Michael Jordan was known as the ultimate competitor during his playing days, going to unfathomable lengths to secure a psychological advantage over his opponents. Rex Chapman, one of Michael’s long-time friends, and a fellow NBA player, knew that MJ needed the smallest motivation to go off. So, when a rookie Steve Nash asked Jordan for his shoes during a regular-season match-up, Chapman corrected the future Hall of Famer.
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Talking about the incident on ‘DJ Vlad TV’, last month, the former Tar Heel player reminisced about the incident which happened in the 1996 Bulls vs Suns game,
“Steve was a rookie; he got in the game, and playing against Michael, asked him for his shoes at the free throw line. And I went up to Steve and said, ‘Are you fuc** kidding me? Don’t do that.'”
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Steve Nash was a huge Michael Jordan fan. Chapman even recalled Nash having posters of #23 all over his walls as a teenager, so it was no surprise that Nash was star-struck when he first laced up against MJ. But Chapman knew the Bulls legend and his mentality on the court. Providing the reasoning behind his discipline of Nash, Chapman added,
“He had posters of Michael on his wall and all of that. And when you’re out there to compete, that gives that man life. And the last thing that Michael Jordan needs is more life. I need him to have less life when he’s playing against me.”
Chapman and MJ share a historied past. In fact, Jordan even tried recruiting him to Chapel Hill, a maneuver which failed badly as Chapman decided to join a rival school, Kentucky. The duo even battled it out during their time in the NBA, with Chapman getting the better of the 5-time NBA MVP on a few occasions, which also included a 39-point game against the Bulls, with Jordan as the primary defender.
The time when Reggie Miller needed a jersey from Michael Jordan
Reggie Miller was among the few players who never bowed down to Jordan. The Pacers legend shared several epic battles with MJ, with their meetings often resulting in fights. Of all their altercations, their infamous 1993 scuffle would make the largest impact, as the duo have yet to hash out their differences, even three decades later.
Even though Miller was no fan of Jordan, the former Pacers guard once admitted to asking him for a signed jersey. Talking about the incident while appearing on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’, Miller recalled MJ’s favor towards him,
” It took everything in my fibre to ask the ball boy to go down and get it. It was for a charity thing….you dont understand how hard it was…I wasn’t going to ask personally, there is no way I am going to ask him. So I had to get the ball boy to go down there with the jersey and the shoes.”
While Miller didn’t need the jersey for himself or his collection, the act of asking his nemesis for a signed jersey was embarrassing enough for Miller. The Pacers legend recalled the incident as being “very uncomfortable”, even though MJ complied with his request and signed the memorabilia for him.
Years later, Miller even thanked the Bulls legend for his courteous gesture. However, Jordan never extended the same courtesy to Miller, as the GOAT has never asked for a signed jersey from any other basketball player.
