EuroLeague (DR) / San Antonio Spurs (DR) / ABC (DR)

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

The early 2000s marked a significant transition in NBA history. While Michael Jordan retired in 2003, the league saw an exceptional generation of players emerge from the draft a few months later, with superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.

That being said, 2003 isn’t the only draft to have produced legends of the game. We’re thinking of the 2001 draft, which featured names such as Pau Gasol and, above all, Tony Parker, picked late in the first round by the Spurs. It didn’t take long for the Frenchman to become a starter in San Antonio and thus to rub shoulders with the best players in the world… including Jordan, who had since returned to competition.

It was in December 2002 that the two men faced each other on the court for the first time, an event to which France 2 also devoted a report. Parker then acknowledged that the latter was no longer as strong as in the past, having just come out of retirement for the second time to represent Washington:

Michael Jordan is my idol, he’s the one who made me want to play basketball. But it’s not the same anymore, he’s not the same legend anymore, but he’s still Jordan.

Typically the kind of statement that wasn’t meant to be mean, but which had the gift of tickling the six-time champion’s colossal ego. And Steve Kerr knew it well…

After all, the latter won titles alongside His Airness before becoming TP’s teammate. Before their first duel, he gave him some vital advice:

Don’t try to talk to him or provoke him; that’s what he hates the most and what drives him to excel. The best attitude to have when playing against Michael Jordan is to stay quiet and just play.

There’s an unwritten rule in basketball that you should never provoke superstars, or you’ll be punished severely on the court. MJ embodied this maxim perfectly, but luckily for Parker, he didn’t take much punishment in this game, as the Hall of Famer finished with just 16 points on 8-of-20 shooting in a game San Antonio won 92-81.