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Topics: NBA, Basketball, Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan
Ryan Baldi
Topics: NBA, Basketball, Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan
During his rookie season in the NBA, Michael Jordan was asked to name his toughest opponent.
The Chicago Bulls icon was selected with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft and quickly made his mark on the league.
He would go on to win six titles, five Most Valuable Player awards and six Finals MVPs.
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Widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan stood out as a special talent right away, winning the Rookie of the Year award at the end of his debut season.
When asked to name his toughest opponent, the then-21-year-old could have named any of a number of NBA luminaries he'd already faced off against by that point.
Jordan had gone head-to-head with Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, for instance, who was the league's reigning MVP.
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He'd also played against the Los Angeles Lakers' iconic point guard Erving "Magic" Johnson and a tough Detroit Pistons team headlined by star guard Isiah Thomas.
But instead Jordan named a player whose footsteps he'd followed in at the University of North Carolina.
“To play against? Has to be Walter Davis,” Jordan said. “I played against Walter Davis in the summertime, and he’s been an outstanding basketball player.”
Davis – who, like Jordan, was a 6ft 6ins shooting guard – played for the UNC Tar Heels between 1974 and 1977.
Jordan looked up to the star scorer and himself joined the college side coached by the legendary Dean Smith in 1981.
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And while he never reached the heights Jordan would attain, Davis went on to enjoy an esteemed NBA career.
He was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fifth overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft and he went on to become the Arizona side's all-time leading scorer.
A six-time All-Star, Davis also has spells with the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trailblazers before retiring in 1992.
In 1994, his No.6 jersey was retired by the Suns. And Davis, who died last year at the age of 69, has recently been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.