He was a 26-year-old, awe-struck kid from suburban Philadelphia too giddy to fully grasp the magnitude of the moment.
When Richard “Rip” Hamilton approached his idol at midcourt following the decisive Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference finals, he was at a loss for words. Fortunately, Hall of Famer Reggie Miller carried the conversation.
“He just told me, ‘You know what? I’m passing the torch to you,’ and it was just a crazy feeling,” said Hamilton, whose Pistons were on their way to an NBA title. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘You’re Reggie Miller, and I’m a guy still trying to make a name for myself.’
“But once Reggie said that, I knew there was nothing that a team could do to stop us as a team or to stop me personally.”
The Bulls could use a Miller-esque playoff performance from the 34-year-old Hamilton. He brings 120 games of postseason experience to a team believing it’s on the cusp of an NBA Finals run. The veteran’s career-playoff average of 20.6 points per game has been enough to take his team past the first round six times in seven tries.
“I thought it was a fantastic pickup,” Miller — now an NBA analyst for TNT — said of Hamilton joining the Bulls. “If you go back to the conference finals last year, what Miami was really doing was building a wall against Derrick Rose. Then they were forcing Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver from the 3s into those contested 2s. I said to myself, if they had a legitimate shooting guard, the Heat couldn’t do that, and that would alleviate the pressure off Rose.”
Although Hamilton wasn’t an original member of Detroit’s “Bad Boys,” he is accustomed to the increased physical play that comes with the playoffs, including absorbing a forearm to the face from then-Indiana Pacer Ron Artest (now known as Metta World Peace).
“He tried to bump me a lot, but I just would always try to move and cut,” Hamilton said. “When I’m moving, it’s hard to stay with me.”
The top-seeded Bulls begin their title quest versus the 76ers at noon Saturday. Conventional wisdom held that Hamilton would complement Rose and push the Bulls past the Heat. Hamilton realizes the potential of his importance.
“My experience is hopefully going to help our guys in different situations during the playoffs because it gets grimy out there,” said Hamilton, before offering a bit of hyperbole. “I probably have more games than everybody else combined.”
The Bulls roster, which stands at 14 and will need to be trimmed by one before the tip Saturday, has a total of 488 games of playoff experience. Among the starters, save for Hamilton, they have played 153 playoff games. Still, none of them has what Hamilton has: a ring.
For Hamilton, a second would be the ideal ending to a tumultuous five-month period that saw him battle through injury, lose his grandmother and bitterly part ways with a franchise he played for for almost a decade.
Detroit’s “Bay Boy”?
Hamilton spent nine seasons with the Pistons after beginning his career with Washington. The last few years in the Motor City, some questioned his drive.
After he fell out of the starting lineup — and seemingly out of favor — with coaches Michael Curry and John Kuester, reports in Detroit implied Hamilton was a cancer. Curry, now the associate head coach of the Sixers, downplayed any rift.
“Rip has always been a strong, vocal leader within the team,” Curry said. “Him being upset at that time, I understand that because I would have been upset.”
One source quoted by the Detroit News claimed Hamilton quit on the team last year. The criticism irked Hamilton.
“Everything that came out was a ‘source.’ I was very disappointed,” Hamilton said. “I had always been a stand-up guy.”
Hamilton declined to reveal the names he believes are behind what he considers attacks. Reports of Hamilton berating Kuester at practice notwithstanding, Hamilton said he is “cool” with the coach. It didn’t much matter after Pistons general manager Joe Dumars announced the buyout of the final two years of Hamilton’s contract — an $8 million parting gift.
“I always say that when you’re the highest paid player on your team and you’re the star player, they’ve got blame somebody,” Hamilton said. “Look, I hadn’t been anything but respectful to that organization and have done everything possible to do positive things. Then look at my career. Look at all the coaches. Talk to Rick Carlisle. Talk to Larry Brown. Talked to Flip Saunders. Doug Collins.”
Carlisle, now the coach of the defending-champion Mavericks, coached Hamilton for the 2002-03 season when the Pistons acquired him via a trade.
“I’m a big fan because not only is he a terrific player, but he’s the kind of guy you’d love to have on your team just because of his character and how he approaches the game,” Carlisle said.
Collins, who leads his 76ers into the United Center, coached Hamilton in Washington.
“Rip was great with me,” Collins said. “He was a hard worker. And the thing I loved about him was he reminded me of little of myself the way he played: speed, constant motion, coming off screens.”
The Bulls embraced Hamilton from the moment he signed a two-year, $10 million contract in December. General manager Gar Forman said the team’s report on Hamilton was “positive.” Coach Tom Thibodeau never subscribed to the theory that Hamilton was a “coach-killer.”
“With stuff like that, it’s all rumor,” Thibodeau said. “You just base it on how he is with you and how he fits in with the team. And that wasn’t a concern.”
Wave of emotions
Hamilton and his wife, T.J., were at the movies Monday night when he glanced over and saw a young boy standing there alongside his mother and grandmother. The grandmother said her grandson knew him, but she admitted having no clue about NBA players because, as she declared, she “didn’t watch that mess.”
Hamilton had to laugh.
“That’s the same type of conversation I would have with my grandma,” he said. “It brought back memories.”
His grandmother Vivian Hamilton died in February. Hamilton left the team briefly to mourn.
“My grandmother practically raised me because my dad lived with her, and my mom and dad weren’t together,” he said. “I spent, man, half my life in that house with her yelling and screaming. Grandma was everything.”
Injuries also took a toll, causing Hamilton to miss 38 of 66 games, nearly 60 percent of the season.
Hamilton believes it was a product of the lockout-shortened season and condensed schedule.
“I’ve never been this hurt before in my career,” he said.
Hamilton appears healthy again after playing in the team’s last 12 games and finished averaging 11.6 points and 24.9 minutes during the regular season.
“I think the big thing for us right now is his health,” Thibodeau said. “He’s missed a lot of time in the last two years, but I think finally, his legs are great. He’s really getting comfortable.”
Missing games with a new team made Hamilton rather uncomfortable until he stepped back and looked at the big picture and saw the vision of his grandmother.
“Basketball, it’s going to be there tomorrow,” he said. “When you lose a family member, they’re gone forever. And the only thing you can do is pray about it and have them here, in spirit.”
Hamilton is here, on the court, in body and spirit. The Bulls are praying he stays that way.
Twitter@vxmcclure23
