Michael Jordan Bullied a Former All-Star Despite Getting Thrashed With Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen on His Team: “Dukey! I Can Get the Ball Whenever I Want and Do Whatever I Want With It”

Michael Jordan gave a taste of his well-known bitter trash-talking medicine to Grant Hill before he even entered the NBA. Hill recounted the story of how a prime Michael Jordan bullied him on the court along with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird when he played for Duke University.

Grant Hill appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to talk about his upcoming book. Afterwards, he dived into other topics like USA basketball and the NBA finals. However, his account of playing against the 1992 ‘Dream Team’ as a college kid is truly something for the NBA archives.

Michael Jordan bullied Grant Hill on the court

The Dream Team was put together with the best players in the NBA to remind the world of the USA’s dominance in basketball. But the team required some practice to work in tandem in an international setting.

Therefore, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber and a bunch of other college kids gathered in La Jolla, California to play against the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and others. “We’re brought in as sacrificial lambs to help prepare the Olympic Dream team in 1992“, Hill said to Colin.

Hill and others had to play a European brand of basketball to prepare the team. That included playing fast, shooting a lot of three-pointers etc. The trick worked and the college kids defeated the still disjointed Dream Team on the very first day.

As a result, Hill and company claim to be the only team in the world that beat the greatest team ever assembled. However, the taste of victory didn’t last long. The Dream Team decimated Hill and the others every single day after that.

In fact, the rookies couldn’t even get the ball past half-court. Grant Hill had the gargantuan task of guarding Michael Jordan. The Duke University recruit remembers the Goat saying to him, “Dukie, I can get the ball whenever I want and do what I want with it.”

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And that’s pretty much what he did.

Grant Hill and the Jordan complex

After his stint training the Dream Team, Hill would win the gold medal for the USA in the next Olympics in ’96. The proximity to Jordan often brings out the best in people.

Hill inspired high expectations before entering the league. He could cross-over defenders and go both ways. Additionally, he could blitz defenders in the paint with his pace and fast moves.

The league had no answer for him when he first arrived. In fact, he was supposed to fill the void Michael Jordan had left in the league. But Grant Hill’s career would take a hit from an ankle injury after six seasons in the NBA.

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Hill became an NBA Hall-of-Famer in 2018. But many believe he failed to fulfil his true potential due to his injury.