Rick Mahorn

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Rick Mahorn bigraphy, stories - American basketball player-coach

Rick Mahorn : biography

September 21, 1958 –

Derrick (Rick) Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958 in Hartford, Connecticut) is a retired American NBA basketball player who, at 6’10", played power forward and center. He is currently a radio analyst for the Detroit Pistons.

Mahorn was dubbed by Piston announcer George Blaha the "Baddest Bad Boy of them all." Mahorn gained a reputation for physical play, which he used to compensate for his relatively limited leaping ability. He served as a team leader of the Detroit Bad Boys teams of the late 1980s.

Professional career

In 1989, Mahorn won his only NBA championship with the Pistons. He was left unprotected in the 1989 expansion draft, as teams could protect only eight of their twelve players. After he was selected by the new Minnesota Timberwolves, Pistons general manager Jack McCloskey tried in vain to trade to get him back. However, Mahorn never played for Minnesota, being traded instead to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he teamed with superstar Charles Barkley to form the top-rebounding duo of "Thump N’ Bump." After two seasons, Mahorn moved to the Italian Serie A league for the 1991–92 season.

Mahorn later played for the New Jersey Nets for four seasons, before returning to the Pistons in 1996–97. He retired after the 1999 season, after a second stint with the 76ers. Mahorn then served as a color commentator for Pistons radio broadcasts, and as an assistant coach under former teammate Bill Laimbeer with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.

On July 22, 2008, at a Sparks-Shock game, Mahorn attempted to break up a brawl. When attempting to restrain Lisa Leslie, he put his left hand out and Leslie fell to the ground. Mahorn was suspended for two games.Arritt, Dan. . Los Angeles Times. July 25, 2008.

On June 15, 2009 he became the head coach of the Shock, a position he held until the franchise moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma after the season.

College career

Mahorn played college basketball at Hampton University. He was a three-time NCAA Division II and NAIA All-American and owned 18 school records.