Tim Hardaway Jr. wasn’t always close with his NBA father who shares his name.
“I wanted him to play like I had played, to take the game seriously like I took the game seriously, understand the game like I understood the game,” Tim Sr. told ESPN. “I had to step back and really understand that I was tearing up my household, tearing him up. I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted to be a dad.”
By the end of high school, the pair had come closer together through basketball and apart from it, after their relationship in the game had first pulled them apart.
It’s not easy to be the son of a former NBA star chasing the same dream.
But Tim Jr. has made it happen, finding his own path and eventually following in the footsteps of his father.
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Who is Tim Hardaway Jr.’s father?
Tim Hardaway Jr. is indeed the son of Tim Hardaway Sr., the long-time NBA player.
Hardaway Sr. is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer.
Across 13 NBA seasons, mostly with the Warriors and Heat, Sr. averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists per game.
Comparing Tim Hardaway Jr. and Sr.
Tim Sr. was a do-everything point guard at 6-feet tall who could score and dish with the best of them.
Tim Jr. is a 6-foot-6 wing player. He doesn’t have the point guard skills of his dad. Rather, he’s a potent 3-point shooter who has shot 36.1 percent from beyond the arc in his NBA career.
In each of the past eight seasons, Tim Jr. has made more than two 3-pointers per game.
Jr. won’t be a Hall of Famer like Sr., but he’s approaching the same career longevity.
Tim Hardaway Sr. lasted 13 seasons in the NBA. This season with the Pistons is Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 12th.
Tim Jr. entered the league younger out of Michigan than Tim Sr. did out of UTEP.
Tim Sr. retired after his age-36 season, and this is just the age-32 season for Tim Jr.
Tim Sr.’s message to Jr. during his Michigan career still applies today:
“Basketball is not a mistake-free game. Go out there and play the best you can play. Nobody is perfect on that basketball court.”
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