When the Indiana Pacers drafted Al Harrington in 1998, he had the privilege of being around Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin. At that time, the forward was 18 years old and learned the ropes of being a successful basketball player thanks to the mentorship of the aforementioned veterans. One common denominator he noticed from these Hall of Famers is how hard and consistently they worked, which played a huge role in their success on the court.
“ Chris Mullin. He took me under his wing. Whatever Chris was dealing with, he was always like, ‘Al, let’s go to the gym.” So we get extra work in and I’m like with another Hall of Fame. I was like ‘Why is he working so hard?’ Derrick Mckey, Sam Perkins, what I learned was how consistent they were in their approach to the game. It was always the same, and they never deviated from it ,” Harrington said in his latest appearance on “The Mark Jackson Show.”
Playing with Reggie
Harrington didn’t average a lot of minutes (7.6) during his rookie year, especially on the veteran-laden Pacers team. However, “Baby Al” considers his first year in the league one of the most vital in his career because he learned how to be a professional basketball player—specifically, how to dress, approach practice and games, watch film, scout his opponents, etc.
For Harrington , no one set a better example than “Uncle Reg,” who played and worked like an all-time great superstar.
“ Then you have Reggie Miller, first one to enter the gym and last one to leave every time. Best player on the team. One of the best on the planet. But you know you hear all that all the time, first player in the gym and last out but I watched somebody live that. Shot the same routine of shots after every single practice every single day. The way he prepared for the game, same thing every single day, ” the retired forward added.
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What was special about the Pacers
During Harrington's rookie season with the Pacers, the team posted an impressive 33-17 regular season record (lockout-shortened season) under the leadership of head coach and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. They finished second in the Eastern Conference standings but ultimately fell to their rivals, the New York Knicks, in the EC Finals. Still, this Pacers team bounced back the following year and made it to the NBA Finals.
If the Pacers just didn’t run into Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers, who knows what could’ve happened? Maybe this team would’ve won their first title.
Though Harrington never won a championship in his career, his first year with Miller, Mullin, and the rest of the Pacers was crucial in shaping the player he became—even if he initially dreaded going to Indiana as a lifelong Knicks fan.
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