Watch The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls on Netflix via your Sky Q box - episodes 5 and 6 available on May 4 at 8am
Sunday 3 May 2020 12:42, UK
With The Last Dance documentary in full swing, Klay Thompson, Vince Carter, Kemba Walker, Zach LaVine and Kendrick Nunn share their favourite Michael Jordan memories.
As today's current stars attest, the influence of Michael Jordan and the legacy on the 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty can still be felt around the modern-day NBA.
The story of Jordan and the Bulls' six NBA championship win in the 1990s continues on May 4 (from 8am UK time) when episodes five and six are released on Netflix. You can watch on Netflix via your Sky Q box.
What better way to whet your appetite for the next episodes of The Last Dance than by hearing more Jordan stories from five current NBA players?
I don't remember much from that night. It was 1997 or 1998, one of the last championships that Chicago team won together.
I do remember the hype and hysteria that came with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. I remember my dad taking us to the back, waiting in the tunnel. We wanted to see Scottie and Michael so badly. I don't think I said a word.
The fact that I was able to be there and meet the legend himself was so motivating for me. I was able to tell all my friends about it when I went to school.
I will forever cherish that memory and I can always tell my peers I was able to meet Michael Jordan in his prime and see the Chicago Bulls play - it was a honour and something I'll never forget.
Being in the NBA for 22 years, I can say I got the opportunity to play against Michael Jordan and it was amazing, an opportunity that players in today's game can't say. His impact on the game and on players of today is well documented.
My story about MJ goes back to All-Star in Atlanta (in 2003). I was the leading vote-getter and I gave my starting position to MJ which he declined multiple times throughout the day. We go on and he accepts the starting position. He hits his historic fadeaway.
Any time that All-Star Game in played on TV or talked about, that memory sticks with me because it was historic in my mind and for all the fans watching to see MJ do his thing one more time in an All-Star Game.
I looked up to MJ when I was a young kid. I used to go to the park and be there alone, go up and down the court and try to hit last-second shots, trying to make as many as I could because that's what MJ did. He made last-second shots, he made tough shots, he made game-winners. I wanted to do that.
He changed the game. He is one of the main reasons a lot of (current players) wanted to play the game growing up. He was super-fun to watch, super-competitive and he flew - truly amazing.
He also changed my life on draft night. Never in a million years did I think I would be playing for MJ and have a relationship with him (in Charlotte). But I did. He was like my big brother.
I appreciate him and I am very grateful to him for what he has done for me and my family and how he helped me progress through my career.
Growing up I was the biggest Michael Jordan fan. I watched all the tapes - 'Come Fly With Me', 'To The Max', 'Michael Jordan's Playground'.
Me now playing in Chicago now is crazy, seeing his (retired) jersey (in the rafters) and stuff like that.
My favourite MJ story is from a Bulls game against the Utah Jazz where he comes down and dunks on somebody. He got yelled at by a fan, a guy telling him to dunk on someone his own size.
How Michael was, next time he grabbed the ball and went and dunked on a seven-foot Jazz defender, gesturing 'is that good enough' to the crowd.
Everybody wanted to be like Mike. It's just the way basketball is.
One specific memory I have of Michael Jordan from my early years is him playing (for Washington) against the Charlotte Hornets in 2001.
I was six years old and it was around Christmas time. I was at home watching the game with my family.
He was just in the zone, getting to his spots in the mid-range, his footwork - everything was on point that night. He scored 51 points.
Watch The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls on Netflix via your Sky Q box - episodes 5 and 6 available on May 4 at 8am
