Back In The Day NBA

Pat Riley Says Earl Monroe Brought Showmanship To NBA

Shandel Richardson

March 21, 1973; New York, NY, USA; FILE PHOTO; Atlanta Hawks guard Pete Maravich (44) defends New York Knicks guard Earl Monroe (15) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images
March 21, 1973; New York, NY, USA; FILE PHOTO; Atlanta Hawks guard Pete Maravich (44) defends New York Knicks guard Earl Monroe (15) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images / Manny Rubio-Imagn Images
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NBA great Earl Monroe had a couple of nicknames during his playing days.

One was "Black Jesus." The other was "The Pearl."

He could do things with the ball that were considered mythical. Its no wonder why legend Pat Riley called him one of the league's first showmen in the 1970s.

"Earl could do things that other players wouldn't even attempt to do," Riley said in an interview with the NBA. "Some people would have said that what he was doing was showboating, and it wasn't. What he was doing was just getting an advantage."

On Thursday, Black Jesus turned 80. Many around the league took time to celebrate one of the game's greats. He won an championship in 1972-73 with the New York Knicks, was a four-time All-Star and a member of the 75th Anniversary Team.

Many of the stars from the 1980s and `90s patterned their games after Monroe, including Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Magic Johnson. Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once called Monroe the best player he's ever faced on the playground.

"He used his incredible ball-handling skills," Riley said. "I think he might have been one of the first players I ever saw put the ball between their legs - not once but twice, and then do another move and do a reverse spin move or something. He just left you standing concrete."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com