Former Houston Rockets forward and seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry recalls the first thing Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said to him on the basketball court, and it accurately portrays Jordan’s competitive fire.
Ahead of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, which premieres Sunday and chronicles Jordan’s final 1997-98 season in Chicago, The Athletic‘s Joe Vardon spoke to a wide range of NBA players from that era about what it was like to meet Jordan for the first time.
Here’s how Horry, who was drafted by the Rockets in the first round of the 1992 NBA Draft, recalls his experience:
I just remember him and Vernon Maxwell before the game started, Vernon talking trash to Michael and Scottie, and it was just so fun to watch the competitive nature they had going against each other. I remember the first thing Michael Jordan ever said to me. It was my second [calendar] year in the league. They were really trying to put an emphasis on traveling, which they don’t do now.
But I remember Mike made a move and they called traveling. I came down and did the same move and they called traveling. He looked at me and says, ‘Young fella, if they call traveling on me, they definitely going to call travel on you.’ And I looked at him. It was during the game, so you don’t want to smile or laugh about it, so I just shook my head and said, ‘You’re right.’ He was just a competitor. Really nice guy though, really nice guy.
Scottie Pippen said Michael was ‘distant’ at first. Ron Harper, well, he waltzed into MJ’s closet and out with a fistful of Nike tracksuits. I hope you enjoy these tales of what it was like meet Michael Jordan @TheAthleticNBA https://t.co/hjvnNhxoPF
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) April 15, 2020
Horry played against Jordan twice prior to his mid-career retirement in October 1993, once in December 1992 and again in January 1993. Houston’s rookie fared quite well against Jordan’s Bulls in those outings, averaging 17 points (51.7% FG) and four rebounds in 33 minutes. He did have two turnovers in the 1993 game, which likely reflects the travel.
Most impressively, the Rockets won both matchups against the eventual 1993 NBA champions by an average of 12.5 points per game.
Ultimately, Horry got the best of both worlds in his introductory experience. He had a friendly encounter with perhaps the sport’s greatest player of all-time, and his team won both games by double digits, too.
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