 Welcome. To the day that Nick Anderson and Shaquille O'Neal started talking a little bit too much to MJ, and this is the story on what happened and how it went horribly wrong. If you are new around here we are doing 23 Michael Jordan videos in 23 days. This is the 23 part collection on Michael Jordan. If you are enjoying the videos I'd really appreciate if you could hit that like button. Let's aim for 5000 likes for the next video tomorrow, subscribe if you are new for more MJ videos in December and hit that notification so you are up to date when a new video releases. There's also a playlist link on the top right of your screen that you can click on and in the description box down below that has all the MJ videos that we've done so far. And all the footage used in this video is on the screen right now and in the description if you want to watch them in their entirities, but without further ado, welcome to the new video. On the day that Shaquille O'Neal and Nick Anderson started talking to MJ and it went horribly wrong. You're saying some players talking trash not only didn't work, it made it worse. Anybody that you kind of avoided talking smack to because if you did, it was going to back fire almost every time, MJ. Michael Jordan, you don't want to mess with God, you got to stay away from Mike, leave that man alone. Jordan says his mantra was consistent, put a foot on the neck and keep it there. We didn't believe in helping players up. It was, he was certain, a sign weakness. January 16, 1993, still your rookie year. You guys are in Chicago playing the Bulls. Michael Jordan's going off. Jordan baseline got it. Backs in, Fakes moves to the middle, fades and hits. Jordan will fire from there and he may be on tonight. Comes in to post up. Michael turn around baseline. Wow. And Jordan has got scowls. Once everybody out of the way wants to go one-on-one with him, Anderson over to help out. Michael right baseline. Jordan pops out right wing. Now fires after the dribble and hits again. His teammates on the left. Yeah, to Michael. Jordan's got it one-on-one right side. Three seconds. There he goes. Now wants to go to work on Purdue. Michael tries to take it back for the Bulls and gets it back. Jordan top of the circle. Got an open three. It's up short. Got his own rebound. On the baseline, put it up again. Michael looking to go one-on-one or looking for the move. He'll go one-on-one and hit. MJ posting up now on Boo. Backs in. In the lane, hits again. Now's are trying to get Michael inside. Turn around, jumps out. One against Pippen. Kicked it. Right to O'Neill. Look. Oh, look at him go right over everything. He gets it to Grant. Back to Jordan. Open right wing. Team goes. Back to team. He creates the shots. Here it is. Okay. Has it on the baseline against Royal. Put it up. It can happen here. Shot clock at six at five. Michael in the lane. He can make it happen. Looks inside for Jordan. Michael. Quick turn around. Got it inside. He didn't miss many in there. Horton right side. Off the screen. MJ. And it's a one-point game. Go. That's good. Three, three point four seconds remain. Michael's got 64 now. He ended up with 64 points. What is the team talking about? What do you remember about it? Before the game, I was terrified. First time I played it, I was terrified. I was terrified out there. Were you really? Yeah. You just got a MJ? Yeah. For how long? Right when you took the floor? Oh, the whole game. You know, first time I seen Jordan and he got the respect from the referees and how when he touched the ball and made a shot, the crowd went crazy. I want that. Was he nice to you? That's your idol? No, it's just Jordan. That's what it was. But to relieve pressure on that, I ain't got a garden. It's all my work. So when he first came and did a little stutter move and he shot a shot, I was right there. So now I was like, uh-oh. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Like, because I was like, he's a god. But I'm like, I'm close to the god. So after I got almost blocked the shot, all that went away. Thank you when I did. Yes. Second thing I said, I can't let him dunk on me. That's not going to happen. One, he's a great player. Two, I was worried about him dunking on me and I have to go back and, you know, face the fellas. And then three, he was just so hot. I was like, man, this dude. Like, in high school cars, I never got dunked on. And I was like, this dude could probably dunk on me right now in the back, man. I do you want some offices? I don't know if I ever told anyone this. I'm playing against Shaq. Shaq the biggest first time I've ever seen him play. You know, in terms of physicality. You know, and he was just a big, massive guy. So I was somewhat intimidated. So I didn't really know how to play against him. You know, do I go right at him? Do I stop? I pull up. Blah, blah, blah. So next time he came through, I had to lay him out. I went right at him and he just knocked me straight to the floor. I laid him out. I was like, you know, dunk him again. He was like, ah. But when I laid him out, I laid him out. I went to help him up. And then he reached down to pick me up. And I said, yeah, my bad dog. He was like. I said, no. Don't ever help nobody up. That's what he said. But why do you think he told you not to give him the hand up? Because he knew I was a bad guy. He knew I was coming. You know, you're supposed to show a person that you're competing against. You show him respect by showing them none. You don't respect by showing them none. Showing them none. But I showed him too much respect. He didn't mean it. He's a nice guy. He's not that. I mean, if you'd have left and stepped over me, you know, out of the old school, old, old. I would have been somewhat intimidated. But his heart is too good. You know, he's not that type of guy. And it took away some of the intimidation. You knew you had him. I did. I did. So like he taught me a lot. So Jordan. So I've only, I can proudly say I've only been dunked on three times in 20 years. Three times. Michael Jordan like that. I don't know if it's a person, but he got me. Talking trash to Michael Jordan, even if he's talking trash to you, is a losing proposition. Yeah. You in a no-win situation. And Horace Grant told that story on the documentary. I don't know if for the people who miss what we're talking about, Michael Jordan came back as number 45. When he came back and scored 55 in the garden, I'm thinking, oh man, it's going to be crazy if we meet them in the playoffs. And we're set for game one of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Bulls and the Magic. I felt great about that year. And I knew Michael, he was still working himself back into condition. All the world's a stage when your name is Michael Jordan. So the spotlight that shines brightly on your triumphs also burns intensely on your mistakes. On Sunday in Orlando, Jordan had more than a bit partner in the closing scene in game one, fourth quarter. Bulls up 91-90, 22 seconds to go. But in this game, he's got the 4-5 on. I went back and watched that last meal. Man, that place looked electric. That place looked packed. Semifinals. Yeah, semifinals the last second of the game. It was electrifying. I still remember that play like I did yesterday. The ball was inbounded under our basket, their bench. And they threw it into him. And I swiped at the ball the first time when he was inbound. And he got around me. And when he got around me, he was dribbling up the right hand side of the court. But he looked over his left shoulder, thinking I was coming up on that side. But I was on the other side of him. And I got a chance to, with the left hand, reach in and knock the ball forward. And when I hit the ball, it went directly to Penny Hardaway. Penny Hardaway got it on fast break. Horace Grant was running the right lane. Tony Kukoch had got back. But Penny already had delivered the pass to Horace. And Horace ran the ball for two. When Michael came back from playing baseball, and Nick Anderson stole his rocker, the reason I stood out, you hadn't seen anybody take Michael's rocker a long time. He came back during the season, the season that I already started. And he had to shake the rust off. And crunch time gives up. The steal throws the ball away. You steal the ball. The magic win. Legend has it that you said 45 ain't 23. It's called 45 to go back to number 23. Let me tell you how it went down. Let me tell you how it went down. This is what's reported. That's what's reported. That's what's reported. What's reported is that... After they came, Nick Anderson said... Oh, Nick Anderson said... 45 isn't 23. And I just simply just ask him a question. 45 is nowhere near 23. That's pretty pointed. Hey, and you just got him, so... 23 is off the charts. You know that. And I wasn't saying it in a disrespectful way. I'm just saying 23, you can't compare 45 to 23. 23 will always be the man. Jordan is a step slower in the 4-5. Michael Jordan is superstitious. 45 is in Mothball's 23 is back. It just felt like 45 wasn't natural. I wanted to go back to a feeling I had with 23. After game one against the magic, Nick Anderson said number 23 used to soar like a space shuttle while number 45 revs up but isn't nearly as explosive. Maybe MJ was listening. Gone is 45. Back from the Raptors is 23. Is he better in 23? I think he is. We all know that he's better in 23. He knows it. But Lord behold, he comes back out the next night. It was portrayed in a different light. And so he retires the 4-5 that night. And he comes back game two with number 23 on and which with 23 was retired at the time because he had retired, right? And from my recollection, I think you need to get league's approval to wear the number. He didn't care. Whatever fine is coming out, I'll take the fine and game two is number 23. And puts up 38. He met them at the next game. I think he scored 36 or 38 or whatever the number was. He even said something about it when we stepped out on the court. Okay, what is that? I got on 23 tonight. Chicago Bulls pulled even with the Orlando Magic but does Jordan have the legs to last throughout the playoffs? He was not 100% of himself that year. He was 80-something percent of himself. And everybody's going to say, oh, he came back from baseball. But my thing is, if you step on that court and I know he has the same mentality, if you're on that court, that means you're ready to go. And obviously he's not in great shape. I've just been playing baseball for 21 months' shape. He's eating that time to get his legs underneath him and that was reflected in some of the postseason games that year. The Magic are one win away from eliminating Michael Jordan in the Bulls from the playoffs. There are a couple of things that are wrong with Chicago right now. Number one, they didn't have Michael for the course of the season. So while other players are in great shape and can go game in and game out, Michael has not been able to sustain the effort over the course of the game. Looking back, I didn't have enough time to get my body back to a basketball body. So I was a little nervous going to end of that playoff. As the both teeter on the brink of elimination, tonight the Magic will try to give him a little push. It is a one, Paul has reeled off seven straight. Time to take the lead. I don't remember seeing Michael Jordan this tired. This is unbelievable. Eight seconds on the shot clock. Let Anderson go against Kuko. She can take him to the basket. Oh my goodness, what a shot by Nick Anderson. It's all over and the Bulls season comes to an end. Here at the United Center in the Orlando. Michael's lowest points when they came back and they didn't win. He hated the fact that the horse was on the other team when they beat him. And just to watch all the celebrating that they were doing, I think that's what he took the heart. I take pride in saying I was the last one to beat Michael Jordan in the playing situation. And I know people are going to say, well, he wasn't ready when he came back in 45, but there's only one guy that sent him home in the playoffs. That's me. For that next year. If you know MJ, as I do very well, the only thing he was doing during the summer, having Orlando Magic on his mind, that's all. Did you know he was in trouble? Well, I kind of looked at, you know, the series is going to be tough. It's no question that you're going to see, you don't lose all that what he had. It's just a matter of time he was going to gain it back. You know, he had to get his legs on him. He had been away from the game for a while. But his mentality, that wasn't going to change. He had to shake off the rust and then whatever else there was, he had been through or were going through. And after he set that aside, we see the greatest player in the world again. Today, but this season, they were an all together different team. Now we can get a fair shake. Michael has been here. He's in basketball shape. We have Dennis now who can rebound. So let's get down for our crown. Let's make this thing happen from the beginning, babe. Let's go do it. What time is it? Game time! Woo! Well, this is the one that everybody's been waiting for. And you consider this to be the two best teams in the NBA. Many guys don't play 48 minutes a hell. Michael Jordan gave you 48 minutes a hell. Both ends of the court. Both ends of the floor. We didn't have a chance. The next year they came back and demolished us. You know, make sure we didn't win the game. But did Jordan give you grief? Did he talk junk to you? He told me what he was going to do in the game. He's like, I'm coming down. I'm going to throw up between my legs twice. I'm going to pump fake. And I'm going to shoot a jumper then I'm going to look at you as I do what he did. So I used to go, hey, look, man, don't say anything to him. Especially when he even came down and got on a little rhythm, hit three or four shots. Now you got him going. He's talking trash. And then you want to throw fuel on the fire to help him out. Don't say nothing to him. Don't talk trash to Michael Jordan. That was what you told other players on your team because they're going to get you in a mess. They're going to get me in a mess. He's the only man that had me terrified on the court. Because I went from high school, admiring him to college, admiring him. And then he's right there in front of you. Get this. You know, there's been multiple times. We are going over plays before the game. We played the Bulls. And we used to call MJ the black cat back then. OK. And what was that for? What was the black cat? Tough. OK. And on the board, the coach would say, well, when you talk about in the pregame, don't let the black cat go baseline. Anyway, make a long story short game, get ready to start. He said, I know y'all been talking about, don't let me go baseline. Jordan telling you about what you're planning. Yeah. I'm going baseline anyway. And here, Lord behold, he goes baseline. And all that you see is the bottom of them Nikes. All the shit you see on your poster, like he's doing in real life. Like he came by me so fast, and I was like, oh, shit. Mike, I was terrified. Much last year, just so much this year, I don't think we want to be remembered as a team we've got to sweat. How much better are there than any other team that you face this year? Jordan. Mike will get it. F-45 to 23. 23 will always be the man. Yeah, that has been a motivating thing for you for over a year now. Because of last year and the number changing, 45 didn't look like 23 and whatever. But we always disappointed last year. We came back to redeem myself as a unit. And I think we did that effectively. And I will honestly admit this. I've caught myself doing it several times. Sitting on the bench and he has been in the game and he goes baseline and he gets you one of those amazing dynamic, acrobatic moves with the tongue out, great finish. And sitting on the bench going, you knew you knew you was on sports. You about to be famous the wrong way. Michael Jordan told me out the days to help us. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, before you succeed, you must first learn to fail. Before you succeed, you must first learn to fail. And I didn't know what that meant. So all summer me and Alex riding around I'm pissed. Then I finally sat down and said, before you succeed, you must first learn to fail. And I thought about it. I was like, yeah. The things I was going through was the things he went through playing Detroit. All the greats go through it. I was ready, but I wasn't ready. They swept us in. But it also taught me a valuable lesson. If I ever get back to the finals again, I'm going to put on a performance that's so crazy that it's going to guarantee us a win. So I appreciate that because that means you're the sole catalyst in making Michael Jordan be who Michael Jordan is because you boosted the second half of that career with the words. So I appreciate that. I say this with all due respect because I would never disrespect any of my peers that I played against. That's not my style. In my opinion that I face, I can't speak for everybody else because everybody else may not feel the same way that I feel. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player I ever played against. Anybody ever be better than Jordan, in your opinion? No, not really. Is he the best player to play the game? Listen, Jordan was the greatest in my opinion. You see that I have on the Jordan tens too. I didn't notice that. Those were my shoes that I wore in my NBA career because of that man right there. Wow. Thank you.