Mark Price, Altar Boy and Little Demon

Very clean to him, Mark Price he looks like an altar boy. At 80 kilograms wet, 1m83 with pumps and a flawless blow-dry, Price offers part of the profile of an ideal son-in-law. Just to add, the guy sings in a choir that belongs to him: Mark Price and Lifeline. He even recorded an album. Hallelujah! But don’t think Price made a habit of turning the other cheek on the basketball court.

Born on February 15, 1964, leader Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995, although he was deeply religious, he could prove to be a little demon on the pitch. Cleveland fans, coaches and opponents have long underestimated this goblin, forgetting that behind this clean-cut appearance was a true leader of men. Pat Riley, then head of the Knicks and newly named coach of the year (1993), was not wrong: “Mark is the best point guard in the League today. He is one of five or six players in the NBA who completely changes the game of the team.”

Phil Jackson’s favorite point guard

Phil Jackson, who just won his first three-thirty » with the Bulls, for his part he believes that “Mark Price is (his) favorite leader”. With fans like that, it was no surprise to see the Bartlesville (Oklahoma) native lead Dream Team II during the 1994 World Championships in Canada. With Price, the Cavaliers go two out of three. Without him, they lose two out of three times.

“Mark makes all the difference. He’s our real leader. He’s quick enough to penetrate, he can shoot or pass at will. His presence is enough for others to shine.”notes his coach at the time, Lenny Wilkens, who knows a lot about leaders, as the former 6th best passer in NBA history. Wilkens adds the main one to all these qualities: “I don’t know any point guard who reads the game so well.”

Four-time All-Star!

The four-time All-Star, the 25th pick in the 1986 draft, left the NBA in 1998, after twelve years of good and loyal service, averaging 15.2 points, 6.7 assists, 47.2% shooting, 40.2% on 3-pointers and 90.4% in the history of NBA history. Stephen Curry and Steve Nash). He played just 7 games for the Bullets during the 1995-96 season before going to Golden State and then Orlando. Who will never fully find the conductor of the Cavs. A much talked about player during the 1993 All-Star weekend.

We are located in Salt Lake City. It all starts with a 3-point shooting contest. Mark takes down the prize shots with his eyes closed. He won the contest by defeating Trail Blazer’s Terry Porter in the finals (he would do it again in 1994). The next day, in the Zvezda match, he dazzled the public, completely devoted to the cause of Carl Malone and John Stockton, regional entertainers. The two friends would be voted co-MVPs, but Price was just as deserving of the title. His 8-meter rockets allowed the Eastern Conference to secure overtime.

Metronome for free throws

The son of a coach, Mark grew up in Enid, Oklahoma, a small town of 49,000. He learned very quickly to work on his skill, especially his throws. If in the 1992-93 season. Timberwolve Michael Williams beat Calvin Murphy’s 1981 free throw record (84 straight to the Rockets’ 78), Price is truly the king of the specialty. With a 94.8% success rate in this drill at the end of the same season, he ranks 2nd in NBA history.

Mark has always been a shooter. In 1989, he became the third player, after Larry Bird and Reggie Miller, to make at least 50% of his shots, 40% of his 3-pointers and 90% of his free throws. His performance in the All-Star Game brought him out of the shadows he had been wallowing in. “This is the first time I’ve gotten this much attention…”he remarked after the “Three-point Contest.” A year later, autograph hunters will ask him if he was nervous when he shot to keep his possessions: “No, why?”

Price, whose No. 25 will be retired by Cleveland, doesn’t want to be a star. His primary ambition at the time? To be a faithful husband and an exemplary father to his two children. A lifestyle that makes you smile. We readily mock these Cavaliers, all from small towns, not at all glamorous and who know nothing about the jet set. Brad Daugherty, the king in chief, lives on the farm. Interior Larry Nance, the third All-Star team, sponsors the drag racing team. Our little Marko spends part of his time around the church with his choir. This is America too. Guys who “look” but aren’t at all. “Enid is a very small town. It was an event to go to the nearest mall or to watch the high school football teamsays Mark. Everyone knew each other and social life revolved around the parish. Like my partners, I still appreciate this quiet life today. We want to live in quiet neighborhoods where our families are safe. »

In honor of its ambassador, the city of Enid renamed the basketball arena the “Mark Price Arena.” This angelic image has always stuck with Price. And with that a certain “anonymity”. Despite averaging 31 points in his final high school season, only Georgia Tech University was interested in him.

“Mark was amazing, explains Bobby Cremins, head coach of the Yellow Jackets. I was quite surprised to be the only coach from a major university to contact him. He knew how to do everything, he always spilled and, my God, what a fantastic shooter! »

Drafted by the Mavericks

Price joined Georgia Tech in 1982, the year the Atlantic Coast Conference experimented with the 3-point line located… 5.41m from the circle. It’s like giving a child a bag of candy. Price becomes the first freshman to finish as the Conference’s leading scorer (20.3 points). His varsity time was noticed, but he was again ignored during the 1986 draft. It is considered too slow and too small. Dallas kept him at the 25th position, in the 2nd round, and immediately sent him to Ohio.

His beginnings there are shy. Eighteen minutes of play and 7 points per game. He came close to disaster with acute peritonitis that sent him to the hospital for several weeks. The following season, the Cavaliers drafted another point guard, Kevin Johnson. Price accepts the competition. Works on 16 points. Johnson spent a year on the bench watching him shine before being traded to the Suns for Larry Nance. Mark has subdued the opposition, but his troubles are not yet over. On November 30, 1990, at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, he crashed into a billboard and blew out his knee while trying to save an inbounds ball. The doctor’s verdict: torn ligaments of the left knee. “When they told me I had torn ligaments, I thought it was time to think about another job.

LeBron James steals his franchise records

But Price has an extraordinary will. Two years later, he will participate in the All-Star game. Only Bernard King managed to come back after such a serious injury. The recipe? Work. The same one that allowed him to develop his game.

“In college they asked me to score. In the pros I had to learn to be more complete. When you see Stockton or the Magic, you really get the impression that they were born to organize the game and pass. I had to work a lot to get there.”

Add to that unfailing patience and faith, and you realize that, beaten by Chicago five times in the playoffs (in the first round in 1988, 1989 and 1994, in the 1993 Conference Semifinals and in the 1992 Conference Finals), Mark Price never gave up. “We will take revenge next season”he relentlessly repeated this veritable little devil with the face of an angel who suffered two more first-round disappointments (against Philadelphia in 1990 and New York in 1995) but was retained on the All-NBA first team in 1993. The leading passer in Cavs history (4,206) before LeBron James don’t double him, Price was also the franchise’s leading stealer (734 steals) before seeing LeBron James overtake him (again) in December 2008. Good stealer, but not a particularly good defender…

Reconversion as a coach and shooting specialist

After retiring from the sport, Mark Price built a second, rich and varied career in the world of basketball, mainly as a coach and shooting specialist. He was quickly drawn to coaching, starting in high school in 2000–2001. at Whitefield Academy in Atlanta, where he immediately transformed the team with an outstanding record of 27 wins and 5 losses. His influence is such that the program is progressing spectacularly compared to previous seasons, and we will remember that he had under his command the spiker Josh Smith.
Recognized for his game intelligence and shooting skills, Price then became a consultant and coach specializing in the NBA. He specifically works with the Nuggets, Grizzlies and Hawks. His reputation as a shooting specialist was established when he helped Rajon Rondo develop his outside shot before the 2010 Finals.

His coaching career also took him internationally: in 2006 he became the first coach of the Southern Dragons in Australia, a short but significant experience. He then continued in the NBA as an assistant coach with the Warriors, Magic, then Bobcats.

In 2015, he took the next step by becoming the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers in the NCAA. The adventure lasted until 2017, before he returned to a more specialized role. In 2018, he rejoined the Nuggets as a shooting specialist consultant.

Article published in Mondial Basket in 2009, updated in 2026

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.