50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s –17. Tim Hardaway
The Golden State Warriors began the decade by selecting UTEP guard Tim Hardaway with the 14th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
He was an All-Rookie selection and wound up a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection with the Warriors.
Hardaway was third in the NBA in minutes played in 1990-91 and second in 1991-92; third in assists in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and fifth in 1992-93; fourth in steals in 1990-91; fourth in minutes per game in 1990-91, second in 1991-92 and third in 1992-93; fifth in assists per game in 1990-91, third in 1991-92 and 1994-95 and second in 1992-93; and fourth in steals per game in 1990-91.
He missed the entire 1993-94 season with a knee injury and missed 20 games the following season as he recovered and in February 1996 was traded with Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat in exchange for Bimbo Coles and Kevin Willis.
In six seasons with Golden State, Hardaway averaged 19.8 points, 9.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 37 minutes per game, shooting .455/.355/.768.
With Miami, Hardaway earned two more All-Star nods, three All-NBA selections and was fourth in the MVP balloting in 1996-97.
He was fifth in 3-pointers in 1996-97 and 1997-98 and second in 1998-99 and fifth in assists in 1995-96 and 1996-97.
In parts of four seasons with the Heat in the decade, Hardaway averaged 18.9 points, 8.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 37.8 minutes per game, shooting .419/.351/.798.
Hardaway remained in Miami until he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in August 2001 in exchange for a second-round pick in 2004. He was later dealt in February 2002 to the Denver Nuggets with Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey and a first-round pick in 2002 in exchange for Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson and Tariq Abdul-Wahad.
Waived by the Nuggets in June 2002, Hardaway was out of the NBA until March 2003, when he signed late in the season with the Indiana Pacers. He retired after the playoffs that year.
In the 1990s, Hardaway was 11th with 12,826 points, third with 5,925 assists, eighth with 1,223 steals, sixth with 1,125 3-pointers and fourth with an average of nine assists per game.
He is 21st all-time with 1,542 3-pointers, 14th with 7,095 assists, 48th with 1,428 steals, 13th with an average of 8.2 assists per game and 33rd with an average of 1.6 steals per game.
Hardaway has been an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons since August 2014.