Mookie Blaylock was a popular NBA player who enjoyed an impressive 13-year career in the NBA.
However, his battles with addiction and ultimately a tragic car accident overshadowed everything he achieved in basketball.
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Blaylock spent seven seasons at the Atlanta HawksCredit: GETTYMookie Blaylock is in rare NBA club with Magic Johnson and Allen Iverson
Blaylock was a highly talented player who began his career with the New Jersey Nets as the 12th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
As a point guard he led the NBA in steals for two consecutive seasons in 1996 and 1998, joining Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul and Alvin Robertson as the only players to achieve that feat.
He remains the Atlanta Hawks’ all-time franchise leader in steals with 1,321, a record he achieved after spending seven years with the franchise.
Blaylock was also selected as an NBA All-Star in 1994, the same year he was also in the All-Defensive First Team.
In that season he averaged 17.4 points and 5.9 assists.
However, on May 31, 2013, the lives of several people, including Blaylock’s, were irreversibly changed.
Frank and Monica Murphy were a couple who had just recently moved back to Atlanta.
They were driving to a house for a viewing when Frank, who was driving, saw a black Escalade barreling towards him at a 45-degree angle going about 50 miles per hour.
The black Escalade was being driven by Blaylock, who was under orders not to drive due to a history of seizures.
While Frank survived the crash, mother of five Monica Murphy died of her injuries hours after the crash.
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Blaylock began his career at the New Jersey Nets but made a name for himself with the HawksCredit: GETTY
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Blaylock (right) is an NBA All-Star who led the league in steals for consecutive yearsCredit: getty
Blaylock was in critical condition but later survived.
At the time of his crash, Blaylock was also facing an arrest warrant for failure to appear in court on drug related offenses and and DUI charges in a nearby county, according to the police reports at the time.
What happened to Mookie Blaylock?
Just over a year later, Blaylock pleaded guilty and received a reduced prison sentence for his role in the car crash.
He was sentenced to 15 years for vehicular homicide and other charges in the death of Monica Murphy in a head-on collision in Clayton County on May 31, 2013.
However to the conditions of the plea deal, the term was reduced to seven years — suspended after three — and eight years’ probation.
“When we ran his criminal history, one of the first questions we asked was, ‘Why is this man still driving?’” said Tasha Mosley, Solicitor General of Clayton County, Georgia, where the accident involving the Murphys took place.
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After earning over $31,790,000 during a playing career that stretched across three teams and 13 years, much of Blaylock’s earnings were consumed in court.
Blaylock’s substance is something that was well-known, with friends sharing their stories.
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“He was one of the few NBA players who could smoke marijuana and play the best 48 minutes you’ve ever seen,” alleged Danny Solomon, one of Blaylock’s best friends and a former Hawks ball-boy.
“And he was doing it for so long that it took a lot to have an effect.”
Blaylock’s tragic tale means he joins a long list of NBA players whose career headed in a very different direction.
Randy Brown was forced to auction his three championship rings to as financial difficulties took their toll.
Darius Miles, who made $62 million while in the NBA, admitted he was broke after retirement despite huge endorsement deals and movie roles supplementing his playing contracts.