# Tim Hardaway
**Tim Hardaway** (Timothy Duane Hardaway Sr., born 1966 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player, a point guard who played 13 seasons in the NBA and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) He is best known for his signature crossover dribble, the "UTEP Two-Step," which he developed in college and popularized in the NBA, and for running the point for the high-scoring "Run TMC" Golden State Warriors alongside [Chris Mullin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-mullin) and [Mitch Richmond](https://www.edgepedia.org/mitch-richmond).[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966, Chicago, Illinois; 6 feet, 175 pounds[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) |
| Draft | Golden State Warriors, first round, 14th overall, 1989 NBA draft[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) |
| Teams | Golden State Warriors (1989–96), Miami Heat (1996–2001), Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets (2001–02), Indiana Pacers (2002–03)[3](https://www.nba.com/mavs/hardawayinthehall) |
| Career statistics | 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds per game over 867 regular-season games; 16.8 points and 6.8 assists per game over 56 playoff games[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) • [4](https://www.nba.com/news/qa-tim-hardaway-sr-playoffs-2026) |
| Honors | 5x NBA All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 1989 WAC Player of the Year, 2000 Olympic gold medalist[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) |
| Hall of Fame | Enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) |
| Signature move | The "killer crossover," nicknamed the "UTEP Two-Step" after his college, the University of Texas at El Paso[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [5](https://bashof.org/inductee/tim-hardaway/) |
## Early life and college
Hardaway was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and attended Carver High School.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) He played college basketball at the [University of Texas at El Paso](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-texas-at-el-paso) (UTEP) under [Don Haskins](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-haskins), the coach who had led the school, then known as Texas Western, to the 1966 NCAA championship.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) As a senior in 1988–89 he was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, was three times All-WAC, won the Naismith Best Little Man Award, and played in four NCAA Tournaments; he ranks first in steals and second in assists in the school record book.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [7](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/utepathletics.com/documents/2024/11/4/2024_25MBB_RecordBook.pdf)
It was at UTEP that the crossover dribble he perfected as a senior came to be known as the "UTEP two-step."[8](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/24844/1/12.pdf.pdf) According to Hardaway's own account, the move was born in an empty gym after a two-hour post-flight workout of sprints and defensive drills, when he stayed behind to play one-on-one and froze a defender by switching the ball between hands and going through his legs.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
## NBA career
**Golden State Warriors.** The Warriors drafted Hardaway 14th overall in 1989, and coach [Don Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-nelson), an innovator who had earlier created the "point forward" position in [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee), built the team around him.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html) • [9](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) With Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, Hardaway formed "Run TMC" (T for Tim, M for Mitch, C for Chris), a trio that borrowed its nickname from the rap group Run-DMC and averaged roughly 70 points per game at its peak.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) In his second NBA season, 1990–91, the Warriors upset the second-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and pushed the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/qa-tim-hardaway-sr-playoffs-2026) Hardaway averaged over 20 points and 9 assists per game for four consecutive seasons for Golden State, and he reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any player in NBA history other than [Oscar Robertson](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-robertson).[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) • [5](https://bashof.org/inductee/tim-hardaway/) A knee injury, a torn knee ligament that cost him the entire 1993–94 regular season, interrupted his run.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
**Miami Heat.** On February 22, 1996, the Heat acquired Hardaway and Chris Gatling from the Warriors in exchange for [Kevin Willis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-willis) and Bimbo Coles.[10](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612748/2023/11/2023-24-Miami-Heat-Media-Guide_39884007.pdf) In Miami he reinvented himself, pacing a slower, more deliberate, more aggressive attack; the Heat made six consecutive playoff trips and won four division titles with him at the point.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) He earned first-team All-NBA honors in 1996–97.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html)
**Later career.** Hardaway finished his career with short stints with the [Dallas Mavericks](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-mavericks) and [Denver Nuggets](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-nuggets) in 2001–02 and the [Indiana Pacers](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana-pacers) in 2002–03, retiring after the 2003 season.[3](https://www.nba.com/mavs/hardawayinthehall) • [5](https://bashof.org/inductee/tim-hardaway/) He won a gold medal with the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway)
## The UTEP Two-Step
Hardaway's crossover moved the ball left to right, right to left, and back again in about a second, leaving defenders frozen as he drove to the basket.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway) He described the mechanics plainly: "You got to get low. If you know how to do it and stay low with it, it's effective every time."[9](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) Once defenders adjusted, he added variations, including behind-the-back moves and head and shoulder fakes, to keep them off balance.[9](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
Crossovers were not new when Hardaway entered the league; he credits the 1970s four-time All-Star Archie Clark, whose "Shake and Bake" move went left while the defender leaned right, with the first version of the move.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) • [11](https://basketballforever.com/2019/09/11/exclusive-tim-hardaway-sr-on-2000-olympics-and-having-the-goat-crossover) What Hardaway added was a between-the-legs, back-across-the-front sequence that proved both more effective and more imitated than what came before, and he is widely credited with introducing the move to the NBA mainstream.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) The move was later adopted by [Allen Iverson](https://www.edgepedia.org/allen-iverson), Jamal Crawford, Kyrie Irving, and other guards, and it is now taught at the grassroots level.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
Hardaway has long maintained that his crossover was the best ever, including against Iverson's, whose move he argues was a carry, an illegal palming of the ball that his own version avoided.[12](https://www.forbes.com/sites/djsiddiqi/2024/03/02/miami-heat-great-tim-hardaway-settles-debate-says-crossover-dribble-is-better-than-allen-iversons/) His son, NBA guard [Tim Hardaway Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-hardaway-jr), has made the same comparison in his father's favor, describing his father's move as "so compact, tight, quick to the point" compared with Iverson's long, wide crossover.[13](https://www.basketballnetwork.net/latest-news/tim-hardaway-jr-answers-who-had-better-crossover-between-allen-iverson-and-dad) [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry) has called Hardaway's killer crossover the greatest signature move in NBA history.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
## Legacy
Hardaway played primarily for three Hall of Fame coaches, Don Haskins, Don Nelson, and [Pat Riley](https://www.edgepedia.org/pat-riley), and spent significant minutes alongside Hall of Famers Mullin, Richmond, and Alonzo Mourning.[6](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame) He was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 in a class that included Manu Ginobili, George Karl, Swin Cash, and Bob Huggins, and he is also a member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame and UTEP's Athletics Hall of Fame.[3](https://www.nba.com/mavs/hardawayinthehall) • [5](https://bashof.org/inductee/tim-hardaway/) • [7](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/utepathletics.com/documents/2024/11/4/2024_25MBB_RecordBook.pdf) His son Tim Hardaway Jr. is an NBA player, and the Hardaways were the first father and son combination in Dallas Mavericks history.[14](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/legacy/www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Dallas-Mavericks-Postseason-Guide.pdf)
## References
1. [Tim Hardaway, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tim-hardaway)
2. [Tim Hardaway Stats, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati01.html)
3. [Reports: Tim Hardaway Sr. to be inducted into Hall of Fame, Dallas Mavericks / NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/mavs/hardawayinthehall)
4. [Q&A: Tim Hardaway Sr. on how young players can shine in the playoffs, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/qa-tim-hardaway-sr-playoffs-2026)
5. [Tim Hardaway, Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame](https://bashof.org/inductee/tim-hardaway/)
6. [How Tim Hardaway crossed over into the Hall of Fame, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
7. [UTEP Men's Basketball Record Book, 1,000-Point Club](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/utepathletics.com/documents/2024/11/4/2024_25MBB_RecordBook.pdf)
8. [Hardaway, Notable Sports Figures](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/24844/1/12.pdf.pdf)
9. [How Tim Hardaway crossed over into the Hall of Fame, NBA.com (CDN copy)](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/tim-hardaway-crossed-into-hall-of-fame)
10. [Miami Heat Trade History, 2023-24 Miami Heat Media Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612748/2023/11/2023-24-Miami-Heat-Media-Guide_39884007.pdf)
11. [EXCLUSIVE: Tim Hardaway Sr On 2000 Olympics And Having The GOAT Crossover, Basketball Forever](https://basketballforever.com/2019/09/11/exclusive-tim-hardaway-sr-on-2000-olympics-and-having-the-goat-crossover)
12. [Miami Heat Great Tim Hardaway Settles Debate, Says Crossover Dribble Is Better Than Allen Iverson's, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/djsiddiqi/2024/03/02/miami-heat-great-tim-hardaway-settles-debate-says-crossover-dribble-is-better-than-allen-iversons/)
13. [Tim Hardaway Jr. on who had the better crossover between Allen Iverson and his dad, Basketball Network](https://www.basketballnetwork.net/latest-news/tim-hardaway-jr-answers-who-had-better-crossover-between-allen-iverson-and-dad)
14. [Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks 2024 Postseason Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/legacy/www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Dallas-Mavericks-Postseason-Guide.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA players, 1996–2010 › NBA guards, 1996–2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license