Horace Junior Grant is tall. In height, of course. Six feet, eight inches, measure up, that's starting to get tall. Grant is tall but not just in height. Judge for yourself.
Winter 1993. The magnificent Chicago Bulls bus parks in front of the team hotel in Philadelphia. As usual, the players get off and quickly rush into the lobby of the palace. It is freezing cold, a weather that would make you not put a dog outside. Wind, snow: it is freezing. On the other side of the street, a man is rolled up in a sleeping bag. He lies stretched out under a porch to avoid being covered by the snow that is falling in large flakes. Horace Grant has a hard time bearing this sight. He only listens to his faith. He crosses the street, wakes the guy up, invites him to eat and pays for a room in the Bulls hotel, in front of the incredulous eyes of the receptionists. He will also slip two large $100 bills in his pocket to spend a few nights in the warmth.
In the NBA with his twin brother, Harvey
You will tell us: “Yes, but with the money he earns…” It still has to be done.
The most remarkable thing is that Grant was not content, at the time, to play the financial good Samaritan. He oversaw many charities and mutual aid works and it was not uncommon to see him hanging around Chicago Stadium, the Bulls' lair. The name of the neighborhood? Henry Horner Homes Project. Project, it roughly translates to HLM. Except, this area was quite simply one of the worst ghettos in the whole country. In comparison, some blocks of Vaulx-en-Velin or Sarcelles would almost seem luxurious. Unlike Michael Jordan who refused to go there, Horace Grant regularly went there to chat or play with the young people from the projects who could not afford a ticket to the nearby Bulls arena. And yet who needed to find heroes…
Horace and his Washington Bullets star twin brother Harvey grew up in poverty.“We didn't grow up in the city, but in the country, in the heart of Georgia. We just needed a few dollars to keep ourselves busy or buy things. Chicago kids, they absolutely need hope. Someone who thinks of them from time to time.”sighs Horace.
For all these kids, he has become an example. And when his car pulls up to the corner, there is an explosion of joy in the neighborhood. Those faces that are too quickly hardened, that usually exude hatred and anger, light up. The kids ask him for tickets to the next game, talk about his performances. He tells them anecdotes. Together, they talk about life…
“It just makes me sick. There are people who live right next to the Stadium and have never been able to get in. It’s one of the most ridiculous things ever. Michael (Jordan), Craig (Hodges) and I can’t do much about it. The least we can do is go see them every now and then. It’s just human nature. There’s more to this world than shooting hoops.”
Michael Jordan? The thorny subject…
A word to the wise… Hello, Mike? We can’t say that Jordan and Grant are great friends, “The Last Dance” confirmed it. Horace doesn’t want to talk about it. The only thing that really annoys him is the way Jordan grants himself certain special privileges. Like his repeated absences at each resumption of training. So much so that during a training camp where His Majesty was once again conspicuous by his absence, Horace left some sessions before the end, just to show his disapproval. The attitude can be debated but it’s true that Michael’s behavior suggested that he considered himself the only one responsible for the Bulls’ triumph for three years, from 1991 to 1993. Which is false. Without Grant and without Scottie Pippen, of course, “MJ” would surely not have obtained three championship rings. Horace was supposed to remain the backup to Charles Oakley, the Bulls’ top rebounder and defender. It was much better than that once “Oak” was traded to New York for Bill Cartwright in 1988.
Inducted into the starting five, the Augusta (Georgia) native established himself as a rebounder, a skilled defender (he was the one who secured the 1993 title with a last-second block on Kevin Johnson in Game 6 of the Finals) and a reliable offensive option in support of the Jordan-Pippen duo. Listen to Jim Cleamons, at the time an assistant coach in Chicago: “Horace took on a thankless role knowing full well that almost no one would notice his demolition. He's there to do the dirty work. He's indispensable. Michael scoring 40 points and Scottie scoring 30 is great. But we can't win if Horace doesn't do his job under the boards.”
In July 1994, a year after Jordan's first retirement and after spending seven seasons in Illinois, Horace Grant decided to try his luck in Orlando, a team that dreamed of greatness with its Penny Hardaway-Shaquille O'Neal duo. Like any athlete, a little individual recognition would not displease him. His ambition, if not his supreme goal, was to be selected for the All-Star Game. He was selected for the Minneapolis meeting on February 13, 1994 (17 minutes, 4 pts, 8 rbds, 2 pds). That season would be the best of his career on an individual level with 15.1 points, 11 rebounds and 3.4 assists on average. “In 1992, when I learned that I was only a substitute for the selected players, it hurt me. I spent an entire day thinking about nothing else. Afterwards, I became the same person again: enthusiastic, smiling, positive. It’s true that it’s important to win NBA titles, but becoming an All-Star allowed me to be recognized and respected for the work I do. It was difficult to exist behind Michael and Scottie. This selection was like a kind of culmination in my career. I played with the best players in the world.”
In the right place at the right time…
Chosen in 10e position of the 1987 draft after an honest career at Clemson University (where he was part of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity), Horace began his professional career at a trot. He was not really in the spotlight. And for good reason: he was nearsighted! At the beginning of the 90s, Grant began wearing white glasses of the most beautiful effect, which he would never take off and which would become a bit of his basketball signature. Over time, the colors would change. A flashy look, unique in the NBA, although copied by Bo Outlaw.
In 1994, Orlando was rubbing its hands. In the Bulls jersey, Horace Grant was cleaning up the rebounds and blowing up opposing defenses with wildly powerful dunks. The Florida franchise thought that by pairing O'Neal and Grant under the rim, it would be able to roam all the rackets in the circuit. And in fact, Orlando reached the NBA Finals in the process. With the result that we know (swept by Houston). A second sweep against Chicago, a year later in the Conference final, sounded the death knell for Florida's dreams of greatness. Shaq packed up. The Magic became an appetizer. Horace Grant, a backup player.
Orlando sent him to Seattle just before the start of the 1999-2000 season. A year later, a providential trade saw him join the defending champion Lakers (the deal sent Patrick Ewing to Seattle and Glen Rice to the Knicks). Like many others during the 2000-02 era (right, Mitch Richmond?), Horace Grant was in the right place at the right time. The relentless dominance of arch-nemesis Shaq and Kobe allowed him to win a fourth ring. His stat line in LA (8.5 pts, 7.1 rbds) was a testament to his contribution at the time.
Doc Rivers compares it to 'cancer'
Against all odds, the most famous bespectacled man in the League chose in July 2001 to return to Orlando, where Tracy McGrady put on a solo show. An operation on his left knee in September 2002 poisoned his start to the following season. His relationship with the coach, Doc Rivers, was deplorable. Witnesses claim that the two men came to blows. The numerical production of the person concerned was of no importance (8 pts and 6.3 rbds the first year, 5.2 pts and 1.6 rbd over 5 games during the second). Rivers accused him of wanting to undermine his authority with the younger players and demanded that he be cut. “This is the way I see it, declared the current coach of the Clippers in front of the cameras of the ESPN channel. When you have cancer, you have to remove it…”
On the way back from a trip to Chicago, Grant and McGrady had a word on the plane, in the players' area. Alerted, Rivers came to T-Mac's defense. The discussion degenerated. At 3 a.m., after the plane landed, the coach went to then-GM John Gabriel to demand Grant's head. “We are sorry to see him go” comments John Gabriel, “But honestly, we felt his contribution was limited. Still, Horace had a great career and his rings are there to prove it.”
No. 54, a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team (between 1993 and 96), decided to hang up his sneakers before diving back into the Lakers in 2003-04, as Karl Malone's backup. The story ended in a damp squib, with the slap inflicted by Detroit (4-1). Horace Grant reached the NBA Finals six times (from 1991 to 1993, in 1995, in 2001 and in 2004) for four victories. Four stripes for a General whose family continues to shine in the NBA since he is none other than the uncle of Jerami, of the Pistons, the son of his brother Harvey.
Awards
17 years of career
4 times NBA champions (1991, 1992, 1993, 2001)
1 time All-Star (1994)
4 times elected to the Second All-NBA Team (1993 to 1996)
| Horace Grant | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1987-88 | CHI | 81 | 23 | 50.1 | 0.0 | 62.6 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 7.7 |
| 1988-89 | CHI | 79 | 36 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 70.4 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 8.6 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 12.0 |
| 1989-90 | CHI | 80 | 34 | 52.3 | 0.0 | 69.9 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 7.9 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 13.4 |
| 1990-91 | CHI | 78 | 34 | 54.7 | 16.7 | 71.1 | 3.4 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 12.8 |
| 1991-92 | CHI | 81 | 35 | 57.8 | 0.0 | 74.1 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 10.0 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 14.2 |
| 1992-93 | CHI | 77 | 36 | 50.8 | 20.0 | 61.9 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 9.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 13.2 |
| 1993-94 | CHI | 70 | 37 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 59.6 | 4.4 | 6.6 | 11.0 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 15.1 |
| 1994-95 | ENT | 74 | 36 | 56.7 | 0.0 | 69.2 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 12.8 |
| 1995-96 | ENT | 63 | 36 | 51.3 | 16.7 | 73.4 | 2.8 | 6.4 | 9.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 13.4 |
| 1996-97 | ENT | 67 | 37 | 51.5 | 16.7 | 71.5 | 3.1 | 5.9 | 9.0 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 12.6 |
| 1997-98 | ENT | 76 | 37 | 45.9 | 0.0 | 67.8 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 12.1 |
| 1998-99 | ENT | 50 | 33 | 43.4 | 0.0 | 67.1 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 8.9 |
| 1999-00 | SEA | 76 | 35 | 44.4 | 0.0 | 72.1 | 2.2 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 8.1 |
| 2000-01 | LAL | 77 | 31 | 46.2 | 0.0 | 77.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 8.5 |
| 2001-02 | ENT | 76 | 29 | 51.3 | 0.0 | 72.1 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 8.0 |
| 2002-03 | ENT | 5 | 17 | 52.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| 2003-04 | LAL | 55 | 20 | 41.1 | 0.0 | 72.2 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| Total | 1165 | 33 | 50.9 | 6.3 | 69.2 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 11.2 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
