Dan's the Man

By Joel Horn, Fastbreak Magazine

Originally published: February, 1993

Danny Ainge played against Dan Majerle for four seasons as a member of three NBA teams, the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers. With the Pacific Division Kings and Trail Blazers, he had to face the "Thunder" five times during the regular season. Last season, with Portland, he even had to play five playoff games against him.

So when he signed with the Suns as a free agent on July 3, 1992, he had a pretty good idea of what to expect from his new teammate — and he has not been disappointed.

"I had a great deal of respect for him," Ainge says. "He was one of the most difficult guys to play against because of his strength and his quickness and just how hard he plays every second on the court.

"And my respect has grown because I see it every day and I don't have to face it five times a year. He's pretty much what I expected."

Majerle, the Suns' 6-6, 240-pound All-Star guard, has earned the respect of players throughout the league because of his rugged playing style and his ability to provide a spark off the bench as the team's sixth man. But this season his role has changed. He has moved into the starting lineup, and, with the exception of Charles Barkley, Majerle has had a greater impact on the Suns' early season success than any other player.

But Majerle, 25, is more than a great basketball player. He is an entrepreneur, model, fashion designer, heart throb, Phoenix's most eligible bachelor and now part-owner of the Valley's hottest new bar and restaurant, Majerle's Sports Grill.

Located on Second Street just north of Washington in downtown Phoenix, Majerle's opened in December amidst more hype and fanfare than the Valley had ever seen. The grand opening was so big it was spread over two nights, and Phoenix's biggest celebrities — including all of Majerle's teammates and most of the Suns' staff — were there to join in the celebration.

"It was a lot of fun," Majerle says. "I was real nervous about it because I wanted it all to be right. Everybody showed up and it was a big deal. It was two great opening nights."

Majerle says he was honored by his teammates' presence.

"We try to support each other," he says. "I told them what nights the grand openings were and they were gracious enough to come. That was real nice of them because we're usually real busy and when we have some free time we like to do other things."

Center Mark West, who is the team's resident stockbroker and investment advisor, gives Majerle's high marks.

"It's a nice place," West says. "He did a good job. He has a great location, a great atmosphere and the people are nice."

And has he given Majerle any input from a business standpoint?

"Not yet," West says with a smile. "I'd say that it was a pretty smart investment. He has people he can trust there to run the place. He didn't get too extravagant. It's a nice, comfortable place with a relaxed atmosphere, so I think it'll work out for him."

Some of Majerle's friends who own and operate a successful bar in Scottsdale approached him with the idea last summer. He actually had been thinking about opening a bar for about two years, but he did not believe the time was right and he had not found a suitable location.

"I really hadn't given it much thought," Majerle says. "But when I saw this building, the location and the people who were involved in it, I felt pretty comfortable about doing it."

Although the Suns were on the road for much of December and January, Majerle managed to find some time to do a little bartending. In fact, more often than not, when the team is in town and it is not a game night, Majerle can be found at his establishment.

"It's going pretty good," he says of his bartending. "I'm learning a little bit. I just wanted to do it to meet everybody. Serving people is a lot of fun, plus it keeps you busy back there. I'm there a lot and I just don't want to be sitting around all the time."

Don't be mislead. Majerle, Phoenix's most eligible bachelor, is also spending time at his bar because it gives him an opportunity to meet young women. Rumors of Majerle settling down and getting married have been greatly exaggerated.

"I would love to," Majerle says hen asked about marriage. "Obviously I want to settle down and have a family and do all that, but I'm in no hurry. I'm having a good time and I enjoy meeting everybody.

"If I find the right lady I'm going to get married, but right now I'm as free as they come."

Majerle, to be sure, knows he is the object of many a woman's desire — young and old. During the Suns' open practice at SunsFest '93, an entire section of teenage girls squealed at his every move as if Dan were a rock star. Finally, Majerle turned to the girls and gave them a big grin.

One of the reasons for Majerle's popularity among women is his line of clothing, Thundernine, which has included boxer shorts, t-shirts and, of course, a calendar.

"The Suns wanted to do a clothes line with my name and they wanted to know if it would be alright if I could help model it," Majerle says. "That's been a lot of fun, too — designing things and doing photo shoots and that kind of stuff. I get a lot of free t-shirts."

But Majerle's priority these days is basketball. He started the 1992-93 slowly after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last summer. But he has rounded into the form that earned him a spot in the NBA All-Star Game last year.

Majerle's scoring average is right where it was last season (16.8 points per game, as compared to 17.3 in 1991-92) and his rebounding statistics are similar (5.3 this year, 5.9 last), but he is averaging 39 minutes of playing time, more than four minutes more than last season, and his one-on- one defense is still among the best in the league.

The primary reason for his increased playing time is his insertion into the starting lineup.

"It hasn't really affected me a whole lot," Majerle says. "I've played a lot of minutes for the Suns, but I had to adjust to starting rather than coming off the bench as the sixth man. As far as the way I play, actually it hasn't really affected me that much.

"I made the All-Star team last year off the bench, so this year the only difference is I'm playing a few more minutes."

West has not noticed a difference in the way Majerle plays. 

"Dan pretty much takes the same attitude whether he's coming off the bench or starting," he says. "He only knows one speed and that's probably his strength. He doesn't know how to slow down or speed up. It's all one pace — play hard and never lighten up.

"I think he's definitely an All-Star. A lot of players have a lot of skills, but I don't think there's a player that has more heart than Dan or plays as hard as Dan. If that's how you rank an All- Star, he's definitely an All-Star."

Ainge agrees.

"No doubt in my mind," he says. "He deserves to be on the All-Star team. We have the best team record, he's been our second-best player all year and I don't think there's a coach in this league who wouldn't love to have Dan Majerle on his team."

The injury to Majerle's left knee took some time to recover and, as a man who does not know how to give less than 100 percent, he had a hard time waiting for it to heal.

"It's always frustrating when you work hard, then have an injury and take all summer to get back to where you were at," he says. "But I got kind of used to it.

"I've never really worried about how I play — if I score or if I'm shooting a good percentage. Earlier in the year I wasn't shooting well, but I still think I was playing hard and helping the team in other areas.

"I've never really judged my game on my stats as far as points or rebounds or stuff like that. I feel like I just go out and play hard and I do a lot of little things that help the team win that maybe the fans and the stat sheets don't get a hold of. But the rest of the team and myself feel that I've done a good job out there, and when my knee started feeling better and started getting stronger I started shooting better and playing better offensively."

Majerle says he never hesitates to cut on the knee or thinks about reinjuring it because, in his mind, doing so would increase the likelihood of him getting hurt again.

"I just go out and play, and I don't think about my injuries at all," he says. "They usually don't bother me. My knee has been feeling very good lately and hasn't been bothering me at all."

There was a time, however, when Majerle was frightened and wondered if he would ever be able to play basketball again. He was scared when he was forced to undergo back surgery to remove a synovial cyst from his spinal column in the summer of 1991.

"I already had one surgery on my back when I was 18," he says. "It was different because there was a cyst on my spine and they were gonna have to go close to my spine, and that was very frightening. It was the most frightening experience I've ever had.

"Stuff like that makes you realize how lucky you are to have your health. It made me realize how basketball is an important part of my life, but when it comes down to something like that you just want to be able to get up and walk the next day, let alone get out and play basketball."

Majerle says he inherited his work ethic from his parents, Frank and Sally Majerle of Traverse City, Mich.

"It's just the way I've always played," he says. "I think I got it from my parents. I grew up with two brothers and we were always out in the yard playing. We always played hard.

"I just don't think I'd play very well if I didn't go out and play 100 percent every time I play. I'm not a guy who can go out there and coast."

Majerle and his brothers, Steve, a teacher in Michigan, and Jeff, a professional basketball player who currently is working at Majerle's while he recovers from some injuries, grew up playing sports.

"I always saw myself playing some kind of sports," he says. "I always was active and never saw myself doing anything besides that. Whether it be coaching or playing baseball or basketball, whatever, I knew I'd be doing something. It was always a dream of mine.

"But as far as being an All-Star, I never dreamed that high. I just wanted to make it and that was a big enough dream for me. So it was kind of a shock when I made it last year. It was a big thrill."

After growing up in Traverse City and attending Central Michigan University there, Majerle has now found a home in the Valley of the Sun.

"I think it's the greatest place," he says. "I really enjoyed Michigan growing up there, but ever since I've been out here I've fallen in love with this place — the weather, the people out here — I just enjoy it. Although initially bothered by his healing left knee, Majerle soon resumed his fearless drives into the paint... the moves that earned him the nickname "Thunder."

"I even stay around in the summer, in the heat and everything."

One of the things Majerle hopes to do this summer is take part in a parade down Central Avenue, celebrating a world championship for the Suns.

"Our goals are very lofty, and if we don't win it all we're going to be very disappointed," he says. "We knew that coming into the year a world championship was on everybody's mind.

"It's a goal that we strive for and it's a goal that we can reach."