Michael Jordan loves anyone who puts him to work on the offense. The 6x NBA champion has always found his way to the basket, but he is satisfied only when it is challenging. Few players in the league like the ‘Bad Boys’ of the Detroit Pistons managed to get a few stops on MJ. However, there is an unsung star from the Los Angeles Lakers, who pushed himself and got Jordan’s attention with his defense. Shockingly, this was after he broke Jordan’s ribs. 

Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest, infamous for ‘Malice in the Palace’, showed a similar physicality on the court with Michael Jordan. However, it was not intentional. A 19-year-old Artest was blessed with an opportunity to guard the Chicago Bulls legend in a pickup game. He shared, “The problem with MJ is, when he get the ball, he gon’ score. So that’s when you mess up, by letting him catch it. So every time he catch it, he was scoring.” Thus, Ron Artest did not want MJ to catch the ball, so he tried to deny him the entry pass.

However, during this one play, Artest moved MJ’s arm “out of the way”. The 2x NBA champion continued, “As I was denying him…I hit him with my right elbow and it hit him in his ribs, cracked his ribs“. However, this did not stop Jordan from dropping the game-winner. Well, it’s MJ, what did you expect? But the elephant in the room is how Jordan loved Artest’s physicality.

Despite having his ribs broken, His Airness decided to call the teenager and give him credit. The Indiana Pacers icon shared, “MJ called me. I was really depressed. He said, ‘Hey, it’s alright man, it’s alright young fella. It happens, you gon be good’.” 

It did not stop there. Artest also revealed MJ asked him to come back to the court to defend him. That’s when he knew he was a special defender, as Jordan believed Artest gave him the work. Later when they played each other in the NBA, Jordan continued to give Artest tough buckets. 

Ron Artest compared Wizards’ Michael Jordan to Superman

When Jordan joined the Washington Wizards, Artest was a youngster who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. Artest had some experience guarding MJ before, but this was when the 5x MVP was 38 years old, in the final stages of his career. A few took him lightly, and that turned out to be a huge mistake.

In 2002, Jordan faced the Bulls four times in the regular season, and he defeated them thrice. This left Artest in awe. He said in an interview, “It’s just like the movie ‘Superman’…You knew he was going to do something amazing because he always does. He was tired, it was the fourth quarter but he came in and whoosh.”

Ron Artest was speaking about MJ’s first game against his former team. The 14x All-Star defeated the Bulls 89-83, in which he secured 29 points, despite having an average game. Artest has always idolized Michael Jordan. However, after this season, the respect only increased. What are your thoughts on the above story? Share your take in the comments below.

Read more: Michael Jordan’s 30K Points Ceremony: Reminiscing Bulls Legend’s Major Milestone With a Special Honor by NBA