National Basketball Association

Inside, Outside: Q&A with Grant Hill

Published Dec. 13, 2014 12:48 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

He was one of the most remarkably talented players the game has ever seen.  A combination of grace, finesse, intellect and all-around basketball skill.  Grant Hill entered the basketball world as a standout freshman on a national championship team at Duke.  Hill stayed four years at Durham, won two titles, was twice an All-American and is among the most celebrated college players of all-time.

Selected third overall by the Pistons in 1994, Hill quickly rose to the NBA's elite players.  He was the co-Rookie of the Year (with Jason Kidd) in 1995, a seven time All-Star, and a gold medal winner for team USA in 1996.  Yet, the most indelible image of Hill's career are the injuries that plagued him in his prime, cutting off what could have been among the best ever.  Still, he can be credited for staying involved and reinventing his game to sustain an accomplished 18-season career.

Hill is now working for the NBA on TNT, along with co-cohosting NBA Inside Stuff.  He is also working as an ambassador for the national association of basketball coaches (NABC) All State GoodWorks team, to select the 2015 good works team from the top DI, DII, DIII, NAIA student athletes, presented during this year's Final Four. 

Let's talk Duke for a minute, what is it about Coach K and Duke players that make them so consistently successful year in and year out?

It's really Coach K, in what he's built, established and sustained over 35 years.  In the culture, the standard of excellence, and his ability to adapt, adjust and change over the years.  So much has changed, and he can still connect with these guys.  Those principles that he's lived by are still the same, so he hasn't changed what he believes.  He's adapted and adjusted to today's modern, college athlete.

I'm proud to be part of the family, and you know, I'm over 20 years removed from playing, and my coach is still there.

Being a four-year player at Duke, who transitioned to a long, successful NBA career, what should go into the decision to stay in school or leave early?

It's not necessarily for me to tell somebody what to do, but I benefitted tremendously by staying in school.  I had some of my best, or greatest growth during that last year.  I felt that senior year helped prepare me for my NBA years more than any other of my Duke years.  

I also understand—we talked about adapting and adjusting—times are different.  That freshman year that I had, if I had that today, there would be tremendous pressure to leave.

I'm just grateful that I played when I did, and there wasn't that pressure to leave.  I think there have been one and done guys that have come through, and thoroughly enjoyed their time at Duke, and were torn.  But they also knew they had to go.  

I didn't think about the NBA, really and truly until the summer before my senior year.  

So a few summers before that, you found yourself in a much fabled game in San Diego, where you were on a team that took on the Dream Team in a scrimmage, and beat them.  What do you remember from that?

Well, I have the game on tape, so I've seen it.  

It was a great experience to be around those guys and play with those guys.  That first day, we were really ready to go and I think they weren't ready.  We got hot, Allan Houston hit a lot of threes, Bobby Hurley ironically, his dribble penetration, they could not keep him out of the paint.  It was everybody, all of us played well, our athleticism and our speed, I don't think they were prepared for that or were expecting that.  

So we kind of startled them and won, pretty convincingly, that first scrimmage.  Now, they came back and beat us the next two, but we had the distinct honor and privilege of being the only team to beat the original Dream Team.

It was one of the highlights of my career--that whole week out in La Jolla with the development team, along with the Dream Team.

From Jordan to Kobe to LeBron you played against all three in the span of your career.  From your perspective, where you went toe to toe with the NBA's best ever, how do they stack up?

I think MJ was the best of all of them.  Jordan was just Jordan!  He could do it all, he was a tremendous athlete, tremendous mind, great fundamentals—he could score 30 or 40 points, was very efficient and very in control.  

It was during a time and an era where the game was a little bit more physical.  Defenses could do more, they could hand check and be more physical.  Jordan may not have been the long range, three-point shooter, but that's because the game has changed.  More players now shoot from further out on a consistent basis.  He just beat you with his skill, athleticism and with his mind.  In my opinion, he was the greatest.

Kobe might have been a better long-range shooter than Jordan, a more consistent three-point shooter.  Kobe is great, has had a tremendous run and is still playing at a high level.  He is someone, who on a few of those championships was not the best player (on his team).  Kobe through his tremendous talent and work ethic, I think really has evolved into one of the greats this game has ever seen.  

LeBron, of course, is still in his prime, and I think he's a little different; he's more of a Magic Johnson type player.  I think he's found that nice balance between scoring and facilitating.  He's grown up and I think he's definitely learned how to become a champion.

But they're all great.  They're all different, also similar in a lot of ways.  We've been fortunate with those three.  As one retires, one emerges.  That's been a constant theme.

As your career spanned through three decades, you were at the forefront in ushering the NBA from one era to the next.  So how has the game evolved from when you entered the league in '94?

Well, the game is not as physical.  There's fewer big men, and the emphasis used to be inside, out.  Now, it's spread the floor and shoot a lot of three pointers.  On the flip, players are better shooters.  Players shoot more three pointers, and more possessions, more points scored--maybe less of an emphasis on defense.  

The game has changed, it's evolved, and you know, the players have changed.  Now you have big guys shooting three's, you don't see players posting up as much.  I'm not here to say one is better than the other, it's just changed.  In some respects, it's to be expected.  It'll continue to evolve and change and grow.  It's going be fun to watch and see where it goes in the next ten, twenty years.  

With your dad being a successful pro athlete in the NFL with the Cowboys, what was it that you can credit from him, that allowed you to find success in the NBA?

I think the main thing with my dad was how to be a pro.  Obviously, he played a different sport, but just understanding what it takes to be a professional.  Seeing early on, his work ethic, his discipline, a lot of the things that I remember watching as a kid, I ended up doing as a professional myself, particularly as I got older.  

Being around it an early age, being in the locker room, hearing stories about his teammates.  Meeting Earl Campbell and Franco Harris and Joe Theismann—it definitely had impact.  

I think I was fortunate to have been around and experience it at a young age.  I knew what to expect, both good and bad, what I was about to embark upon when I was really young.  My dad had kind of done it all, the highs and the lows.  And also hearing the horror stories of players who struggled financially or got mixed up in the wrong stuff.  It gave me a really good perspective on this crazy, wild world of professional sports.

share

Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Basketball Association