Even young NBA fans, who didn’t witness the dominance of Michael Jordan in the 90s in real time, are well aware of the fear he inspired on the hardwood among his peers. The riveting stories and anecdotes of MJ’s prowess on the court and his ‘killer’ mindset, circulated by his contemporaries through interviews and podcasts have hurled His Airness’ reputation to mythical proportions over the years. And quite deservedly so. Jordan himself bought into the hype at one point in time, calling himself the ‘Black Jesus’. However, the Chicago Bulls legend vehemently rejected his comparisons with Divinity during the 1997 McDonald’s tournament in Paris, prior to the ‘Last Dance’.
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During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmy Live, NBA legend Reggie Miller once narrated the story of how Michael Jordan came to be known as the ‘Black Jesus’. Miller recounted how, prompted by his teammates, he started trash-talking Jordan during an exhibition game in his rookie season in 1987. The Bulls superstar was taking it easy in the first half due to the friendly nature of the contest. However, Miller’s trash-talking triggered an onslaught from MJ in the second half. Jordan dropped 44 points on Miller by the end of the game and said while walking off the court, “Be sure and be careful that you never talk to Black Jesus like that.”
The late great Kobe Bryant also shared a fascinating story about Jordan’s reputation as ‘Black Jesus’ during his interview with Patrick Bet-David on the Valutainment network. Kobe revealed that he used to practice with some Philadelphia 76ers players when he was at high school. Soon he came to know about Jordan’s reputation as the ‘Black Jesus’ and discovered that the Sixers players were intimidated by him. However, Kobe admitted to Bet-David that the dramatic descriptions failed to impress him, “I’m like, What the f***! Black who? Imma call him f-ing Mike, that’s his f-ing name!”
Michael Jordan vehemently dismissed his comparisons with ‘God’
Like any Great Hero, the countless stories of Michael Jordan preceded him. Jordan’s tendency to talk trash on the court and then back it up almost inevitably, made him look like a prophet. He had captured the attention of NBA fans soon after his draft in 1984 with iconic individual performances. However, Jordan’s perfect 5-0 record in the NBA Finals in 1997 earned him comparisons with the Almighty Himself.
Fans bought into the hype of MJ’s association with Divinity, mostly as an hyperbole. The trope started to spread internationally with Jordan’s growing global fame and would culminate in the avid hero-worship of the 1997 McDonald’s Championship in Paris. The five-time NBA Champion Chicago Bulls team would receive unprecedented adulations from the French media and fans, with Jordan at the helm.
However, MJ would soon dismiss his comparisons with ‘God’. According to this 1997 Sports Illustarted report:
“Like God, he was called by a thousand names, though Jordan was quick to deny one journalist’s suggestion that he is God or that he’s even a god. ‘It’s certainly an embarrassing situation for me,’ Jordan said when pressed on the issue of divinity. ‘I play a game of basketball…. I try to entertain for two hours and then let people go home to their lives…. I could never consider myself a god.'”
Jordan was upset with Pippen’s unavailability during ‘The Last Dance’
The Chicago Bulls’ sixth Championship run in the 1997-98 season is popularly known as the ‘Last Dance’, which has also been made into a Netflix docuseries of the same name. While the Bulls entered the 1997-98 season looking for their second three-peat, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the locker room.
Scottie Pippen had ruptured a tendon in his ankle and decided to have his surgery at the beginning of the season. This upset Jordan, who wanted his running mate to play through the season and have the operation during the offseason. However, Pippen didn’t want to spend his summer in rehab. Instead, he intended to utilize the long season as his path to recovery before the playoffs began.
This would increase the tension between the two. While the Bulls would go on to win their sixth Championship in 1998, Pippen and Jordan’s relationship would continue to deteriorate over the years. The tensions would culminate into a full-fledged feud after the release of Netflix’s The Last Dance in 2020.
