Former Hawk Paul Millsap on the spark that lit his four All-Star appearances

ATLANTA — One bad game, in December 2012 lit a spark in former Hawks forward Paul Millsap.

On Tuesday, Millsap, 39, announced his retirement to ESPN, and when he thinks back on some of the numerous moments over his 16-year career, one bad game Dec. 28, 2012 against the Clippers came to mind.

Why?

The Jazz selected him with the 47th overall in the 2006 NBA draft and by his fourth season with them, Millsap found a gear that launched him into the All-Star conversation. Two seasons before his first All-Star appearance he averaged 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 39.1% 3-point shooting per game.

The following season, he averaged 16.6 points 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, but playing a different role, he shot fewer threes. But his number dipped again the following year and that one game against the Clippers opened up Millsap to doubt.

Up against then-Clippers forward Blake Griffin, Millsap remembers Griffin, 23, outcompeting him and the Jazz. They lost to the Clippers by 11 points, and Millsap remembered not putting up his best, scoring 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds. Griffin, however, scored 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while going to the free-throw line nine times. He also had 13 rebounds

“He beat us,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And, he definitely outcompeted me that game. And I went to my car after that, and I broke out, and I just cried, and I just like, ‘Dang, I think I missed my chances of being an All-Star.’”

But Millsap, who last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season, also remembered that moment, along with the Jazz not re-signing him, motivating him to work even harder.

“When I say that, I trained super hard (that summer),” Millsap said. “I had a basketball court in my house. I used to go down there every single day, every single night, and train, train, train. I even put together some of my own, training programs, just picking things here and there and putting it together and understanding what I needed to do.”

On July 10, 2013, Millsap signed a two-year deal with the Hawks. By January 2014, he earned his first All-Star nod after coaches voted him as a reserve. He was averaging 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, three assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

He credits then-Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, who sent him a congratulatory message following Tuesday’s news, for motivating him simply to play his game.

“I don’t think coming in, they knew, you know, I was gonna be that good,” he said with a little laughter. “I don’t think I knew I was gonna be that good. But he definitely wanted me to expand my game out and stretch the floor a little bit more and do a little bit more playmaking.

“And within all that, you know, there’s doubts amongst you know, a lot of people around you, ‘Oh, you may not be good, or we may need to do something else.’ And as a player, you hear all that stuff, and a lot of that stuff is really what drove me and motivated me to be better than what I was.”

Millsap would make three more All-Star teams with the Hawks, all while helping the team to four consecutive postseason appearances, including a trip to the Hawks' first Eastern Conference finals appearance in franchise history.

That season, the Hawks won 60 regular-season games, set a franchise-record with 18 consecutive wins, and sent four players to the All-Star game.

“We wish we woulda had five with DeMarre (Carrol),” Millsap said. “But just to see those guys, in the same locker room and have an All-Star appearance with three of your teammates because you know that you guys played the right way, you did right things to win.

“I mean, that’s an unbelievable feat, you know, for a team. I don’t know too many teams that have done that, especially with the numbers that we were putting up. And I think Kyle (Korver) got in with 12 points. I got 15, 16, points. (Jeff) Teague, and (Al) Horford was around the same thing. So, to be able to do that, I mean, that is definitely legendary as a team.”

Millsap and the Hawks couldn’t get over that hump, and he eventually signed with the Nuggets in free agency. After four seasons in Denver, he signed with the Nets before they dealt him to the 76ers.

But by then, Millsap already knew that it was time.

“It was probably the year after I left Philadelphia,” he said. “Just being away from my family for that long, you know, it kind of weighed on me. And anytime you lose that type of motivation, you kind of feel it. And, I lost that motivation a little bit after that stint in Brooklyn and Philly. So, kind of felt like, I wasn’t going to go back. So that’s when I pretty much made the decision.”

For Millsap, the years of compartmentalizing sort of caught up and he realized that he was ready to move on to the next thing. So, he needed to take some time to process everything that happened over his 16-year career.

“I mean, I never really thought about the overall picture,” Millsap said. “You know, when you come in, you think, ‘I’m gonna play this game forever. Man, I love this game. I’m gonna compete forever. I’m gonna compete for a long time.’ And then the reality is, most players are out of the league in, you know, three, four years.

“So that’s the reality of it. I never really took the time to really understand what that meant. I think I was more ignorant to the fact that this life expectancy is only three, four years. For me, (it’s) always just put my head down and work hard and just try to be the best I can be every single day. And you know, you wake up one day and you know, 16 years has passed by, and you look back and like, ‘wow, (I) can’t believe it.’”

Though he may not be competing in NBA arenas anymore, Millsap said he can’t turn completely turn off his competitive fire. So, he’s channeled it to the next generation and has taken up coaching his daughter’s middle school team during the week. He also helps out with his son’s AAU team.

“I tell my kids when I go to these AAU tournaments and these games with my son and my daughter, ‘You don’t have to be the greatest player in the room to win,’” he said. “‘You just got to have a winning mindset and understanding of how team is played and how to motivate others around you and inspire them.’”

Millsap also owns and oversees a basketball training facility called Core4 Athletic Complex in Chamblee, Ga.

“It’s a lot that I’m doing, trying to narrow it down and just put my focus in a couple of things,” he said. “But it’s so hard because you want to do a lot, and you want to continue to have that passion and that drive toward other things that you put into your craft that’s made you so successful. So, just trying to find those little things that I can put that into.”

While he may be on the sidelines for his son’s and daughter’s basketball games, he doesn’t foresee himself stepping onto the sidelines of an NBA court as a coach, right now. He hasn’t completely ruled it out. But after years away from his family, even when they were all in the same house, his current focus remains on them.

Since the announcement of his retirement went public, Millsap shared that the support from everyone online and in person has brought joy and some tears.

“Just to see the love and support, and especially on social media from all the fans, and family was you know, just had me breaking down to tears,” he said. “So, definitely grateful for that support.”

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