McMillan Remembers Len Bias And The '86 Draft

Written by wendell maxey | 22 June 2009

One of my favorite topics to hear Nate McMillan – or any head coach or former player for that matter – talk about is the past.

Maybe it’s the basketball junkie in me.

So when I rolled out to the practice facility last week, I wasn't going for the typical draft workout story. I was going for the flashback angle - 1986 style.

“I didn’t go through workouts,” McMillan said as he leaned against the wall, thinking back to when he was the 30th overall pick by Seattle.

“Just based on what I had did at that time, my agent didn’t feel that I needed to. Now I’m sitting here complaining that agents aren’t allowing guys to work out and my agent did the same thing.”

But the truth is, Mr. Sonic almost never was.

Nate thought he was going to Cleveland. It wasn't until a scout with the Cavs took a job with Seattle at the time that things changed. But McMillan almost ended up in Cleveland anyway.  As Nate tells it, apparently there was a deal in the works soon after the draft: McMillan for Hot Rod Williams. It never happened. If it did, who knows how his career in the league would have changed.

Minutes later, we started discussing the story I’d really come for: how drug abuse plagued his draft class.

You could tell Nate was still rattled by those who lost their careers and even a life because of their addictions and the demons they wrestled with away from the game.

An NBA history lesson is needed every now and again and hopefully I provided a glimpse of that with the featured story that is running over at HOOPSWORLD today (“Dark Side Of The ’86 NBA Draft”). Just know the names Bias, Washburn, Bedford and Tarpley will surface plenty in the coming days with Thursday being draft day.

But it’s the loss of Len Bias that left Nate the most stunned.

“To this day, I haven’t really heard that he was abusing drugs. Normally you would hear something. I never heard that,” McMillan said. “He loved the game. He was all about basketball. To hear what happened, it was a total shock.”

When I asked whose game reminded him of Bias today, Nate took his time. A nice long time.

"His game was like Travis' (Outlaw). Len had a bigger body and was tough, but he could shoot and jump over you like Travis can. You know, that one-two dribble pull up."

You can tell Nate holds those days from '86 close to him- the draft, making it into the league with Seattle, and the talent given and squandered along the way.

In the end, we agreed it sure puts life in perspective.

Talking about the past does that to a guy.

pic via: espn.com