"It's gonna be a long night" - 9X NBA All-Star reminisces on Michael Jordan playing mind games with the Atlanta Hawks
Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to pick up a basketball. His ability to dominate the game, on both offense and defense, inspired much of the next generation. However, for his generation, many of the stars of that era are without a championship ring due to Jordan's dominance.
Jordan is also widely regarded as one of the best trash talkers in NBA history. Fellow NBA 75th anniversary team member Dominique Wilkins, who famously competed against Jordan in the slam dunk contest, broke down the lengths that MJ would go to in order to get in his opponents head, saying:
"I remember us going to Chicago. Now, we in a suit and tie. We're sitting in the locker room. We just walked in the locker room. I remember Michael Jordan walks into our locker room in a suit and tie, and I'm like, what the h**l is he doing in our locker room? Did he come to the training room, or what's going on?
"He walks by me. He walks by Kevin (Willis), and he gets to Randy Wittman, and he says, 'Lace 'em up. It's going to be a long night.' I'm like, 'Did he just come in our locker room?' I didn't know what to say. I was shocked. He had 60 that night. He had 60 points that night."
Wilkins' story just adds to a long list of stories about Jordan and his competitive spirit that made him seem almost larger than life throughout his career. In addition to allowing him to score 61 points, Wittman also finished with just two points on 0-for-4 shooting.
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Is Michael Jordan the greatest of all time?
Michael Jordan is often regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, due to his talent and his dedication to winning. Jordan famously won three championships in a row, took nearly two years away from the sport and returned to win three more. He has said that he was not driven by stats or records, and simply by winning.
It’s almost as if he was talking into the future… https://t.co/UhLV3uYwCI
While Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James all have arguments in the discussion, Jordan transcended the game. He is also the only one of the five mentioned names to prevent his contemporaries from winning titles. No star player won a ring in the 1990s except Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, both of whom won their rings with Jordan retired.
The careers of Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller and many more would be viewed a lot differently, if not for Jordan. According to a poll taken by The Athletic, 73% of NBA players view Jordan as the greatest to ever play.
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While there is no wrong answer in the GOAT debate, it is hard to argue against Michael Jordan's two-way dominance and success at winning. The disparity between him and the rest of the list shows the high regard that he is viewed by NBA players.