When the NCAA tourney got canceled in March we entered a whole new world, which included a sports void the likes of which we have never seen before. The fine folks at ESPN came to the rescue in mid-April with “The Last Dance”, a 10-part miniseries about the 1998 Chicago Bulls and their quest to win a 6th NBA title in an 8-year span before Coach Phil Jackson and most of his star players all went their separate ways. While it has been comforting to spend the past several Sunday nights with behind-the-scenes stories from Steve Kerr/Scottie Pippen/Dennis Rodman, the star of the show as always is Michael Jordan. Even though the documentary concluded on May 17th, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has dug through his archives and discovered oodles of unpublished interviews about Jordan’s career, from his early days as the leading scorer for team USA at the 1983 Pan Am Games to a 55-PT playoff performance during Chicago’s final title run in 1998. We continue our trip down memory lane by chatting with Cedric Ceballos about his Suns facing Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals.
You started your college career at Ventura College, where in only 2 years you were named a JC All-American, led the Pirates to their 1st state title in 35 years, and set a school record with 1609 career PTS: why did you choose to go to Ventura, and what did it mean to you to win a title? I was not highly-recruited out of high school because I did not get to play on the varsity until I was a senior: even after I made the team I just sat on the bench a lot. However, 1 of our star players broke his wrist at a pep rally towards the end of the season so I got a lot of playing time in his absence. I averaged a double-double during our final 6 games but we ended up losing to Stacey Augmon’s John Muir team in the 1986 CIF Finals. There were a lot of scouts there to watch Stacey but nobody wanted to take a chance on a guy like me who only played great in 6 games. I lived in Los Angeles my whole life but wanted to get out of the city so I could focus on being a student.
After transferring to Fullerton you set a school record with a career scoring average of 22.1 PPG, and your 12.5 RPG as a senior was among the top-10 in the nation: why did you decide to transfer to Fullerton, and how were you able to get so many REB despite being only 6’6”? My older brother Chris went to Fullerton so I knew their coaches/system. Teams like UCLA/UNLV started coming around after I was named an All-American but they already had great players at my position. I thought that I would only play 2 more years before wrapping up my career so I wanted to go somewhere where I could be on the court all of the time. I was not trying to get to the NBA: I just wanted to have fun and get my degree! At 6’6” I got to run all over the court and grab whatever rebounds I could.
In the summer of 1990 you were drafted in the 2nd round by Phoenix: were you thrilled to realize your dream of making it to the NBA or disappointed that you did not get selected in the 1st round? I had no expectations of making the NBA until Jerry West showed up at 1 of my games, which was really shocking. I had already enrolled, paid up for my 5th year of college, and even had an internship lined up. I knew a lot of guys when I was younger who ended up making it to the NBA: I grew up playing against future stars like Gary Payton/Derrick Coleman and my buddy Elden Campbell got drafted by the Lakers 21 spots ahead of me. I was happy for Elden but disappointed that I did not become a Laker myself. I do not think they even said my name live on TV: they had already cut away to a commercial! My mom was a fan of Walter Davis so she liked the Suns. I scored 20+ PPG both in rookie camp and the preseason…but on opening night against Portland I did not even get onto the court. That is when reality set in for me: I became a professional that night and worked hard to see what I could become.
In 1992 you scored a perfect 50 with a blindfolded dunk en route to winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest: how did you come up with the idea, and could you see through the blindfold or not? I was invited to the Orlando Classic as a senior and won the dunk contest over Dee Brown. Every dunk that Brown used to win the 1991 Slam Dunk contest was stuff that I had done before in college: covering my eyes, pumping up my shoes, etc. I remember playing the Lakers in the Forum after Magic Johnson announced that he had HIV: he told me that I would have to do something big in the contest like “going blind”. I had 10-20 dunks in my repertoire but there were a lot of other great dunkers I was going up against like Shawn Kemp/Larry Johnson. I was 50-50 on whether or not to do the dunk but I figured that even if I missed it people would still be talking about it for years. After I won the contest I got more autograph seekers on the road and people watching me dunk during warm-ups than ever before. Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons ended up putting me in the starting lineup during the playoffs because he was not getting along with Tom Chambers so I just took advantage of it and continued to be a starter the following season.
In 1993 you led the NBA with 57.6 FG% despite only playing 22 MPG: what is your secret for shooting, and do you think that you should have gotten more playing time that season? We ended up going to the Finals that year. Richard Dumas and I split time as a dynamic duo so my shots always had to be good ones. We had a bunch of great scorers like Chambers/Charles Barkley/Kevin Johnson/Dan Majerle/Danny Ainge. The star players were allowed to take/miss a few bad shots but I made sure to not take any bad shots myself.
What are your memories of the 1993 NBA Finals that you had to miss due to a stress fracture in your left foot (John Paxson made a 3-PT shot with 4 seconds left for a 1-PT win in Game 6 to clinch a 3-peat for the Bulls)? I remember everything being so much brighter: the farther we went in the playoffs, the more media attention we received. The Finals is the biggest stage in the basketball world. It was disappointing to not play but it was still great to watch Barkley and Michael Jordan go head-to-head.
In December of 1994 after joining the Lakers you scored a career-high 50 PTS/21-31 FG in a win over Minnesota (which was the highest scoring game by a Lakers player in 2 decades): was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I do not really think that I was in the zone. Nick Van Exel had 13 AST and Vlade Divac/Campbell also combined for 8 AST. I was not on fire from outside: I just took a lot of good shots inside and made some put-backs and the other guys made great passes to me all night long. I had 46 PTS with about 5 minutes left in the game and the crowd started booing my teammates when they took a shot instead of getting the ball to me! I made a 3-PT shot at the buzzer to get over the hump.
In 1995 you were named an All-Star but could not participate due to a torn ligament in your right thumb: what did it mean to you to be named an All-Star, and how frustrating was it to have to miss the game due to your injury? It was another opportunity to get onto the big stage. Every stage of my high school/college career featured a chance for me to step into the spotlight but when I got to the NBA Finals/All-Star game my injury luck just ran out. I could not really get upset at the time but looking back on it now it would have been cool to have played in both of those.
After retiring from the NBA you played professionally in Israel/Russia/the Philippines: what did you learn from these experiences, and how did they compare to the NBA? There is no comparison at all because everything is different: the talent, the way they treat you, the accommodations, etc. The only place I had a good time was in the Philippines: everywhere else was just torture. It was a different world with a different mentality.
You averaged 14.3 PPG during your 11-year NBA career: how satisfied are you with your career, and what do you hope to do in the future? I am more than satisfied: my accomplishments went far beyond what I thought I would be able to do. I will just continue to try and help others whether I am on the microphone or on the bench.