Featured Image Credit: Getty/ABC
Topics: NBA, Michael Jordan, Basketball
Marcus Chan
Michael Jordan has previously settled the debate between modern day NBA and his era.
Jordan, 61, is often regarded as one of the finest players the NBA has ever seen.
During what was an illustrious career, Jordan played for the likes of Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.
The American won the NBA championship on six occasions and was named the NBA Finals MVP six times.
Since retiring from the sport in 2003, Jordan has continued to be one of the biggest names in the sporting world due to his work with the clothing brand Nike.
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Over the years, much has been made about the difference in the NBA between Jordan’s playing days and now.
Back in 2014, Jordan said, as per Business Insider: “Physically it was a much more physical game than what it is today, you couldn't walk across the lane without getting checked...you always had to pay a price.
“Those kinds of things these kids don't even have a clue on how we had to grow up and how we had to play.”
In the same interview, Jordan spoke about his influences, he said: “The people that influenced my basketball skills when I was growing up as I was watching the NBA...Walter Davis, Dr. J (Julius Irving), David Thompson.”
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During his playing days, it was once reported that Jordan once made Kobe Bryant so mad that he didn’t speak to his teammates for two weeks.
According to former Washington Wizards player Gilbert Arenas, Jordan annoyed Bryant after a match in which Jordan won whilst Kobe was wearing ‘Jordan 8’s’.
It is believed that Jordan said to Bryant after the match: “You can wear the shoes but you’ll never fill them.”
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Arenas said, as per Essentially Sports: “So what happened next is, during that time after Kobe got, so Kobe didn’t say anything to anybody. So, for like two weeks they said, Kobe was just mute.
“Like, he didn’t talk to his players, didn’t talk to his teammates. Just, they said he was in a, like, focus mode. Like it was straight. Like practice was just so intense. Right? So, the players were like, ‘yo is he mad at us? Did we do something to him?’”