Timothy Duane "Tim" Hardaway (born September 1, 1966) is a retired American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was one of the league's best point guards in his prime. Six feet (1.83 m) tall, he was best known for his devastating crossover dribble (dubbed the "UTEP Two-step" by television analysts), a move which he helped to popularize among younger players.^[1] He is the father of Tim Hardaway, Jr.^[2]

Early career [edit]

Hardaway was born in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Carver Area High School in Chicago, he attended the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best college player six feet (1.83 m) tall or under. Hardaway was selected as the 14th pick of the first round, in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors.

NBA career [edit]

In his rookie season, Hardaway wore number "5", as Manute Bol wore Hardaway's "10". After Bol left the Warriors, Hardaway inherited it. With the Warriors, he was part of "Run TMC" (the initials of the players' first names, and a play on the title of the popular rap group Run DMC) which was the high-scoring trio of himself, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. As part of the Warriors' attack, Hardaway was responsible for leading Run TMC's fast break, displaying his excellent passing and one-on-one skills to complement Richmond's slashing and Mullin's shooting. Hardaway played for the Warriors until the middle of 1995–96 season when he was traded to the Miami Heat along with Chris Gatling in exchange for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles.

In his best seasons, Hardaway averaged 18 to 23 points and 8 to 10 assists per game. He reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any other NBA player, except Oscar Robertson. Hardaway also competed in five NBA All-Star Games. He was once the Miami Heat's all-time leader in assists, and together with center Alonzo Mourning led the Heat to some of the franchise's best seasons. Late season injuries kept Hardaway from performing at the peak of his abilities for almost all of the Heat's playoff runs, and he missed most of the playoff games.

He was an MVP candidate following the 1996–97 season, making it to the All-NBA First Team after leading the Heat to the best record in franchise history while averaging 20.3 points, 8.6 assists, and being fourth in the league with 203 three-point baskets.

With his skills declining with age, Hardaway was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on August 22, 2001, for a second-round draft pick. With Dallas, Hardaway was mainly utilized off the bench, starting only two games out of 54 and averaging almost ten points a game. In the middle of the season, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for controversial point guard Nick Van Exel. With the Nuggets he started all fourteen games he played with them before retiring and becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN. While playing for the Nuggets, Hardaway was suspended for two games and fined $10,000 by the league when he threw a television monitor onto the court.^[3] On March 27, 2003, Hardaway signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers, and in his first game registered a season-high fourteen points and seven assists against the Chicago Bulls.

Achievements [edit]

Hardaway was the 1989 WAC Player of the Year.

Hardaway recorded 5,000 points and 2,500 assists, second fastest in NBA history after Oscar Robertson. Hardaway accomplished it in 262 games; Robertson took only 247.^[4] Hardaway held the record for most assists in Miami Heat franchise history with 1,947,^[4] until his total was surpassed by Dwyane Wade on January 16, 2010. Hardaway shares the record for second most steals in an NBA Playoffs game, with 8 in Game 2 of the 1991 Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers and in Game 4 of the 1992 Western Conference First Round against the Seattle SuperSonics.^[4]

In 1991–92, Hardaway became the 7th player in NBA history to average 20 points (23.4 ppg) and 10 assists (10.0 apg) in a season, a feat he accomplished again in 1992–93 (21.5 ppg, 10.6 apg).^[4]

Hardaway holds the NBA record for the worst single-game shooting performance in NBA history, going 0-for-17 in a 106-102 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 27, 1991.^[5]

Hardaway's #10 was retired by the Miami Heat on October 28, 2009.

International career [edit]

Olympic medal record
Men's basketball
Competitor for the  United States
Gold	Sydney 2000	Team competition

Hardaway was originally selected to play for "Dream Team II" in the 1994 World Basketball Championship but was replaced by Isiah Thomas because of a torn knee ligament; Isiah was later also replaced by Kevin Johnson.^[6]

He was also selected (as one of the last two players selected) for the 1998 World Basketball Championship team. The team was later replaced with CBA and college players due to the NBA lockout.^[7]

In 2000, he finally got his opportunity to play before the world stage in the Sydney Olympics where he scored 5.5 points/Game and shot .385 (15- 39) from the field.^[8]

Homophobia controversy [edit]

During a February 14, 2007 interview on a Miami sports radio show, in response to the coming out of former NBA player John Amaechi, Hardaway remarked that he would try to distance himself from a player he knew was homosexual. When asked by the radio show host whether he realized that his remarks were homophobic, Hardaway responded by saying: "Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." He also said that if he found out he had one or more gay teammates, he would try to get them fired.^[9][10]

Later in the day, Hardaway apologized for the remarks during a telephone interview with Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that."^[11] He further apologized on February 15 in a statement released by his agent.^[12] On the same day, the NBA responded to Hardaway's comments by removing him from its All-Star Weekend activities later that week.^[12] Hardaway's employer, Trinity Sports, owner of the Anderson-based CBA Indiana Alley Cats, dismissed him from his position as Chief Basketball Operations Advisor,^[13] and the CBA issued a statement distancing itself from Hardaway's remarks.^[14]

In a September 2007 interview, Hardaway spoke about his February comments, saying he "had no idea how much I hurt people. A lot of people." He described the controversy as "the biggest bump [in the road] in my life", and added, "I'm going to do whatever I can to correct it. That's all I can do."^[15]

In an interview on February 11, 2010, on Hardcore Sports Radio on Sirius, Hardaway spoke about his recent work with The Trevor Project and The YES Institute, which he has done to educate himself on gay, lesbian and transgendered issues.^[16]

In April 2013, when Jason Collins came out as the first active openly gay male player in a major American professional team sport, Collins claimed that Hardaway called him in support of his homosexuality.^[17]

Personal life [edit]

He has a wife, Yolanda, and two children, Tim Jr. and Nia.^[4] His son, Tim Jr., plays basketball for the University of Michigan. Tim Hardaway currently lives in Miami, Florida. He was a player/head coach of the Florida Pit Bulls of the ABA in 2006, but the team folded.

See also [edit]

• List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• NBA Profile at NBA.com
• Tim Hardaway at Basketball-Reference.com
• Tim Hardaway at the Internet Movie Database