Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players of all time. But, there were times when his greatness was overshadowed by the favoritism he received. In particular, as Sam Smith claimed in his book The Jordan Rules, referees seemed to have a soft spot for MJ thanks to his superstardom. And, this did not sit well with his opponents, and even his teammates. In fact, his former teammate John Paxson certainly wasn’t pleased about it.
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The NBA has long been accused of showing favoritism to some of the superstars. This has been rampant in recent times. Whether it’s calling fouls in favor of LeBron James, or dumping The King in favor of Jayson Tatum during their matchup last season. And, back in the day, His Airness was no exception.
John Paxson was dejected after seeing referees call fouls in favor of his former teammate Michael Jordan
Over the years, it has been an established fact that there is a rift between NBA players and referees. The NBA has time and time again shown favoritism to certain superstars, raising questions about the ethics and fairness of the league. Examples of the 2002 Western Conference Finals and the most recent Celtics versus Lakers match-up come to mind.
However, this has been the case since time immemorial, and some of the lesser-known players have suffered because of it. A case in point is John Paxson. The guard was a key piece of the Chicago Bulls’ first three-peat run from 1991 to 1993. And, while he was in awe of Michael Jordan, there were times when he did not enjoy the favoritism he received.
As he revealed in Sam Smith’s book The Jordan Rules, there was a particular match where the referees blatantly favored MJ. In the middle of one game, referee Hue Hollins blew his whistle. This immediately elicited a reaction from His Airness. However, Hollins made it clear that he wasn’t going to call the foul on Jordan. Rather, he made the call on Paxson. A decision that the point guard wasn’t happy about.
“During one game, referee Hue Hollins tooted his whistle and Jordan, thinking it was on him, spun around. ‘Don’t worry,’ Hollins said, ‘I’m not going to make the call on you, Michael.’ Whereupon he turned around and shouted: ‘Five [Paxson], hold.’ ‘You get tired of all this star stuff,’ says Paxson. ‘I know I can play pretty good defense, and then if I’m a step to the side it’s a call. I know I ought to keep my mouth shut, but when you’re out there those things bother you.'”
It certainly is a huge problem for the NBA. Referees choosing to favor superstars is something that needs to change. But, it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. Especially considering some of the more recent calls that have been made and the backlash they have received.
Superstar LeBron James forced referees to apologize after a bad call
As it stands, things haven’t changed since Michael Jordan’s time in the NBA. Referees still bow down to superstardom, much like they did with Michael Jordan. In fact, there have even been a few controversial calls in the recently concludes 2022-2023 season. One of which included LeBron James.
In fact, the NBA Referees were forced to apologize, after the Celtics-Lakers matchup in January. Why? Because King James was infuriated after the referees missed a major call that could have won LA the game.
It’s safe to see that the NBA needs to carefully look at how games are officiated. Especially, when it comes to how they favor superstars. Hopefully, we will see some changes implemented soon.
