Michael Joseph Dunleavy Jr. was born September 15, 1980, in Fort Worth, Texas. His father, Mike Dunleavy Sr., was an NBA player whose career spanned 11 seasons before chronic back pain forced his retirement. His mother Emily raised three boys — Mike Jr., Baker, and James — in a household that never stayed in one city long. Basketball was the family business. It still is: Baker played at Villanova and coached at Quinnipiac, James played at USC and became an NBA agent.
When Mike Jr. was ten, his father took the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team featured Magic Johnson and James Worthy. The 1990–91 Lakers reached the NBA Finals before losing to Jordan’s Bulls. A ten-year-old boy had a front-row seat to the end of one era and the beginning of another. ‘Magic Johnson is one of the great athletes, leaders, and winners of all time. To be around somebody like that was great.’
The family moved when the jobs moved. Milwaukee (Bucks), where Mike Jr. attended University School of Milwaukee and Homestead High. Then Portland (Trail Blazers), where his father won NBA Coach of the Year in 1999. Mike transferred to Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon — and did something almost no high schooler gets to do: he practiced against his father’s players. Steve Smith. Bonzi Wells. Rasheed Wallace. ‘Hey, I was a 16-year-old kid playing against pros. It definitely made me better.’ He led Jesuit to the 1999 Oregon 4A State Championship, 65–38 over North Salem.
The biggest lesson was what he saw, not what he was told. ‘Preparation was my dad’s biggest thing. I remember him being up late at night, all night, watching film. That’s something I’ve applied to my craft.’ He chose Duke. Coach K saw in him the most versatile forward since Grant Hill.