Michael Jordan Once Left 55,000 Fans in ‘Trance’ as NBA Veteran Recounts Riveting Japan Anecdote

By the time Stoudamire came into the NBA, Michael Jordan had already won three championships and retired once. So he had always heard about the greatness of the Chicago Bulls legend. But it was when he went with Jordan and many other Nike athletes for an event organized in Japan that he finally understood the real star power of Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan was a massive star in Japan

In a recent episode of the Broken Play podcast, Damon Stoudamire was asked what it was like to be in the presence of Michael Jordan. Without even hesitating, the 7th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft revealed how Jordan was different from everyone else.

“He was a star… We went and did these clinics for Nike. So we went to Japan. So it was Mike, it was Charles, it was myself, it was J. Kid, and it was Michael Finley… We get to the clinic, its 55,000 people. Tokyodome sold out,” said Damon Stoudamire. While the players were getting introduced one by one, everyone received claps from the fans. But then he continued, “Michael Jordan – man, standing ovation. There is levels to this. When he walks into the room, I’ve seen the star of stars just bow down to the dude…Yeah, he has a persona to him.”

Although there were many stars in the NBA, Michael Jordan stood tall above everyone else. So even when stars like Charles Barkley and Jason Kidd were also present, no one received as much admiration as the Bulls legend.

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It is extremely rare for Michael Jordan to lose the attention of the fans. But do you know it has happened once? The dynamic of an arena once changed as someone else walked in while Michael Jordan was on the basketball court. Do you know who that is?

The only time someone outshined Michael Jordan

Once, while Michael Jordan was warming up on the basketball court, the entire arena was focused on him. The reporter, Laura Okmin, one of the longest-tenured NFL sideline reporters, was also in attendance. She revealed in an interview that she could always tell where Jordan was on the floor as all the fans gravitated towards him.

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But the pull was broken when the great Muhammed Ali walked onto the court. According to Okmin, this was the only time that she ever felt the room’s attention being shifted from Michael Jordan to someone else.

What do you think of Michael Jordan’s star power? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!