“Michael Jordan Walks Out And Everything Is Stopped”: Kevin Garnett And Paul Pierce Reflect On Seeing MJ For The First Time

On the latest episode of KG: Certified, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were asked to recollect the time when they first met a star player that left them in awe. Instantly, both the Boston Celtics legends came off as fanboys as they revealed their first interactions with Michael Jordan and how the Chicago Bulls legend was “glowing”.

As soon as the question was put out for the panel to answer, Kevin Garnett immediately named three superstars who had left him overwhelmed – Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Charles Barkley. Detailing about his experience, KG revealed how cinematic Jordan’s entrance was to the event.

“The ni**a (Michael Jordan) walk out here, I swear to god, it seem like everything is stopped. This ni**a is moving in slow motion. Every motherf**ker in here looking at him and he know it. Never seen anyone own the stage like bro,” Garnett narrated.

Paul Pierce had a similar tale as his co-panel member. During his college days, Michael Jordan and the Bulls visited Pierce’s university to play a preseason game against the Seattle SuperSonics. The then-Kansas Jayhawk revealed how MJ came to the occasion wearing a suit, leaving him amazed.

“So he came up in a suit. I swear, he was just glowing… Damn, that’s Mike. I’m in college too. So, I got to shake his hand and take a picture with him and all that. But I don’t know if I ever met another person like that in my life,” Pierce said.

 

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The Boston Celtics legends are merely two people from the sporting world to talk about MJ and his glow.  Whether one was a fan of him or not, every individual who has seen His Airness in person agrees that MJ had a certain aura that no other megastar had.

Damian Lillard also spoke about the aura of Michael Jordan

Similar to Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, Damian Lillard was also left in awe when he first saw Michael Jordan. Back in 2022 during the NBA’s 75^th Anniversary Event at the All-Star Weekend, Dame was astonished being in the presence of all the past legends of the game. After spending time with the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Stockton, and others, Lillard explained what it felt like once Michael Jordan walked in.

“When we get in the hallway, we see MJ walking towards us. He’s walking, and there are more cameras on him by himself than there were for all of us, and that’s when you really saw the difference of, like, man, this dude the GOAT,” Lillard narrated on the Knuckleheads Podcast.

While Dame Dolla didn’t get to meet and exchange greetings with the five-time NBA MVP, he remembered how he was fascinated, standing alongside Clyde Drexler and starring at Michael Jordan.

“I still ain’t never met him! I was standing next to Clyde staring at him like… that’s Jordan,” Dame said.

“That’s when u really saw the difference of…like this dude the GOAT!” @Dame_Lillard talks about how being in the Top 75 all time made that All-Star experience hit different but he also points out how even in the presence of the NBA’s All Time Greats, MJ still stands out and… pic.twitter.com/5kRtRlgzKo

— Quentin Richardson (@QRich) November 22, 2023

Even his own teammates, the people who saw him every day, were in awe of Jordan. Jud Buechler, who spent the locker room with MJ for four years, spoke about the exact same aura.

“MJ, he just had this aura about him,” Buechler said, as reported by Sports Illustrated.

It is pretty understandable why people are amazed at seeing Jordan. Apart from being one of the greatest and most accomplished players ever, MJ has also been a cultural icon, inspiring an entire generation whether or not they pursued any kind of sport.