“Michael Jordan said I reminded him of Randy Brown”: Gilbert Arenas recalls a strange compliment paid to him by His Airness in his summer training camp

Gilbert Arenas is a self-admitted Michael Jordan stan. But the first compliment that His Airness paid Gil wasn’t necessarily something the latter wanted to hear.

It’s no secret that every 80s and 90s kid wanted to be like Mike. When you’re back in high school, all you care about is looking and feeling cool. And nobody felt cooler, snazzier or classier than this man with 10 scoring titles to his name.

Michael Jordan made the impossible seem possible, the improbable seem routine. When a great player takes an NBA court, you’re usually guaranteed a highlight or two from a game. But with MJ, you could easily bump this highlight ratio up to well over 7, 8 a game.

This man was the model of efficiency in the way he moved on the court – panther-like in his predatory defensive instincts, sharp as a whip on the uptake to go down on transition. And when he skied, the world had to stop and say ‘Wow!’

Also Read – I could die happy never listening to Doris Burke call a game again, just putrid! NBA Twitter mocks veteran broadcaster for her biased comments towards Stephen Curry.

Not everyone has the good fortune of being able to play basketball for a living. But any and everyone who’s played the game knows and understands the standards of excellence that MJ has set. They also recall one other aspect of his personality – his ability to talk trash.

Arenas was unwittingly on the receiving end of one of the most tongue-in-cheek, humorous compliments given by Jordan as a youngster.

Gilbert Arenas recalls a strange compliment paid to him by His Airness in his summer training camp

Gilbert Arenas turned up on DJ Vlad’s podcast for an issue released yesterday. The former Wizards star recalled one of his moments in MJ’s presence during the interview:

“Being a basketball nutjob that I am, I know the personality. I know what it takes to be great. Him, Kobe, those type of minds, they don’t allow laziness. They don’t have time to teach you how to be great – you’re supposed to be just already ready.”

“I remember when I went to Jordan camp, and I had like 40. And he (Michael Jordan) was like ‘You remind me of one of the players on my team. You remind me of Randy Brown!’

Also Read – Michael Jordan threw away a $10 million check and said f**k off! Gilbert Arenas recalls how MJ received the boot from Washington.

Randy Brown? Yeah. That very player who was a fan favorite with Chicago crowds early on in his career. Brown never became a consistent NBA rotation guy except for a lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.