The Golden State Warriors will bestow a top honor on former player Chris Mullin tonight.
They will retire his No. 17 jersey during a ceremony during halftime in Oakland. Former Warriors who played with Mullins will join him at the event, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
He said he's grateful to owner Joe Lacob as well as to the fans. "It was my honor to play in front of them. We bonded together. My career didn't exactly get off to a blazing start," Mullin said.
Mullin was the Warrior's first-round pick in 1985. He had a rough first couple of seasons, but then rebounded after checking into an alcohol-dependency rehabilitation center.
"I became a man and raised a family in the Bay Area," Mullin, 48, said. "And if you would have told a certain kid from Brooklyn 30 years ago, he would have said you were crazy. I am very grateful to the people in the organization, my family and friends and to the fans."
He played for the Golden State Warriors for 13 years. But there were some rough feelings in the mix when he served as the team's vice president of operations from 2004 to 2009 and his contract wasn't renewed. Back in August, when Mullin was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Lacob sought to make amends.
Mullins will become the sixth player in Warriors team history to have his jersey number retired.
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He'll join Al Attles (No. 16), Rick Barry (No. 24), Wilt Chamberlain (No. 13), Tom Meschery (No. 14) and Nate Thurmond (No. 42).
The late Chamberlain will be represented by his sister. The four other players will also be there.
