Commitment to defensive end placed Jordan Mickey on brink of NBA career

Jordan Mickey parlayed his raw athleticism into a basketball career as a feared shot blocker fearsome defender.

Author:
Jake Fischer
Publish date:
Jun 22, 2015

After escaping Memorial Gymnasium four days earlier with an overtime victory over Vanderbilt, LSU nursed a one-point lead over the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks with 32 seconds remaining on Jan. 28.

As South Carolina's Tyrone Johnson threatened to cut into that lead, Jordan Mickey snuck over to the right block and met Johnson at the rim. The airborne LSU forward smacked Johnson’s layup attempt off the glass. As the shot clock expired, Mickey enticed the roaring Tigers crowd. Not long ago he sat among them to watch his stepbrother, James Wright, win the 2007 BCS National Championship as a wide receiver.

“The atmosphere, people down there take football so serious—from the tailgating to when it’s game time—it’s just a great experience to be out there,” Mickey told SI.com.

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Some 20 seconds later, after Mickey converted two free throws to put LSU up four, he and Johnson clashed at the cup once more. The 6’8" Texas product turned Johnson back yet again and initiated a scrum underneath the Tigers’ basket. Amid the chaos, South Carolina’s Sindarious Thornwell scooped up the loose rebound. Mickey rejected his attempt as well, bouncing off the hardwood as if Baton Rouge wasn’t limited by gravity.

Mickey blocked three of South Carolina’s final five shot attempts, each rejection coming within a span of 26 seconds. The sequence perfectly displayed Mickey's raw athleticism, an innate gift he's spent only a few years molding into defensive prowess.

Just six years earlier, he stepped onto an organized basketball court for the very first time after a childhood that consisted soccer, football, and trips to the movies with his family.

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Mickey’s stepfather, James Wright Sr., who spurned overseas opportunities for a job with Chevron Oil, once starred at center for Abilene Christian University. He earned Lone Star Conference MVP honors in 1985 after averaging 15.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Wright and Mickey’s mother, Torana Hunter, never wanted to pressure Mickey to pick up his stepfather’s sport.

Mickey and Wright frequented the colossal AMC multiplex in the North Park Mall. After Mickey sprung past 6-feet tall, the towering father and son needed to sit in the back row of the theater. Mickey enjoyed the view, easily surveying the entire screen, a vantage point he would later experience from the back line of LSU’s defense.

With Wright’s help, Mickey quickly matured from a lanky, inexperienced high school freshmen into a top-five prospect in all of Texas. “He was definitely behind everybody else and the way to get on the floor was to play good defense, rebound and block shots,” Wright said. “I taught him a theory: Every shot is going to the same place. Which makes it fairly easy.”

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Wright helped establish Mickey’s opportune timing, which was the missing piece for a player with natural leaping ability. Wright stressed the importance of erasing shots before they reached the peak of their arc in conversation with Mickey, who quickly emerged as a defensive stalwart.

Mickey led the nation in blocks this season, erasing 3.5 per game and finishing his career second in blocks in Tigers history. He trailed only Shaquille O’Neal.

Mickey’s commitment to defense and rebounding now have him on the verge of breaking into the first round of this week’s NBA draft. “That’s what he brings to the table at any level that he plays,” Wright said.

He scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting in his first scrimmage at the combine, adding eight rebounds and a staggering eight blocks. He continued to thrive in the pre-draft workout circuit that followed.

Wright teases Mickey about his love of the movies as a youngster, stating that he only enjoyed them so much because he got to go out to dinner immediately after trips to the theater. Mickey remembers being fixated on the previews. “I’m always thinking which ones I would look forward to,” Mickey said. “I always look to the future, I would say.”

Now, Adam Silver calling his name will certainly be in his future.

Biggest NBA draft busts of all-time

Biggest NBA Draft Busts Of All Time

Anthony Bennett, Cavaliers | No. 1 pick, 2013

After burning out in both Cleveland and Minnesota in just two years, Bennett hardly logged any minutes in Toronto when the Raptors waived him on Feb. 29, 2016. The No. 1 overall pick, who was recently dropped by the Nets, owns averages of 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in just 12.6 minutes per game.

Hasheem Thabeet, Grizzlies | No. 2 pick, 2009

Thabeet has already been passed from Memphis to Houston to Portland to Oklahoma City. The former UConn center was always thought to be a long-term project, but he's yet to develop into a solid NBA center. He has career averages of 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.5 minutes.

Joe Alexander, Bucks | No. 8 pick, 2008

Alexander hasn't played in the NBA since 2010 (he was in Warriors camp in 2013) after averaging 4.2 points in 67 games. Ryan Anderson, Serge Ibaka and Nicolas Batum were among the fellow forwards who were taken after Alexander in the first round.

Greg Oden, Trail Blazers | No. 1 pick, 2007

"I know I'm one of the biggest busts in NBA history and I know that it'll only get worse as Kevin Durant continues doing big things ... It's frustrating that my body can't do what my mind wants it to do sometimes. But worrying or complaining about it isn't going to fix anything," said Oden. After being released by the Blazers in March 2012, Oden spent the entire 2012-13 season rehabilitating from multiple knee surgeries. He last played, sparingly, with the Heat in 2014.

Adam Morrison, Bobcats | No. 3 pick, 2006

Five years after missing on Kwame Brown, Michael Jordan fared no better with Morrison. The former Gonzaga star averaged 11.8 points as a rookie but shot only 37.6 percent. He missed the next season with a knee injury, was traded to the Lakers in 2009 and quietly fell out of the league in 2010.

Fran Vazquez, Magic | No. 11 pick, 2005

This isn't about the Spanish big man's NBA body of work — after all, there is none. It's about the fact that Orlando used a valuable lottery pick on a player who hasn't even suited up for them. Vazquez is now 31 with over a decade under his belt in the Spanish league.

Rafael Araujo, Raptors | No. 8 pick, 2004

John W. McDonough for Sports Illustrated

He went about 10 spots higher than was expected, and about 25 spots higher than was deserved. The 6-11 center from BYU was a three-year washout in the NBA.

Darko Milicic, Pistons | No. 2 pick, 2003

LeBron James, Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade — which top five pick from 2003 doesn't belong? In fairness, the 28-year-old Milicic showed flashes of strong play. But overall, in 10 seasons Milicic averaged 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds while playing for six teams; he did not play in the NBA in 2013-14. Joe Dumars and the Pistons whiffed on this one.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Nuggets | No. 5 pick, 2002

Skita created a buzz with his predraft workouts, and that was that. Four teams discarded him in four seasons. Then-GM Kiki Vandeweghe and the Nuggets did better with the other 19-year-old they acquired two picks later: Nene.

Kwame Brown, Wizards | No. 1 pick, 2001

Michael Jordan's handpicked choice played for seven teams in 12 seasons and sports career averages of 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. Brown, however, did experience something of a rebirth after reuniting with Jordan in Charlotte in 2010-11, when the 6-11 center averaged 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds. Those were his best numbers since 2006-07. He was hurt for most of 2011-12 after signing with Golden State and played limited minutes with Philadelphia in 2012-13 before being waived in November 2013.

2000 first round

2000-nba-draft-picks-keyon-dooling-quentin-richardson-darius-miles.jpg — Chris Pizzello/AP

Most of the GMs in '00 got their picks right; this was just a bad group of players. Here was the top half of the first round: Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, Mike Miller, DerMarr Johnson, Chris Mihm, Jamal Crawford, Joel Przybilla, Keyon Dooling, Jerome Moiso, Etan Thomas, Courtney Alexander, Mateen Cleaves and Jason Collier. Particularly unfortunate for the Clippers, who wound up with three of the top 18 picks.

Jonathan Bender, Pacers (via Raptors) | No. 5 pick, 1999

Damian Strohmeyer for Sports Illustrated

Indiana acquired the draft rights to the preps-to-pros, Kevin-Garnett look-alike for solid big man Antonio Davis. Bender showed tantalizing flashes of his potential but never put it together before cutting short his career because of knee injuries in February 2006. Bender had a 25-game comeback with the Knicks in 2009-2010.

Michael Olowokandi, Clippers | No. 1 pick, 1998

Bust-worthy on so many levels. The Kandi Man was taken before future All-Stars Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce and a host of more suitable selections. Even the final pick of the first round, Nazr Mohammed, has had a much more distinguished career in the pivot.

Robert Traylor, Bucks (via Mavs) | No. 6 pick, 1998

In a prearranged draft-night trade that turned into one of the most lopsided deals in history, the Mavericks sent Traylor to the Bucks for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity, whom Dallas dealt to Phoenix for Steve Nash. Nowitzki was named MVP in 2007 and led the Mavs to the 2011 title with an epic postseason performance. Meanwhile, the Tractor averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in seven seasons.

Joe Smith, Warriors | No. 1 pick, 1995

Average in name and game, Smith was serviceable while playing for 12 teams over 16 years, but later selections Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and (especially) Kevin Garnett enjoyed better careers.

Ed O'Bannon, Nets | No. 9 pick, 1995

1995-nba-draft-pick-ed-o'bannon-nets.jpg — Brad Mangin/NBAE via Getty Images

The older and better of the brothers who led UCLA to an NCAA championship in 1995, O'Bannon is the perfect example of a player who had multiple talents but none that rose to an NBA level. He lasted only two seasons, playing with the Nets and Mavericks.

Shawn Bradley, 76ers | No. 2 pick, 1993

Find him on a poster near you. To his credit, Bradley developed into a so-so big man who ranks 14th on the all-time list in blocks. He's the perfect example of a player whose draft position colors the perception of his career.

Bo Kimble, Clippers | No. 8 pick, 1990

A high-scoring, high-profile college star at Loyola Marymount, Kimble was out of the league after 105 NBA games split between the Clippers and Knicks.

Danny Ferry, Clippers | No. 2 pick, 1989

Ferry had no interest in playing for the Clippers so he toiled for a season in Italy before Los Angeles agreed to trade his rights. Well-respected Cavs GM Wayne Embry made one of the worst moves of his career by sending scoring machine Ron Harper to the Clippers for Ferry, who spent 10 nondescript seasons in Cleveland. (Incidentally, the player taken before Ferry, Pervis Ellison, makes many "bust" lists, though he did have a couple of strong seasons before injuries wrecked his career.)

Dennis Hopson, Nets | No. 3 pick, 1987

The first in a series of "Next Jordans" flamed out before producing a fraction of what MJ accomplished. Hopson averaged 10.9 points in five seasons.

Chris Washburn, Warriors | No. 3 pick, 1986

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

The North Carolina State product totaled 222 points in 72 career games, as good a representative as any for a draft full of busts.

Jon Koncak, Hawks | No. 5 pick and Joe Kleine, Kings | No. 6 pick, 1985

Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images; Mike Powell/Getty Images

Koncak and Klein spent the bulk of their time in the NBA cashing in on their right to commit six fouls per game.

Sam Bowie, Trail Blazers | No. 2 pick, 1984

His selection underscores the cardinal rule behind NBA Draftology: You can't draft for need. The Blazers, flush with Jim Paxson and Clyde Drexler on the wings, needed a center and passed on drafting Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Bowie struggled with injuries throughout his 10-year run and finished with career averages of 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Bill Garnett, Mavericks | No. 4 pick, 1982

The former Wyoming star split four pedestrian seasons (5.5 points, 4.3 rebounds) between Dallas and Indiana.

Kent Benson, Bucks | No. 1 pick, 1977

It never got better for Benson than winning the national title at Indiana. He did stick in the NBA for 10 seasons but produced only three double-digit scoring campaigns.

LaRue Martin, Trail Blazers | No. 1 pick, 1972

Portland passed on future Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo to take fellow big man Martin, who never averaged more than seven points in his four NBA seasons. The Loyola product retired in 1976, a year before the Blazers won their first and only championship.

Ken Durrett, Cincinnati Royals | No. 4 pick, 1971

Durrett (pictured in the background, with the 76ers)) had more fouls (197) than field goals (192) in his four-year career, during which he averaged 10 minutes a game and never started.