In a candid and revealing interview, former NBA guard Eldridge Recasner pulls back the curtain on his journey from the notoriously competitive Continental Basketball Association (CBA) to a decade-long career in the NBA, sharing incredible locker-room stories about legends like Dikembe Mutombo and Michael Jordan.
The CBA: A League of “Grown Men” and Unmatched Hunger
For players on the cusp of the NBA, the CBA was the proving ground—a league Recasner describes with palpable intensity. “Man… I’ll tell you what, the CBA — the competition was sometimes tougher than the competition in the NBA,” Recasner states. While acknowledging the NBA’s superior talent, he stresses that the intensity in the CBA was driven by sheer hunger: “The guys played harder because EVERYBODY was hungry and was trying to get called up.”
The CBA was a legitimate pipeline, evidenced by the number of future NBA stars who played alongside or against Recasner in the early 90s. He rattled off an impressive list of contemporaries who made the jump:
- Anthony Mason
- John Starks (from the Knicks)
- Chucky Brown (Houston Rockets)
- Larry Robinson (Houston Rockets)
- Reggie Jordan (Atlanta Hawks)
- Anthony Goldwire (Charlotte Hornets)
- David Wesley (future teammate)
- Henry James (who once dropped 50 on Recasner’s team)
The league was a different animal then, a haven for the best talent not yet in the NBA, and it wasn’t just a young man’s game. “It was GROWN MEN! It wasn’t guys just 27 years old and under it was everyone. We had guys like Edgar Jones… he was 36 at the time playing with us in Yakima [The Sun Kings].” For Recasner, the CBA was essential: “It was a fun time, great battles and it gave me a chance to pursue and chase my dream and make it to the NBA.”
The “End of That Story” Mutombo vs. Jordan
Recasner spent time with Dikembe Mutombo in both Denver and Atlanta, and his account of one of the most famous dunks in NBA history is pure gold. Mutombo, known for his relentless confidence and finger-wagging, had been telling the media that Michael Jordan had never dunked on him.
“I KNEW that was gonna end bad,” Recasner admitted.
The inevitable confrontation came in Chicago during the ’97-’98 season. Recasner recalls seeing Jordan guarded by Tyrone Corbin running the famed Triangle Offense. Following a backdoor cut, an assist from Luc Longley sent Jordan soaring. “He gets a little bounce pass from somebody and he dunks on Dikembe and that was the end of that story,” Recasner laughs, adding that he tried to warn the big center: “I tried to tell the big fella that you DON’T want to wake that cat up man!”
Despite the highlight-reel moment, Recasner was quick to praise Mutombo as “a beast man; probably one of the BEST shot blockers that I’ve ever played behind Hakeem Olajuwon.”
Michael Jordan: The Greatest Killer and the “Fear Factor”
Recasner’s personal run-in with Jordan’s killer instinct came during a playoff game against the Bulls. Recasner was having a hot second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers with Steve Kerr guarding him. The Bulls called a timeout. When they came back out, Jordan was on him.
“Jordan’s on me and like, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said, ‘I’m here to shut you down!'” Recasner recalls. The result? “I don’t think I scored anymore, Scoop! [laughs].”
This moment encapsulates Recasner’s ultimate point about Jordan: He is the undisputed G.O.A.T..
“There ain’t been a killer like this in the history of the game like Michael Jordan,” Recasner insists. What separates MJ? “That guy was the best offensive player in the league and he was one of the top DEFENSIVE players in the league as well and that’s what separates him from all the rest.”
Recasner even felt the suffocating nature of Jordan’s defense first-hand. “Mike was guarding me one-on-one and I thought that I was getting double teamed! [laughs]… that’s how swarming his defense was!”
More powerful than the skill was the “fear factor.” Recasner says, “Cats were scared of him. I mean literally, dudes were scared to — dudes didn’t want to guard him.” Unlike the great Scottie Pippen—a “PHENOMENAL defender” who could focus on defense while Jordan carried the scoring load—Jordan’s presence alone was enough to make players freeze.
Kobe Bryant: “Mike’s Shadow”
If anyone came close to replicating Jordan’s intimidating aura, it was Kobe Bryant. Recasner calls him “Mike’s Shadow.”
“Kobe’s right there and I don’t think he’s better than Mike, but the next closest thing is Kobe Bryant,” he states, describing the young Bryant he played against in his rookie year. “Same type of dude: phenomenal offensive player, great defender, competitive and cats were scared of him man.”
Recasner’s first impression was immediate and unforgettable. “That sucker elbowed me man! [laughs] and he looked at me and said, ‘Yeah I elbowed you…'” He quickly recognized that competitive fire. “I remember telling Chucky Brown when we were on the Houston Rockets… ‘Man Chuck, that dude is going to be nice…’ I said, ‘Naw dude. He’s gonna have that impact as a player and he’s gonna be SPECIAL.'”
Kobe was the only other player Recasner says had that level of two-way dominance and carried the same “fear factor.”
The Hawks Locker Room: Mookie Blaylock’s Defense and the Enigma of Christian Laettner
Recasner’s time on the late ’90s Atlanta Hawks was led by the “coolest and classiest” Lenny Wilkens. However, Recasner believes the team’s defensive heart wasn’t just Mutombo.
“I thought he was the SECOND best damn defensive player on our team. Mookie Blaylock was,” Recasner reveals, anointing the point guard as the true lockdown artist. “Mookie Blaylock didn’t talk smack like Gary Payton did, but when it came down time to locking you up man — and you ask all the big point guards; the Brian Shaws, the Penny Hardaways… man they HATED bringing the rock up against him.”
Recasner recalled a moment when Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich put him in the starting lineup against Atlanta. His immediate thought? “Shit. Can I start tomorrow night? I don’t want to start against Mookie! [laughs].”
He also shared a fascinating off-court story about Christian Laettner. Initially hesitant when Laettner invited him to dinner due to rumors he’d heard, Recasner checked with teammates Mookie Blaylock and Steve Smith, who assured him Laettner was “cool.” The result was an unexpected friendship. Recasner remembers Laettner as an “awesome player” who embraced his villain status. “People hated him but guess what? He loved it! People would come into the arena and people would boo him and he’d be like, ‘Yeah! Bring it on!'”
