Even several years after his retirement, the Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan stands as a metric of comparison for the players in the current generation. The 6x NBA Champion shocked the NBA world with a sudden retirement announcement after his first three-peat in 1993. However, Jordan’s departure didn’t bother the Houston Rockets side, as they went on to win consecutive championships in 1994 and 1995. The NBA world often credited MJ’s absence for the Rockets’ successive victories. Meanwhile, 28 years later, a Rockets legend countered the claim with a warning about Jordan’s perfect track record.
The Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green recently engaged in a candid conversation with the Rockets legend Kenny Smith. The 2x NBA Champion had his fair share of success playing alongside the greats in the 90s NBA. Smith made himself a successful career at TNT post his retirement. During the conversation, he shared several engrossing moments in his career, and a few of them were MJ moments.
Kenny Smith on Michael Jordan’s perfect resume
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In a recent podcast episode of ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ Kenny Smith discussed his Championship run with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. However, Green didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room as he asked the obvious question. Green asked, “People say if Michael Jordan didn’t leave for those two years, do y’all still win those two championships?” The Dub star further asked about the probable outcome if MJ played those two years.
Smith started off praising the legend for his impressive finals track record. He said, “ he’s never lost in the finals because as a fan, a basketball fan, I think that’s a great resume.”
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Smith answered the big question; he said that the Bulls wouldn’t beat them in those two years if MJ had been present. He further went on to say that the Bulls were “too small” as the Rockets legend felt the team lacked the presence of Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman in 1994-95.
Smith-MJ college memories
Smith and Air Jordan played along in the early 80s at the University of North Carolina. Earlier in the podcast, Kenny revealed Jordan’s ability to dominate the pros of the league who came to practice at the University court. Smith said, “…In the offseason, when the pros, at that time, we probably had like 22 guys who were in the NBA from North Carolina, and they all would come back and play, and he would just dominate guys. These are guys who were NBA All-Stars and I want to get their autographs and he would just dominate.”
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What do you make of Smith’s counter on MJ’s perfect resume? Let us know in the comments below.