The 1996 All-Star game is an iconic part of NBA history. It was the first time we had seen Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan team up, with both players having been selected to represent the Eastern Conference. Before the game, Jordan was even mic’d up, resulting in fans being entertained by No 23’s hilarious interactions with his peers.
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While the photoshoot for both teams was taking place, Jordan began his banter. His first victim was none other than Alonzo Mourning. Talking to the Heat legend, Jordan said,
“Number 45. Man, that’s a very bad lucky number. “
For many who might not know, Jordan played in the league wearing the number ’45’. He wore it back in High School and debuted it during his 1994-1995 season. The season would be a resounding failure for the Bulls, as Shaq and the Magic would eliminate the Bulls in the playoffs.
Talking about Shaq, the 7’1 center was also a starter on the East during the 1996 All-Star game. To many people’s surprise, O’Neal and MJ would play a small game of 1v1, with Shaq coming out on top. During his entire exchange with Shaq, Jordan decided to address the Big Fella as “Shaq Daddy”.
But calling O’Neal “Shaq Daddy“, wouldn’t be the end of Jordan’s antics. While walking through the stadium with the Eastern Conference team, Jordan jokingly told Glen Rice,
“I bet you, you’re going to shoot the first air ball.”
Now, unknown to many, Rice was set to defend his 3-point contest title that very evening. Unfortunately, things unraveled exactly like Jordan predicted it would, as Tim Legler of the Washington Wizards would beat out Glen Rice, taking home the trophy that year.
Even though ‘Rice’ couldn’t secure the win in the shooting contest, the All-Star game saw a different outcome. The East stayed in control throughout the contest, as Jordan and O’Neal proved too much for the West. The final score sat at 129-118, and Jordan was named MVP of the All-Star game.
Michael Jordan and Chris Paul changed the All-Star Game
The 2024 All-Star game saw a return to the previous format of, the West taking on the East. The last six editions of the tournament saw, mostly Stephen Curry, LeBron James, or Giannis Antetokounmpo, drafting their respect squads, as a captain system was introduced.
But unknown to many, MJ had a role to play in this monumental change to the All-Star Game format. Back in 2018, Jordan was still the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, while also being chairman of the league’s labor relations committee. Alongside the then Players Union President Chris Paul, Jordan would appeal for the change in the All-Star Game format.
Both Paul and Jordan were deeply invested in changing the format, as the All-Star game had become a joke, with teams scoring up to 180/190 points on one another. Playing defense was completely thrown out of the game, as the All-Star game started resembling a ‘lazy pick-up game’.
With the introduction of the ‘Captain System’, both Paul and Jordan believed that things would become more competitive between players. Concerns surrounding, ‘tampering’ and ‘voting’ did arise, but the league moved forward with the change, as the All-Star game needed to be revitalized urgently. Fast forward a few years, and the All-Star game continues to be more or less the same. Though things did get more exciting with the new format, the play on the court remained mostly the same, with defense still being non-existent during the whole four quarters.
