Watch a Grainy Highlight Reel From Former Point Guard and Pearl Jam Namesake Mookie Blaylock!

Published at 8:30 AM on September 18, 2009

By Nick Marino

Any serious Pearl Jam fan knows that the band originally named itself after second-tier NBA star Mookie Blaylock. But when was the last time you watched Blaylock himself play? We bet it's been awhile, since he's been retired for the better part of a decade. But now you can revisit his glory days in this lovingly assembled highlight reel:

We especially enjoyed the following moments:

0:05—A saxophone howl welcomes us to the clip. It's a little bit jazzy, and a little bit like a film noir soundtrack.

0:29—Mookie hits a midrange jumper. Maybe not the most scintillating basketball highlight we've ever seen, but, you know, solid. The mid-range jumper is kind of a lost art. Much like playing what we used to call "grunge."

0:41—Mookie, unable to find an open teammate, spots up for three. Again, maybe not a mind-blowing move. But solid. Like No Code.

1:02—Mookie knocks the ball out of bounds. This is a highlight?

1:16—After making a steal, Mookie misses a lay-up. We are beginning to wonder about the merits of this "highlight" reel.

1:26—The video resolution momentarily clears up to give us an important shot of Mookie staring meaningfully at the ground and breathing deeply. This is the position Eddie Vedder assumes after an especially raucous performance of "Even Flow."

1:36—Grant Hill is shown running backwards for some reason.

1:48—Mookie misses a bank shot.

2:12—The music, which has taken a turn toward horrible instrumental jazz-rock fusion, now stops. What will come next? A Tribe Called Quest! Perhaps now the highlights will also improve. This moment is the highlight-reel equivalent of these last few weeks leading up to the release of Backspacer, where anticipation is building because everything could suddenly get really awesome or totally suck. You just don't know!

2:29—Mookie makes a brilliant one-handed pass to a teammate who blows a lay-up. Sigh.

3:49—The entire highlight reel now seems to be one particular playoff game between the Hawks and Pistons. Mookie Blaylock's role in a given play does not even seem to matter. The game is apparently just that good, just that exciting. At least we'll get to see who wins! Or, not...

5:51—Not.

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