NBA
NBA's Fathers & Sons

6-10-19 - Andy Dolich
Klay and Mychal Thompson
6-10-19 - Andy Dolich
Steph and Dell Curry


Andy Dolich -- 2015


Father's Day,
the NBA way

By Andy Dolich


What better Father's Day gift than an NBA Championship, especially if it's a team led by your son. Turn the clock back-back to games in the driveway when Steph and Seth were learning to shoot from Dad and think about the meaning of Father's Day.

Remember one-on-one with your Pops in the driveway, blacktop, cul-de-sac, schoolyard, playground, gym and nerf ball basket from your toddler days. All of these battles were forever indented in my mind during the driveway hoops scene in The Great Santini between Robert DuVall and his son, played by Michael O'Keefe.

There have been many father-son combinations in NBA history, with more to come. Family trees are becoming more prevalent in sports. Too bad Wayne "Tree" Rollins didn't have a dad who played in the League. Just guessing that "Pops" Mensah-Bonsu had a Pops who helped him before he became "Pops."

Here are the seventy-six Father-Son combos to play in the NBA.

Bill -- Luke Walton
Ronald -- Ronnie Brewer
Gerald -- Gerald Henderson, Jr.
Rick-- Brent, Drew and Jon Barry
Henry -- Mike Bibby
Joe -- Kobe Bryant
Wes -- Wesley Matthews
Mike -- Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
Stan -- Kevin Love
Dell -- Stephen, Seth Curry
Wayne -- Rex Chapman
Rich -- Richard Dumas
Leroy -- Leron Ellis
Bob -- Danny Ferry
Matt -- Matt Guokas, Jr.
Earle -- Sean Higgins
Bill -- Bill Hosket, Jr.
Ed -- Danny Manning
Press -- Pete Maravich
Al -- Allie McGuire
George -- Larry Mikan
Pete -- Rick Mount
Jim -- Jim Paxson, Jr. and John Paxson
Walt -- Eric Piatkowski
Al -- Kevin Salvadori

Dolph -- Danny Schayes
Walt -- Wally Szczerbiak
Bill -- Jan Van Breda Kolff
Ernie -- Kiki Vandeweghe
David -- David Vaughn III
Jimmy Walker -- Jalen Rose
Sidney -- Taurean Green
Norm -- Brian Cook
Ed -- Terry Davis
Darren -- Austin Daye
Rod -- Cory Higgins
Tito -- Al Horford
George -- Coby Karl
John -- John Lucas III
Scott -- Sean May
Tony -- A. J. Price
Leo -- Andy Rautins
Doc -- Austin Rivers
Walker -- Walker Russell, Jr.
Derek -- Nolan Smith
Jeff -- Jeffrey Taylor
Mychal -- Klay, Mychel Thompson
Milt -- Dajuan Wagner
Gerald -- Damien Wilkins
Brett -- Jackson Vroman
Arvydas -- Domantas Sabonis

Melvin -- Devin Booker
Rick -- Jalen Brunson
Corey -- Jae Crowder
Larry -- Larry Drew II
Bill -- Vincent Edwards
Patrick -- Patrick Ewing Jr.
Dick -- Diante Garrett
Harvey -- Jerami,Jerian Grant
Tim -- Tim Hardaway Jr.
Jarron -- Jarron Jackson Jr.
Wali -- Askia Jones
Frank -- Luke Kornet
Roy -- Devyn Marble
Jay -- Erik Murphy
Larry -- Larry Nance Jr.
Curtis Perry -- Byron Houston
Paul -- Phil Pressey
Glen -- Glen Rice Jr.
Glenn -- Glenn Robinson III
John -- David Stockton
Gary -- Gary Trent Jr.
Chris -- Julian Washburn
Michael -- Joseph Young Jr.
Mitchell -- Andrew Wiggins
Rickie -- Justice Winslow


See if you can pick out those who became coaches. How many NBA champions in this group? How many MVPs? Hall of Famers?

Best Father-in-Law, Father-and-Son combo has to be Bruce Hale, Rick Barry and his NBA baller boys, Brent, Drew and Jon. If you add in Scooter, who played at Kansas and internationally with Canyon, the Barry's would have their own team. In my short time with the Golden State Warriors (1994-95), I tried to convince team owner Chris Cohan to hire Rick as coach and have his sons join him on the roster. Sadly, Cohan didn't buy the idea of The Barry Warriors.

Harvey Catchings, who played in the NBA, is the proud Dad of Tamika Catchings, a 15-year star with the WNBA's Indiana Fever where she was Rookie of the Year, a Champion, MVP, and an Olympic gold medal winner. Add in Cheryl Ford and her dad, Karl 'The Mailman' Malone and Natalie Williams and her dad, Nate. Father's Day for hoop star daughters too.

When I was with the Memphis Grizzlies we drafted Mike Conley as the fourth overall pick from Ohio State in 2007. He was represented by his dad, Olympic gold medal winning and triple jump legend Mike Conley, Sr. Go to YouTube and see his dunk from behind the free throw line in a celebrity dunk contest. How many of your dads can do that?

Happy Father's Day!
                                                        *          *          *          *
Andy Dolich has over five decades of leadership in the sports industry, including executive positions in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, pro soccer and lacrosse. Presently Dolich is COO of the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) and teaches sports business at Stanford's School of Continuing Studies. Dolich is also co-author of the new book:
Pops
3-6-17 - Pops

Michael King (left), with an associate from USF (center), and Karla Granadino-King, are pictured at the Olympic Club in San Francisco,  proudly sharing with the world their  Pops Premium Rumpopo. A King family secret, Pops Premium Rumpopo is a  delicious rum cream liqueur recipe brewed in the family tradition.  The award winning recipe is a Belizean family favorite and now available at all Total Wine & More stores in California and Bay Area retailers.
For more information, visit https://www.bzecheers.com/rumpopo

Pops - Original
Pops Back Label