The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1389905
58 ■ THE WOLFPACKER T he NBA, by design, is not meant for Cinderella stories. With an 82-game regular season (in non- pandemic-shortened seasons), four tiers of playoffs and a best-of-seven championship series, the campaign is a nine-month grind to determine the best professional team on the planet. Former NC State basketball player Nate McMillan, as he always did as a player, defied that design this year when he took over the Atlanta Hawks midway through the season and turned them into an NBA championship contender. It's a total rebirth for the Hawks, and the Raleigh native and former Jim Valvano-era point guard, point forward and sometimes point center during his time with the Wolf- pack (1984-86), when he helped shepherd his team to back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight. Barely a year ago, McMillan was shock- ingly dismissed as the head coach of the In- diana Pacers, a team he took to the playoffs in each of his four years at the helm. McMillan vowed he would never be a head coach again. He went to Atlanta to be a shadow assistant for head coach Lloyd Pierce, something he had done in Seattle and Indianapolis, and also for Mike Krzyze- wski at consecutive Olympics with USA Basketball. When Pierce was fired after the Hawks' 14-20 start to the season, McMillan took over and began instilling discipline into a lineup without a clearly defined star. Before long, third-year point guard Trae Young was one of the best players in the league, with McMillan's full faith to suc- ceed, fail and lead. He's certainly played like an NBA All-Star, even though he tech- nically wasn't, making the Hawks only the second team since 1984 to advance to a conference finals series without an All-Star on the roster. There has never been a question about McMillan as a player or coach. In his dozen years in Seattle, he was known as "Mr. Sonic," more popular to the team's fans than a sunny day because of his unselfish passing and clubhouse leadership. His No. 10 jersey was retired by the franchise when McMillan finished his career. As a coach, his teams have won 40 or more games in 11 of his 16 years and at least 50 three times. Until this year, how- ever, his teams had only won one playoff series. So there was clear surprise when the Hawks took four of five against the Knicks and then eliminated Philadelphia with a dra- matic seventh-game victory that had Sixers fans cursing even louder than usual. They opened their conference final series with a win at Milwaukee, thanks to an all- time performance by Young, who scored 48 points with 11 assists and seven rebounds. The Bucks simply had no answer for him in the first game. As of July 2, Milwaukee led the best-of- seven series 3-2. None of what McMillan has done since March would have surprised Valvano. Long ago, sitting in the locker room of Reyn- olds Coliseum at halftime of a game against Southern Methodist, the coach predicted that McMillan would spend more time in the NBA than any of his more touted and maybe more talented teammates. Boy, was he correct. McMillan ended up in Seattle after his two years at NC State. He remained on the roster for more than a de- cade as a defensive specialist and sixth man. When he finished playing, he became first an assistant, then head coach, of the Sonics. The NBA, however, is a finicky place for the coaches who are often recycled from franchise to franchise. It's a gradual pro- gression to get to a good team. McMillan spent time in Seattle, Portland and Indianapolis before he took the assis- tant job with the Hawks. It seemed like a good place to finish out his coaching career without the constant pressure of being the head of staff. McMillan, now 56 years old, is one of four former NC State players to become the head coach of an NBA team. Bones McKinney was a player/coach for the Wash- ington Capitols and Carolina Cougars; Sid- ney Lowe led the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies; and Vinny Del Negro coached the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers. None of them ever took a team as far as McMillan has this year. McMillan has clearly shown he's worthy to have the "interim" removed from his coaching title — but only if he wants to enter the fray yet again. My guess is he will, and he will continue to succeed. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. PACK PERSPECTIVE Former Wolfpack Standout Nate McMillan Continues To Be Successful In The NBA After McMillan took over as the Atlanta Hawks head coach midseason, they became only the second team since 1984 to advance to a conference finals series without an All-Star on the roster. PHOTO BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/NBAE-GETTY IMAGES/COURTESY ATLANTA HAWKS