The 2025 NBA Legends Brunch Honors Oscar Robertson, Gary Payton, and Rick Barry, and Features a Panel Discussion With Run TMC
The Legends Brunch is the most meaningful and special NBA All-Star Weekend event; it is important to acknowledge and honor the people who built the sport. I had the privilege of covering the Legends Brunch in person from 2005-2010, and every year that was the highlight of All-Star Weekend for me, along with attending the ABA Reunions in 2005 and 2006.
Ernie Johnson is the perfect host for the Legends Brunch, and he consistently hits the right notes in terms of when to be serious and when to be humorous. This year ends TNT's four decades of covering the NBA, and during his traditional Legends Brunch poem Johnson expressed gratitude for TNT's long run, and appreciation to the production crew behind the scenes that makes sure everything runs smoothly.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Oscar Robertson. Silver called Robertson "A man of dignity, character, and respect." During a video tribute for Robertson, John Havlicek said that Robertson is the best player he ever played against, quite a statement from a Hall of Famer who spent 16 NBA seasons playing against many of the greatest players of all-time, including Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving. Abdul-Jabbar, who played with and against Robertson, termed Robertson a "pioneer in the game of basketball."
During his acceptance speech, Robertson emphasized that his guiding thought has always been, "Situations in life should be as fair as possible." Robertson said that this principle impacted both how he played the game--keeping his teammates involved--and how he worked to represent the players' interests when he served as the President of the Players Association from 1965-74; his friends Jack Twyman and Tommy Heinsohn persuaded him to accept the latter role, and Robertson was one of the "NBA 14" who filed a lawsuit that paved the way for the huge guaranteed salaries that today's NBA players take for granted. Robertson, Archie Clark, Dave Bing, Dave Cowens, and Dave DeBusschere later founded the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Robertson said that as a player and as a retired player he sought to partner with the NBA team owners as opposed to having an adversarial relationship with them. Robertson thanked Chris Paul for his role with the Players Association to help the retired players finally obtain health insurance in 2016. Recalling the Legends Brunch's humble beginnings, Robertson looked at the large assembled audience and concluded, "This is magnificent!"
Damian Lillard presented the Hometown Hero Award to Gary Payton. Lillard is a Bay Area native who said that when he was a kid he was inspired by Payton, who was already an established NBA player. Payton said that he is sad that his mother and father did not live long enough to see this moment. He acknowledged that other Bay Area natives--including Jason Kidd, Antonio Davis, and Brian Shaw--could have received the honor instead of him. Payton emphasized the importance of giving back to the community, mentioning that the reason that he took the head coaching job at College of Alameda is that he seeks to positively influence the community, particularly young people.
Stephen Curry introduced the program's always poignant "In Memoriam" segment. He spoke briefly about Jerry West, Bill Walton, Dikembe Mutombo, and Al Attles. Then, a video tribute accompanied by live music honored other Legends who passed away within the past year. I was a Philadelphia 76ers fan growing up, so three names in particular caught my attention and brought back memories: Pat Williams (the general manager who built the 76ers' 1983 championship team), Joe "Jellybean" Bryant (Kobe's father, who played for the 76ers from 1975-79), and Harold Katz (the 76ers' majority owner from 1981-1996).
Julius Erving, the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1977 and 1983 and an All-NBA First Team member for the 76ers' 1983 championship team, presented the Legend of the Year award to Rick Barry, who spent nine of his 14 professional seasons playing in the Bay Area (eight during two separates stints with the Warriors, plus one with the ABA's Oakland Oaks). Erving said that Barry is "as iconic for his scoring ability as for his style" and that Barry was "a player ahead of his time." Erving added that Barry, who is six years older than he is, "was one of my heroes, and he is still one of my heroes." Erving noted that Barry shared the proceeds from his 1967 All-Star Game MVP award with his teammates, inspiring him to do the same thing. Erving mentioned how often he and Barry spent time together, including going to Israel, coaching in the "Big Three," and doing Spalding commercials.
During the video tribute to Barry, one of the clips showed Barry saying that he wanted every game to come down to the last 10 seconds with the ball in his hands. Barry also declared that you play the game to be a champion.
After Barry joined Erving on stage, Barry mentioned that his speech was supposed to last just four minutes, and he scoffed that asking him to limit his remarks that way is like asking him to only take 10 shots in a game because he would just be warming up by that point. Barry said that he feels an "extreme sense of gratitude" for receiving the Legend of the Year award. He looked around the crowd, and singled out several people from his journey, including his wife Lynn, who he credited for helping him mellow out during the past 34 years. He also mentioned his oldest son Scooter, who was born just a few months before he won the 1967 All-Star Game MVP. Barry pointed out Clifford Ray, the starting center on Golden State's 1975 championship team, and he said that there is "no one in the world I would rather run the pick and roll with."
Barry recalled that his father once told him "The older you get the faster the years go by," and he said that those words have proven to be true. Barry reflected on how it feels to be an octogenarian, and he reminisced about the 1967 NBA All-Star Game. Barry did not mention that he scored a game-high 38 points on 16-27 field goal shooting, but he focused on the overall talent level present in that contest and how competitive the players were. Barry noted that 13 of the 20 1967 NBA All-Stars are on the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List; that group includes Pantheon members Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Jerry West. Barry recalled that East Coach Red Auerbach was ejected. It is also worth emphasizing that the East attempted 37 free throws and the West attempted 26 free throws in a 135-120 West win. The concept of the league's best players playing hard, playing defense, and committing fouls in an All-Star Game is unimaginable to a generation of players who have been led astray on All-Star Weekend by LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry (as correctly emphasized by Sirius XM NBA Radio host Brian Geltzeiler during the Saturday morning show that he hosts with Sam Mitchell).
Barry said that he can't stand load management and he mentioned that he hated blowouts during his playing career because his minutes would be limited in such games. Barry still misses playing because he loves to compete, and he said that the NBA should add a designated free throw shooter rule so that he can make a comeback (Barry led the league in free throw shooting seven times, and currently ranks eighth in career free throw percentage at .893). Barry's competitive fire is limited these days to fly fishing and pickleball.
The Legends Brunch concluded with a panel discussion with Run TMC hosted by Bob Costas. Ernie Johnson introduced the discussion by saying that he always wanted to be like Costas but never quite measured up. Costas returned the compliment by noting that Johnson had carved his own path as one of the best of all-time.
Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin only spent two years together as Golden State teammates (1989-91) but during that short time they formed lifelong friendships while etching a permanent place in the hearts of fans who fondly recall their on court exploits. The trio's name--a play on words combining the first letters of each of their first names along with the name of legendary rap group Run DMC--was chosen as a result of a fan voting contest. During the panel discussion, Mullin noted that he had "seniority" and knew as soon as he heard the Run TMC option that it was by far the best one. Mullin, who is from Brooklyn, went to high school with Run DMC founding member Darryl McDaniels.
The trio's short tenure ended when Coach Don Nelson traded Richmond for Billy Owens. Costas recalled that Nelson later called the deal a "no brainer--I had no brain when I made the trade." The Warriors reached the second round of the playoffs in Run TMC's final season together and they did not advance that far in the postseason again until 2007, when Nelson--during his second stint with the franchise--coached the "We Believe" squad that upset the number one seeded Dallas Mavericks. The players were understandably upset that Nelson broke up their trio, but Mullin noted that Nelson "was a visionary" who played small ball and exploited matchup advantages in unconventional ways that he learned during his playing days with the Boston Celtics when the Celtics had a fast team featuring the relatively undersized Dave Cowens at center. Mullin also praised Al Attles for being a mentor to everyone in the Warriors organization, and he spoke about how much he cherished the "brotherhood" that he shared with Hardaway and Richmond through good times and bad times. Mullin said that he felt like he never had an athletic advantage at any level during his basketball career, so he had to rely on his teammates to help him. Hardaway said that Mullin is way too modest, noting that Mullin was a three-time Big East Player of the Year during the Big East's glory years. Hardaway said that Mullin's work ethic and superior conditioning set a great example for him and for Richmond. Hardaway gave a shout out to Archie Clark as the inventor of the crossover move that Hardaway made famous as the "UTEP two step" or "killer crossover." Richmond is the most soft-spoken of the trio, but he told a funny story about receiving some trash talk from Hardaway after he had a poor shooting night and then returning the favor a short while later after Hardaway had an even worse shooting night--0-17 from the field in a December 27, 1991 game versus Minnesota. Hardaway emphasized that the Warriors won that game anyway, and then he had a big performance in his next game (30 points on 13-21 field goal shooting as the Warriors beat the Lakers).
The 2025 NBA Legends Brunch hit the ball out of the park (to use a mixed metaphor), but here is one suggestion for the 2026 edition: resume giving out the Bob Lanier Community Impact Award, named in honor of the Hall of Fame center who played for Detroit and Milwaukee. That award was first presented to Pau Gasol at the 2023 NBA Legends Brunch, and then Jalen Rose received the award last year, presented by
Hall of Famer Dave Bing. It is not clear why that award was not presented this year. Lanier devoted his post-playing career to community service and to encouraging players to participate in community service, and his legacy deserves to be honored and remembered.
Selected Previous NBA Legends Recaps:
NBA Legends Brunch Honors Bill Russell, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Pau Gasol (2023)
Jerry West Gives Powerful Speech After Being Honored as NBA Legend of the Year (2022)
Legends Brunch Honors Alonzo Mourning, Five Great Mavs (2010)
NBA Legends Brunch Honors Phoenix' Rich Basketball History (2009)
King James Reigns in Houston (2006 NBA All-Star Weekend)Labels: Chris Mullin, Damian Lillard, Gary Payton, Julius Erving, Mitch Richmond, NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Legends Brunch, Oscar Robertson, Rick Barry, Tim Hardaway
posted by David Friedman @ 10:24 AM
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