A dad who spends his nights at the warehouse. A mother who toils herself in the tobacco plantations. A family of nine children raised in a Connecticut red-light district. And above all a physical mat (1.78 m). Michael Adams was light years away from a career as a pro basketball player. He became one of the best 3-point shooters in the League and was invited to the 1992 All-Star Game. A sort of Isaiah Thomas before his time.
His shorts float. His pants are too big. He’s too small and he can’t smash… What chance did Michael Adams have of succeeding in the NBA? At a time when another Michael is inventing basketball to be played above the circle, Adams has no hope of imposing himself across the Atlantic with his seventy-eight meters, his 73 kg and his boyish look. Nothing has changed » corrects Adams. « It goes back to when I started. I was the smallest kid in the neighborhood. As I grew older, I always remained one of the smallest. »
Phil Jackson: “Always rejected, he became a star of this sport. These are the kinds of stories the NBA loves.”
“Mighty Mike” (“the mighty Mike”, parody of “Mighty Mouse”) is the last of the little big men. In the fall of 1994, his new teammate in Charlotte, Muggsy Bogues, made him look like a giant. But if Bugs was never a prime offensive weapon, Adams was. Like Jordan, Michael reinvented basketball. Long before Stephen Curry, he made 3-point shooting an art. After nine years in the NBA, Adams holds the record for attempts, 2,735, for 906 successes. Only Dale Ellis had done better. Call it revenge of the little man. Of his career, Phil Jackson, the coach of the Chicago Bulls, once said: ” It’s a fairy tale. Always rejected, he became a star of this sport. These are the kinds of stories the NBA loves. »
A real movie script. The story begins in Hartford (Connecticut), in the buildings of Bellevue Square, a red-light district. Talk about a beautiful view! Michael is the eighth in a family of nine children including five boys and four girls. His mother, Grace, worked in the tobacco fields. His father, Oliver, worked night shifts in a factory. Adams learned basketball on the playgrounds. He was always the last chosen when the kids made the teams… This did not prevent him from becoming the leading scorer in the State during his last year at Harford Public High School. Yet it did not interest any Division 1 college. When I was told that I was not good enough, it hurt me a lot “recalls Adams.
Everything will be fine thanks to… Patrick Ewing! The most coveted player in 1981 opts for Georgetown. Boston College, which hoped to attract him in its nets, finds itself with an available place and no one in sight. That summer, one of the assistant coaches supervised Adams at a tournament in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
« He had a tiger in the engine recalls Keith McKey. ” I went to see his trainer to ask him why no one had recruited him. He replied that it was because of his small size. I didn’t understand, he was so surprising. »
Chosen in the 3rd round of the Draft
Adams has always played like an unstoppable mosquito, skimming the floors at high speed. Michael may have been small, but his name became as famous as those of Pat Ewing and Chris Mullin, the two heroes who made the Big East Conference famous nationally. Three times he took the Boston College Eagles to the NCAA Tournament. ” You always have to trust yourself. I never stopped thinking that something good would happen to me “, he confides.
This state of mind served him from the start of his professional career. Chosen by the Sacramento Kings, ex-Kansas City Kings, in the third round of the 1985 Draft (66th choice), he played only 139 minutes in 18 matches before being fired. “Being fired hurts. When you’re young, the opportunities to recover from failure are rare. »
Adams has been dismissed three times in ten months, an unofficial NBA record. He completed his first pro season with the Bay State Bombardiers (CBA), where his skill was appreciated. He then signed with the Washington Bullets (future Wizards) on May 13, 1986. He was fired on September 25, resumed on the 29th, fired again on October 28 to finally be signed for good on November 21! Phew, there were no more dates in the diary…
Adams has a slightly weird shot that comes from the hip, as if the ball weighs 20 kg. And above all, he gives the impression of only pushing the ball once in suspension. The “push shot” becomes his signature. Many coaches have tried to correct this habit. In vain. As the ball returned to the basket frequently, Michael never wanted to change it. However, he had few opportunities to show this tic during his season with the Bullets. The following year, Washington drafted Muggsy Bogues and Adams was traded to Denver.
« We really wanted it. We liked his speed and his way of leading the team in his wake. “explains Doug Moe, coach of the Nuggets at the time.
Moe’s teams have always been the most offensive in the league and the best on the counterattack. He was the first coach to use Adams properly. In 1987-88, Denver finished first in the Midwest Division. The Nuggets even get their best record (54-28) for 11 years. At the time, the Colorado franchise had just left the ABA. Future Hall of Famer Alex English is shooting at 25 points per game. Michael has 13.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Moe is voted coach of the year, concluded by an elimination in the semi-finals of the Conference against Dallas (4-2).
Sixth leading scorer and 3rd leading passer in the NBA in 1991
The leader of the Nuggets achieves the feat of losing fewer balls than Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas and all the NBA starting leaders (144). That same season, on January 28, 1988 to be precise, he began the longest series of matches with at least one successful winning shot (79). It will end during the following year, January 23, 1989. The mark has since been erased by Dana Barros (89 with Philadelphia and Boston between December 23, 1994 and January 10, 1996) then by… Stephen Curry of course. Barros, who started with the Eagles during Adams’ rookie season in the NBA… The second’s jersey was retired by Boston College in 1999.
Who says little ones can’t score the way they want? In 1990-91, number 14 had a dream season. He broke his personal best in checks – 54 against Milwaukee – and had 26.5 points and 10.5 assists. Sixth best scorer and third best passer in the League, Mike also broke the NBA record for the number of 3-point attempts over the season (564). Ditto on a match (20).
« He was feared by all the teams “recalls Doug Moe. ” He didn’t even need to succeed very much. He occupied a full-time defender and that created spaces for others. »
Unfortunately for Adams, the playoff campaigns follow each other and look alike: sweep inflicted by Phoenix in the first round in 1989, sweep inflicted by San Antonio at the same stage in 90… And this famous season which saw him take control of scoring in Colorado turns into a nightmare for Denver (20-62). Several teams covet the Rockies sniper. Finally, the Bullets bring Adams back to the federal capital during the summer of 1991. The following season, he reaches paradise by being selected for the All-Star Game in Orlando, that of the return of Magic Johnson. The “Wash’” point guard comes in third in the fan votes!
Isiah Thomas, summoned for the eleventh time, starts the match. Adams plays 14 minutes (9 pts). Consecration without a future. His stats in the regular season (18.1 pts, 4 rebounds, 7.6 wt) are indeed starting to take a nosedive. The 57 prize-winning baskets achieved during the 1993-94 season represent his lowest score since 1987. What to wonder if the n°1 of the League in 1988 and 91 has not taken a blow of old… “ Every year in Washington, we had to rebuild a team. In my first season, we were racing. Then we played while walking, which was not an advantage for me. My average has logically fallen. »
On August 2, 1994, the Hornets signed Adams in exchange for two second-round draft picks. The deal was necessary for everyone. Michael wanted to leave Washington and Charlotte needed another leader to relieve Bogues, an old acquaintance who had arrived in North Carolina six years earlier. “I can’t wait,” proclaims the neo-Hornet. “I join a competitive and ambitious team. »
He agreed to lower his salary to regain the pleasure of the game. I had to be less greedy to come to Charlotte. But I know that in return, I will gain in pleasure and victories. I love fast basketball and can bring Charlotte exactly what it takes to complement Muggsy’s (Bogues) game. The rhythm will not vary and as I am a little more dangerous than him in attack… »
The smallest duo in history: Bogues-Adams!
Bugs or Adams alongside Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Dell Curry and Hersey Hawkins: it will be worth watching. The Hornets will run. Buzz like hornets. Adams will water from afar and for the first time in his life, he won’t be the smallest on his team. Around the world, Charlotte’s jersey is a hit. It is one of the most popular NBA teams at the moment. Like the pair Penny Hardaway-Shaquille O’Neal in Orlando, the doublet “Zo-Grandmama” has its unconditional fans. These four do a lot for the revival of a League that seeks a counter-power to the domination of the Bulls. The fairy tale is beautiful. Too handsome.
Tensions between Mourning and Johnson became unmanageable after the elimination in the first round of the 1995 playoffs (3-1 against Chicago). The management of the Hornets must decide in favor of one of the two and chooses to send “Zo” to Miami against Glen Rice and Matt Geiger. “Grandmama” will follow a year later, transferred to New York. Charlotte missed her chance. Michael Adams witnesses the implosion of the team as a spectator. Between 1994 and 96, he only played 50 matches with a modest contribution. At 33 years old and after 11 years on the circuit, he takes leave of the League.
After becoming a coach in 1999, he notably officiated at the Vancouver Grizzlies – he participated in the move to Memphis – and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). Short-lived experience since he was dismissed after one season, in 2004, after balancing the balance sheet (17-17) and qualifying the franchise created in 1998 for its third playoffs. Elimination in three matches against the Connecticut Sun.
We then met him in Maryland where he then became responsible for player development and managed both scouting and recruiting. Gary Williams, head coach of the Terrapins, integrates him into his staff in April 2005. All but a surprise since Adams had evolved under Williams’ orders between 1982 and 85, during his stay at Boston College. The reference weekly “Sports Illustrated” has selected him among the 50 greatest sportsmen in the State of Connecticut.
CAREERS
11 years old
653 matches (510 times starter)
14.7 pts, 2.9 rbds, 6.4 pds, 1.7 int, 0.1 ct
41.5% on shots, 33.2% at 3 pts, 84.9% on free throws
PALMARES
All-Star : 1992
