Michael Jordan and Toni Kukoc started on the wrong foot but eventually realized that the differences weren’t personal and became good friends. Despite the events of the 1992 Olympics, Kukoc believes that behind all the madness around his name, Jordan is a chilled-out person who is heavily misunderstood by the public. Apart from being an advocate for his good personality, the former Bulls star also believes that if he were in Jordan’s shoes, he’d be a worse human being than people believe his ex-teammate to be.
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The 55-year-old found a friend in MJ, the same MJ who is seen as an anti-social person. As per a video posted by ‘Basketball Network’, Kukoc said,
“We are good friends, we see each other often. Although he rarely comes to Chicago now, I usually go to him in Florida for golf. We play golf, light up a cigar.”
Golf and cigars might just be the best way to bond with Jordan. For Kukoc, this friendship opened up his eyes to several other things. For a very long time, MJ has battled with misconceptions about his image in the public. It is a common belief that he doesn’t like to entertain people unless he gets some benefit from it.
However, most people fail to recognize that he is still arguably the most popular person to come out of a global league like the NBA. So, if he starts going around and entertaining everyone he sees, he won’t have time for himself, his daughters, or his wife. Kukoc added,
“Michael Jordan is a wonderful and divine person, I always say that if I were Michael Jordan, I would be a worse person, but you can’t make or afford everyone his two minutes. If he gave everyone two minutes, his day would last for three months.”
It’s really heartening to see the three-time NBA Champion standing up for his friend, especially considering that the beginning of their relationship was full of animosity.
Michael Jordan and Toni Kukoc had the worst start to their relationship
It’s been over three decades since the Dream Team dominated the global basketball community at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. While the whole team wanted to win the gold medal, the Jordan and Scottie Pippen duo had an additional tournament agenda.
Their issue was with the Bulls GM Jerry Krause, who wanted to sign the Croatian to his team while an important member of the Bulls, Pippen, survived off of an insultingly small contract. When the opportunity came, and the Bulls were going to face Croatia, Jordan and Pippen made a pact to make Kukoc’s time on the court equivalent to a living hell.
As per a clip uploaded by ‘CroPETROforeverNBA’, MJ justified the aggressive approach by saying, “We were not playing against Toni Kukoc. We were playing against Jerry Krause in a Croatian uniform.” Jordan and Pippen went on to dismantle Croatia, while sending a clear message to Krause.
In the final, Kukoc presented a stronger challenge, ending the game with 16 points, five for nine from the field, three for five from the three-point line, and three for three from the charity stripe. Finally, Jordan and Pippen saw the advantage of bringing Kukoc into the Bulls organization and he went on to be an integral part of their second three-peat of the decade.
