Cuttino Mobley reflects on the Hall of Fame trio that never clicked in Houston: “Scottie bumped heads with Charles because Charles wasn’t dedicated anymore” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Few players can claim to have been able to play with multiple Hall of Famers on the same team. However, one such player was former NBA veteran Cuttino Mobley. A 6’4″ guard who led the Rhode Island Rams to the Elite Eight in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, the Houston Rockets selected him in the second round with the 41st overall pick.
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He eventually earned a starting spot alongside the Rockets’ three legends: Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen. And while many assume the experience to be out of this world, considering the achievements of his iconic teammates, Mobley had a different perspective, which he shared on Paul George’s podcast.
The Hall of Famers never got on the same page
After suffering a first-round exit in the previous season, the Rockets’ front office pulled the trigger on the acquisition of Pippen, a six-time NBA champion, who the team believed was the missing piece to their puzzle that already had Hakeem and Chuck.
However, as Mobley found out, assembling All-Stars does not always guarantee success. Despite their individual accolades, the trio struggled to find chemistry on and off the court.
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“Scottie bumped heads with Charles because Charles wasn’t dedicated anymore in the game. But Charles was super smart, and he got away with the way he played because he was just so smart. He didn’t really focus on his body,” Mobley recalled.
Pippen, himself admitted to getting miffed with Barkley’s lack of discipline during his time in Houston. Scottie shared that Chuck initially committed to work out with him and Michael Jordan’s famed trainer, Tim Grover. However, Barkley wasn’t able to stay in the program for long, as his penchant for the nightlife kept him from waking up early in the morning.
However, Cuttino still made the most out of the situation, picking up little things from his veteran teammates and applying them to his career.
“Hakeem showed you how to be a pro. Scottie showed you how to be a pro. Then Charles showed you how to stay in the league, because he did something the opposite of what you should be doing, like not taking care of your body as much. You know, no filter, right? It’s just like things like that,” Mobley remarked.
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“Whereas Scottie’s up in the morning working out, shooting extra, doing all these things. Hakeem was off the court flawless. He’s reading, he’s quiet, he dresses well, he’s calm with you. So I got different personalities in my first year, so I could take that on to my career,” he added.
The importance of veteran leadership
By Mobley’s second season, Pippen had been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, while Chuck and Dream barely played anymore. However, rookie standout Steve Francis dazzled the league with his nifty handles and high-flying rim attacks. Cuttino, though, believed they could have been better if they had proper guidance from the OGs.
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“I think Steve Francis and I would have been even bigger if we would have had veterans our second, third, fourth, fifth year. Let me tell you why,” Mobley said. “I don’t know who was with you, PG, in Indiana when you went there that were veterans — like real veterans — but with Vince, like say Vince Carter, Vince had Charles Oakley and Antonio Davis, and he had Chris Childs and, you know, veterans, right?”
Francis and Mobley eventually developed into a lethal backcourt combo capable of scorching any defense thrown at them. With them leading the way, Houston was a force to be reckoned with in the West.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.