Why Mel Daniels was simply the O.G. in cowboy boots to me! "Melly Mel"

"See you on the other side playas!" 

Dag Hammerskjold, the Swedish diplomate, economist and author, once said, "The only kind of dignity which is genuine is that which is not diminished by the indifference of others." Martin Luther King Jr. broke it down like this, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Then Keira Knightley, the English actress, shut the joint down when she spit, "I don't think that you can fake warmth. You can fake lust, jealousy, anger; those are all quite easy. But actual, genuine warmth? I don't think you can fake it." 

Well playas...Keira may refer to it as warmth but where I'm from it called bein' "Real" and it can never be faked or manufactured! On Friday one of the realest cats I know passed on to glory as the ole timers used to say. Hall of Famer and Pacers legend Mel Daniels left all the homies because his job was complete around this piece. 

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Mel Daniels was that dude!! But to me he was just the O.G. in the cowboy boots that liked to hang out in the media room and school all the young cats that wanted to learn something. What's so crazy is that when I first met Mel five years ago he was sittin' in the media room at Conseco Fieldhouse now Bankers Life Fieldhouse like he always does just chillin'. I sat down to eat with him and introduced my self not knowin' who he was. Now I figured ole boy used to hoop back in the day because he was a giant. They don't make people that big every day and he wasn't media so he's got to be an old ball player. 

I said, "Hi my name is Jay!" He simply said, "I'm Mel!" I said, "Mel.... as in Mel Daniels!?" He said "yep." Now I knew who Mel Daniels was because his jersey was hangin' from the raptures in this piece. I knew that Mel Daniels won 3 ABA titles with the Pacers! I knew that he was a 4-time ABA MVP and a Hall of Famer! I knew that he averaged 18.7 points and 15.1 rebounds playin' eight seasons in the ABA with Minnesota, Indiana and Memphis. 

In the playoffs this dun averaged 17.4 points and 14.9 rebounds bruh! Ole boy was no joke playa! He was a seven-time ABA All-Star, four-time All-ABA selection, led the league in reboundin' three times and holds the league record with 9,494 career rebounds. 

I knew that some cat named Mel Daniels was the truth. I just didn't know what the dun looked like at 66 years old!  Why? Because I was 10 when he retired bruh! They didn't show Pacers games on TV in Northwest Indiana when I was a kid. Growin' up in Gary all we got was the Chicago Bulls on WGN with Bob Love, Norm Van Lier and Co. So no, I didn't know what the dun looked like and I'm not even gonna front like I did. 

What was so great about "Melly Mel" as I so affectionately called him was that he never said a word about his accomplishments. He never big timed you. He just always kept it 100 when he talked to you. He was the O.G. in the cowboy boots that loved to chop it up with the fellas. 

I would normally holler at him after the games but on Thursday night I saw him talkin' with Bruno (1070TheFan) at halftime. I was headin' back to my seat for the second half, stopped, turned around and walked back over just to say "Wassup!" to the big homie. I'm not sure what made me holler then and not after the game like I would always do. I told him that I had to shake  a boy'z hand and we dapped and kept it movin'. 

Then I walk in the crib on Friday evenin' and boyz are talkin' about the death of Mel Daniels! I'm like what? Am I dreamin' bruh? Or did God just call you home real smooth like. It was great knowin' you, not the hooper but the man known to me as simply Melly Mel! And thanks for lettin' me interrupt you and Bruno just to shake your hand and essentially say goodbye for the last time homie. Stop me when I start lyin'! 

Playas Thesaurus: 
1) Dun: noun - the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It's whoever I'm talkin' about and it's non-gender specific. 
2) Dap: verb - to shake hands showin' love. 

Holla At Ya Boy! 
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The caption under the photo isn't real but its REAL talk!