“Michael Jordan PANTSED Dikembe Mutombo at the All-Star Game!”: When Bulls’ GOAT and Penny Hardaway trolled Hawks’ star during the 1997 Exhibition Game

Bulls legend Michael Jordan pulled down Dikembe Mutombo’s pants during the 1997 All-Star Game introductions

The NBA has always been full of fun rivalries that kept the game within the game fun to watch. We had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 80s, Lakers vs Spurs in the 2000s, and LeBron James vs the Warriors in the 2010s. However, the 90s didn’t have any such rivalry. The reason behind the same? A 6’6 man named Michael Jordan.

In the years when Michael Jordan was playing, he was dominating the league. MJ and the Bulls won 3 championships between 1991-93. He retired for a year and a half, letting others get a chance. in 1995, MJ was back completely, winning his next 3 championships between 1996-98.

During that time, MJ did end up starting rivalries/friendly completion with a lot of players. One of them was Dikembe Mutombo. The defensive great was drafted in 1991, and established a rapport with MJ since his rookie season.

Also Read: ‘Hey Mutombo, this is for you baby!’: When Michael Jordan splashed free throws with eyes closed to mock Dikembe Mutombo

Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway trolled Dikembe Mutombo during the 1997 All-Star Game

In 1997, Dikembe Mutombo reminded Michael Jordan how he hadn’t dunked over Dike since his rookie year in the league. That means, 6 years without dunking over the defensive big. MJ, as expected, took it personally, and dunked over Mutombo during the same game.

During the same year, both Michael Jordan and Dikembe Mutombo were selected as All-Star starters. During the starting lineup introductions, Jordan, along with Penny Hardaway trolled Dikembe by pansting him.

Also Read: “Playing against Michael Jordan helped me elevate myself to an All-Star”: NBA veteran Dikembe Mutombo shares his experience of competing against the Bulls legend

His Airness was the biggest competitor but also loved to have fun off the court. Dikembe has talked about the Bulls legend since, and claimed MJ made him a better player.

That is the kind of impact Jordan had on others, as long as you could overlook getting intimated by him.