They can still be heard on sports talk radio and at the other end of the bar telling the current NBA to get off their lawn, decrying the albeit relative serenity. But is the change a bad thing?
Fans who pine for the 1980s when hoops mixed with old time hockey to essentially form “Slap Shot in Sneakers” speak wistfully of the era — the rivalries, the brawls, the Pistons, the Celtics, the Lakers, the Bulls.
Poetry in commotion.
To contrast the times, Heavy Sports sought the expertise of the man who raised the well-placed elbow to the ribs to an art form — and has the list of fines too long for a CVS receipt to prove it. On Detroit’s Bad Boys, the undisputed baddest of all was Rick Mayhem… uh, Mahorn. We caught up with him as he smilingly handed out verbal abuse (then hugs and handshakes) to Boston friends and acquaintances before working color commentary on Pistons radio for Monday’s game against the Celts.
Rick Mahorn Says About the Modern NBA: ‘They Don’t Want That Kind of Basketball’
While acknowledging the NBA’s rugged past, Mahorn tproved he is not hostage to it when asked if today’s game is anywhere near as physical and, yes, violent as then.
“No, and it’ll never be,” the erstwhile purveyor of pain told Heavy Sports. “They don’t want that kind of basketball. I’ve seen some clips of myself, and they don’t want it. That’s when they give you those flagrant fouls and fines.
“They want the game to have a little more speed and everything — and I’m not mad at it, because it brings fans, sells jerseys, sells tickets. It’s all about viewership.”
Yeah, about those old clips of mixed martial Mahorn…
“I just smile and laugh,” said the 6-10 power forward, who gouged (and chopped and punched) out an 18-year NBA career. “That was allowed back then.”
Grinning, he added, “But now theyâve got three referees; remember it was only two, so there was a lot they couldnât see. But the fact is now they have replays and things of that nature. If you do something, they know, or they’ll find out.
“But, I mean, I still enjoy the game of basketball. The speed of it is different, because it’s more of a 3-point game. Instead of a 2-pointer, they’re pulling up for 3’s.”
Though some decry the introduction of the trey for the 1979-80 season — or, perhaps, more its far greater use nowadays — the fact is the NBA was losing a large measure of athleticism to more sophisticated defenses and bigger players who crowded the court and choked off the star turns.
If you recall, the Pistons’ so-called “Jordan Rules” were a fancy way of saying, “Letâs beat the hell out of Michael.” Something had to be done, and teams growingly chose spreading the floor and shooting 3-pointers as one of the ways to let the game breathe.
Mahorn Says the Familiarity Among Players Makes Things Different
Things are different, too, because of familiarity among players. It was easier for teams to build legitimate animosity for opponents they didn’t really know personally. Hell, it took several years until Larry Bird and Magic Johnson got together to make a Converse commercial for the rivals to realize they actually liked each other.
“It’s different now,” said Mahorn. “Guys are communicating on their iPhones, and there’s social media. Everybody’s talking and conversating. Back then, you had to make a phone call and it was long distance. And a lot of times you didnât want to pay for long distance.
“But, again, I don’t mind it. You can be buddies, but for 48 minutes I’m going to kill you.”
No lie detected there. Earlier Monday, assistant coaches Sidney Lowe (Pistons) and Sam Cassell (Celtics) were standing on the TD Garden court laughingly swapping tales of Mahorn malevolence. They agreed that the man who once said, “Intimidation is how I make my money,” and “I’ll help us win if it kills me — if it kills you,” may be the world’s nicest person who chooses to cultivate his mean image.
“That’s who I am,” said Mayhem. “I think it’s my love language. But it’s more. It’s respect.
“You can love to hate me, but I’m not going to change who I am. Like, you know me for a lo-o-o-o-o-ng time. I can be an a******, but I can also be one of your best friends.”
In 2025, Rick Mahorn has settled in as a friend to the game, pointing out that the NBA has survived and even prospered just fine with increased physicality that manages to avoid the frequent flare-ups of yester-century.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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