Rex Chapman and Michael Jordan never shared the locker room together, but they built a good friendship over the years. By virtue of being represented by the same agent, Chapman and Jordan grew close. Chapman recently made an appearance on Stephen A Smith’s podcast, where he narrated a few MJ tales. After revealing a bowling game story to give an insight into the Chicago Bulls legend’s intimidating strategies, the former Miami Heat star named Stephen Curry as a current player who displays a Jordan-esque mentality.
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Jordan would continuously chirp throughout the game, talking trash to get under his opponents’ skin. Not only that, he was very well equipped with the skillset to back all the talk in the game. The 6-foot-6 Shooting Guard took things further with his off-court methods of intimidating people. One time, in order to play mind games with Rex Chapman and the Charlotte Hornets team, His Airness put his strength on full display. Palming a whole 17-pound bowling ball, the Bulls leader cleared all the pins in the lane.
Rex Chapman believes Stephen Curry possesses a killer mentality similar to Michael Jordan
Rex Chapman had an interesting conversation with Stephen A Smith on The Stephen A Smith Show. Apart from narrating gripping stories from the past, the former Kentucky Wildcat also raved about Stephen Curry’s game. According to the 55-year-old, the Golden State Warriors leader is an active player who has the clutch gene and showman capabilities of MJ.
Chapman made it more specific by drawing similarities between MJ and Curry’s mentalities. According to the former 12-year veteran, just like Jordan, Steph is a killer who lives for late-game moments.
“Mentality… you might think I’m crazy but Stephen Curry has that mentality. He’s a killer. Stephen lives for that late-game sh*t. He wants every last shot, he’s just not as physically imposing,” Chapman told Stephen A.
Steph might not be as physically gifted as Jordan. However, there is some resemblance in both players’ attitude and approach to the game. In terms of their impact, both of these icons have had a tremendous influence on their franchises and the sport in general.
Chapman brought up Curry closing the deal against the Sacramento Kings in this year’s playoffs to substantiate his argument. Smith readily agreed with the assessment.
Kobe Bryant was the closest to possess Jordan’s mentality
Michael Jordan is considered to be a basketball god. Even though it’s been two decades since he retired, the Hall-Of-Famer is still the frontrunner in the famous GOAT argument. We have yet to witness a personality quite like him in the NBA. However, there is one name that comes pretty close – Kobe Bryant.
Apart from sharing an almost identical style of play, Bryant had eerily identical mannerisms as the Bulls legend.
To this day, there have been only a select few players who have come close to the likes of Kobe and MJ. However, as Chapman mentioned, Stephen Curry is one such star to have a similar mentality as the two.
