Michael Jordan’s 72-10 bulls lost to the courtesy of this $20 Toronto Raptors guard

Respect is a virtue earned only through hard work and dedication. Doug Christie earned Michael Jordan’s respect when he beat his 72-10 team.

Great players often recognize respect and dedication in their opponents. You will seldom find an NBA great talking bad or disrespecting their opponents.

Michael Jordan might have talked trash but it was never out of sheer disrespect. It was designed to intimidate his opponents. Jordan was great to an extent that earning his respect meant a great deal to NBA players.

Today, we take a look at such a story. Doug Christie was a shooting guard during Jordan’s reign. He played for numerous teams throughout his career and was known for his tenacious defense.

His ferocious defense helped him stay around the league for more than a decade and helped him amass a sizeable $20 million fortune. But more than his longevity or role adaptation, it is the defense that helped him make his name.

So, what happened when his Toronto Raptors faced MJ’s dominant and utterly supreme 72-10 Chicago Bulls? Well, to Michael’s dismay, Christie’s team would go on and hand them one of the 10 losses they faced that year. And all thanks to Doug’s heroics.

Also read: Shaquille O’Neal rejected Michael Jordan’s $150 million a year path to create his own identity

Was fun listening to Vlade Divac and Doug Christie talk earlier tonight before the @StocktonKings game. Vlade said the toughest opponent he had to face was Shaw, Doug answered with Michael Jordan. pic.twitter.com/g0slxXUmsH

— Paul (@ThatsAnError) March 1, 2019

Doug Christie guards Michael Jordan in the dying seconds to seal the win for the Raptors!

It is virtually no secret that Michael Jordan is a great closer. You give him the ball in the dying seconds and he will make that shot. So, with less than 25 seconds left on the clock and with MJ on the ball, what do you do? For Doug Christie, it was to defend.

Doug Christie credits the 1996 Raptors win over the Bulls — when he had to defend Michael Jordan — as a “turning point” in his NBA career. https://t.co/Qz58Tqrx2F pic.twitter.com/xKoEpL9JYJ

— Sactown Royalty (@sactownroyalty) May 15, 2020

Christie’s tenacity helped him lock down the Bulls guard. He was unable to get a good shot off. The play earned Michael’s respect.

Despite Christie’s efforts, Mike did end up scoring 36. But there’s a side of the story that helped Doug realize that he earned Mike’s respect.

The Raptors guard wanted to get an autograph for his two-year-old daughter. Not knowing whether he would get it or not. He still went ahead and asked for it. To his surprise MJ happily obliged. To him, this was a sign that he had earned his respect.

22 MARCH 1998: Doug Christie of the Toronto Raptors tries to pass the ball away from Michael Jordan of Chicago Bulls in Toronto. Jordan scored 33 points to help the Bulls beat the Raptors 102-100. pic.twitter.com/34p6Ov0e0J

— emma (@_emmajbrown) April 19, 2020

The notch on his belt is that his team, an outside franchise like the Raptors beat a 72-win team. Not bad for a defensive player.

Also read: Michael Jordan received $1 million+ after Coca-Cola made the blunder of the century