“I Was Not Scared of Michael Jordan”: RUN TMC Legend Never Feared ‘The Black Jesus’

As good as you were, whatever position you played, it was hard to play against the Bulls in the mid-’80s because of Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Michael Jordan was a complete basketball player whose skills on both sides of the basketball were as good as it gets. The Bulls legend’s skills knew no boundaries.

He even gave himself the nickname “Black Jesus” for doing otherworldly things on the pitch day in and day out.

Despite only being a 6’6 shooting guard, Jordan managed to scare off most opponents, which was rarely possible for a shooting guard at the time.

Also read: Michael Jordan once chose his Bulls teammate over Julius Erving due to his own biases

But there was one NBA legend who never feared MJ when he walked past his RUN TMC teammates or played against him in a Sacramento Kings jersey.

Mitch Richmond, unlike any other NBA player, was not afraid of Michael Jordan

Mitch Richmond and MJ had developed a great rivalry as soon as the former came into the league in 1988 as the Golden State Warriors’ fifth pick.

His Airness, 4 years into his NBA career, was already a superstar in the league at the time.

Him dribbling the basketball, tongue out was already a nightmare for all defenders in the league

But Richmond never feared Jordan like everyone else. In his appearance on Tyrell Owen’s “Getcha Popcorn Ready” podcast, he discussed the greatness of the 10x scoring champion and 9x defensive first-team members.

He also acknowledged the fact of how Jordan did what he did and said it was his cat’s quickness that allowed him to do those things. He then revealed how soccer helped him not to be afraid of one of the most fearsome opponents of all time.

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Believe it or not, Mitch Richmond had MJ’s respect

Mitch landed on a team that will have the perimeter of future Hall of Famers Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway in a year. Just for the two years they would play together, RUN TMC would become one of the greatest trios of all time.

Watching them play basketball was joyful. And Richmond, despite sharing the court with two other guards, established himself as one of the best offensive threats in the league.

Even Jordan praised his game, which was unusual for His Airness, who never used to acknowledge the greatness of his opponents or even his teammates while playing.

“Mitch is without a doubt one of the best players in this game. I’ve always admired his game and it’s always going to be a challenge, no matter how you look at it, and I respect that.” Jordan once said about Mitch.

Also Read: Michael Jordan Once Revealed He Would Pay $5 To Watch Scottie Pippen Play Outside Any NBA Player