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Michael Jordan’s Former Olympic Teammate Harps on What Truly Made MJ Special

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7 months ago
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Trikansh Kher

Christian Laettner was recently at the ‘Dan Patrick Show’, where they asked him about his experience playing alongside Michael Jordan. As the only collegiate player on the Dream Team, the Blue Devil legend got front-row seats to watch the jaw-dropping action.

The former All-Star praised Jordan and crowned him his GOAT. But unlike normal MJ ‘stans, Laettner pointed to his defense of the number 23 as his main selling point in the GOAT debate. For him, Jordan is not only the best on the offensive side but also on the defensive side.

The former Wolves striker further revealed:

“My first impression of Jordan and my last impression is how much effort he puts into the defensive end… People don’t talk about that enough. “People don’t emphasize that enough…MJ was the best defender, too.”

Laettner was not a passive ‘fanboy’ on the team either, as he played real minutes during the Barcelona Olympic Games. The 6’11” forward averaged 4.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1 steal and 0.4 blocks in 7.6 minutes of play during the 1992 Olympics. Although seven minutes of play may not seem like much, for a college player to even make the team It was a big problem to begin with.

Games aside, Laettner also confronted Jordan during practices, as he recalled Jordan speeding toward him. But Laettner calling Jordan the “greatest defender of all time” might be a stretch for some fans.

Jordan has accolades to match Laettner’s praise. buy proscar online

As he anchors the Bulls’ offense, Jordan Not only did he make nine all-defensive first teams, the most in NBA history, but he also won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988.

Laettner angered Michael Jordan through Ping-Pong

It’s no surprise that Jordan hates losing, and not just in basketball. So when Jordan and the Dream Team flew to Barcelona, ​​he made sure to win at everything. The only problem with Jordan’s plan was that Christian Laettner was a fantastic ping-pong player, and even managed to defeat Jordan on one occasion.

Nate Butler, a photographer traveling with the Dream Team, recalled what happened after Jordan’s loss. buy inderal online

While the GOAT was frustrated and disappointed by his loss, he practiced hard, outside of the game, to win next time. Talking about the incident with hit magazine revealed the veteran photographer,

“Michael is playing ping-pong, sweating, like he was sweating in the fourth quarter at the free throw line. For some reason, Laettner beat him. He [Jordan] he threw his oar. She didn’t speak to anyone for two days. Now that I found out, they delivered a ping-pong table to her room.”

Jordan got revenge on Laettner just two days later, when the Bulls legend thrashed the Blue Devil, 21-4. Having witnessed Jordan’s competitive fire firsthand, it’s understandable why Laettner called Jordan the best. buy reglan online

Although there are better athletes, better shooters and much better thinkers in the game, Jordan is the most competitive of the group.

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