Jalen Rose spent his childhood in Detroit during the 80s, so we can guess his favorite team and the reason why he didn’t like Michael Jordan
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Not everyone who grew up in the 80s hated the Bad Boy Pistons and not everyone loved the young, high-flying, 6’6 guard of the Chicago Bulls – Michael Jeffrey Jordan. And Jalen Rose for one certainly wasn’t among the latter.
Although the former Pacers star never played for the Pistons, he hated MJ for doing what he did with them and Detroit legend Isiah Thomas.
Jalen Rose hated Michael Jordan and once called him ‘overrated’
Sometimes we do things in the heat of the moment, and we release the mistake immediately after committing it.
In one such incident, the ESPN analyst Jalen Rose, when he was still a hot-blooded youngster and was playing for the Pacers, called Jordan overrated.
The man regretted his words as soon as he uttered them to His Airness’ face and in an interview on Vlad TV told us that he saw those words coming out of his mouth while he was saying them.
Hilarious! And thinking about the level he was playing at the time, averaging not more than 10 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2 assists a game and calling multiple time NBA champ, scoring champ, All-Star, All-NBA First Team, and All-Defensive First Team member, overrated?
Rose was out of his mind. And we exactly know what Jordan does to the ones who talk smack to him, that’s what he did with Jalen. His team definitely was worth that smack talk though.
Indiana Pacers of 1997-98 almost upset MJ and Co. in the Eastern Conference Finals
One of the greatest trash talkers of all time, Reggie Miller, also learned his lesson only after trying it out against Jordan, that you better never do it, if you want to have a chance of winning.
Reggie was the face of the Pacers when Rose landed there in his third year in the league following a trade by the Denver Nuggets. And naturally, you follow your leaders in whatever they do.
Rose did follow his steps in talking trash quite earlier than he did with the basketball. Had he started averaging what he did from the 1999-00 season, Reggie’s Pacers would probably have beaten Jordan’s Bulls in the 1998 Conference Finals, which famously went to Game 7.
The man could have backed his trash talk against the GOAT by spoiling his Last Dance if he hit his prime a little earlier.
Also read: Not Michael Jordan, but Steve Kerr is the ‘Real Winner’ for Comedian Hasan Minhaj