Throughout his illustrious career, Michael Jordan has consistently embodied basketball greatness on the court. Yet, contrary to common perception, there exists a lesser-known facet to the competitive athlete. As a young athlete, he would often praise his teammates. In the book by a two-time NBA champion, Jordan unveiled a compelling story of getting many sick patients during his UNC days.
The ‘Talk of Champions: Stories of the People Who Made Me’ by Kenny Smith sheds light on the entire story. Let’s take a closer look.
Kenny Smith mentioned Michael Jordan’s greatness
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In the book, the Jet spoke about his UNC playing days with the Chicago Bulls legend. The first time he met the legend was during his UNC campus visit. During his first visit to Chapel Hill, two players, MJ and Buzz Peterson, gave him a tour of the University campus. Reminiscing about his experience, the Jet revealed Jordan’s opinion of him. Following their practice and an intriguing campus tour, he joined Jordan and some other players as they went out to eat. He recounted that Jordan used to drive his new Blue Monte Carlo. Smith recalled Jordan being confident that he would join the University of North Carolina.
He said, “I’m not sure, I said, I got to think about it. We stopped at a traffic light. He turned to me. You’re coming, (to UNC) he said.” He added, “You know why? I looked back at him but said nothing. You got that eye, he said. That eye like I have. It’s the eye of the tiger.”
Just like Jordan predicted, Smith joined the UNC a month later. In the book, he also mentioned Jordan’s kind gesture.
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Kenny Smith was surprised by Michael Jordan’s gesture
The Jet recalled how during the tour, he fell sick because of flu. As he asked the duo to take him back to his room, he was surprised when Jordan offered to take him to a pharmacy to buy medicines. He was touched to see how the UNC player treated their teammates. Recalling the experience, Smith recounted Jordan’s words, “Hey, Mr. New York,” Mike added. “Don’t worry, I get a lot of players sick when they come through Chapel Hill.”
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Smith stated how, throughout the time, both Buzz and MJ took care of him. Did you know about this? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.