.
Bill Sharman, who was a broadcaster for the Hawks and became close with
Mullins, took over as coach of the Warriors and helped get Mullins to the
Bay Area. Sharman used to shoot around with Mullins after Hawks practices,
so he knew exactly what he was getting in the third-year guard, which is why
Mullins was immediately named a starter.
"Bill was great for my career," Mullins said. "When I got to the Warriors,
he said, 'I want you to play just like you did in college. When you're open,
I want you to shoot.'"
Mullins -- playing with swingman Rick Barry, post Nate Thurmond and guard
Paul Neumann -- hit the ground running, and the Warriors reached the NBA
Finals, losing in six games to the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers.
Then the ABA came calling.
"We had a great young team," Mullins said. "They came after our team pretty
hard."
Barry left for the ABA, leaving Mullins and Thurmond to lead the Warriors.
Mullins averaged 21.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists during the five
seasons Barry was gone. After being swept 4-0 by the Los Angeles Lakers in
the 1968 Western Division Finals, the Warriors didn't reach the West finals
again until Barry returned in 1972-73.
By the time the Warriors won the NBA title in 1975, Mullins was a role
player, averaging just 8.2 points in 17.3 minutes. He played one more season
before retiring.
"We won the championship and I came back for one more year," Mullins said.
"I had two injuries. I had a collapsed lung in training camp. I came back
and started practicing and broke my hand before I played again. I took that
as the good Lord telling me it was time."
He still remembers, vividly, his days with the Warriors. During that last
injury-plagued season, he earned his money by doing broadcast work alongside
Bill King.
Since retiring, he's coached youth basketball, done some broadcast work and
bought and sold real estate. He is now on the board of the Retired Players
Association, which is affiliated with the NBA players union.
He said he enjoyed coaching because he was able to teach kids. Whereas he
stressed the hard work it takes to become a good shooter, he acknowledged
that the art of great shooting is uncoachable. He said you can teach proper
fundamentals and explain the right way to shoot. But understanding touch,
gauging distance, visualizing the ball going through the hoop -- that's
innate.
"Shooters," Mullins said, "have a God-given ability to feel the basketball."
He's speaking from experience.
Contact Marcus Thompson II at mthom...@cctimes.com.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Throughout the season, as the next generation of Warriors stars grows before
our eyes, the Times will venture into the team's past and catch up with some
old-school Warriors.
JEFF MULLINS
a.. AGE: 65
a.. PERSONAL: Jeff and his wife of 40 years, Candy, live six months of the
year each in Florida and North Carolina. They have two children and three
grandchildren.
a.. EMPLOYMENT: Manages real estate but is trying to retire -- for real this
time.
a.. PLAYING FRAME: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds
a.. WARRIORS CAREER: He came to the San Francisco Warriors just before the
1966-67 season from Chicago via a trade. He spent 10 seasons with the
Warriors, averaging 17.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He was a
three-time All-Star (1969-71) and averaged better than 20 points four
consecutive seasons (1968-69 to 1971-72). In the 1968 playoffs, he averaged
25.1 points and 4.9 assists in helping center Nate Thurmond lead the
Warriors to the Western Division Finals (equivalent to the Western
Conference Finals). Mullins is third in franchise history in games played
(716), fifth in assists (2,913) and sixth in points scored (12,547).
a.. TRADEMARK: He was one of the best shooters in franchise history.
a.. JEFF'S MOMENT: "Winning a world championship (in the 1974-75 season),
even though I didn't play much. It was the end of my career. In college (at
Duke), I went to two Final Fours, then we went to the world championship in
1966-67. But we never won a championship. It was kind of like the capping of
my career."