“He’s got a license to kill.”: Michael Jordan draws heaps of praise from Jazz coach Frank Layden

Jeet Pukhrambam | 24/03/2022
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Michael Jordan was always a trailblazer. Today, we take a peek into 1988 when Utah Jazz head coach Frank Layden heaped praise to his Airness. 

MJ was drafted in 1983. At the time he was already a NCAA champion. Despite that, he was drafted no.3.

Expectations from Jordan were not as high as the number one and two picks in the draft. In typical MJ fashion, he proved everyone wrong.

As a youngster, he burst into the league. He showed off explosiveness and skill that few at the time had. Doubters were in disarray.

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An offensive skillset that armed Michael Jordan with a license to kill 

By the time he was in his fourth year, every team feared the Black Cat. His skillset managed to instill fear in teams and defenses were tightened the moment he stepped on the court.

Famously, an incident in 1988 illustrates his prowess on the court. In an interview during the game against the Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz head coach Frank Layden expressed his awe.

 

Layden stated that Jordan had already acquired superstar status by that point in his career. He hilariously pointed out that his jersey number should be 007 and not 23.

The reference was due to the booming popularity of James Bond at the time. Leyden also added that he should wear the 007 number as he had the license to kill.

In the 1987-88 season, MJ became was the league MVP and also picked up the DPOY. He was the first-ever to do it in the same season.

 

 

Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
007 Chicago Bulls Frank Leyden James Bond Michael Jordan Utah Jazz

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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