Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA players ever. The six-time NBA champion was very dominant during his playing days, and his record speaks for itself.
Despite still being lauded for his basketball prowess even after his retirement over two decades ago, Jordan recently revealed that a Long Island AirBnB owner made him nervous when he asked him to shoot a free throw in the presence of his grandkids.
Per the New York Post, Jordan, 62, touched on the story during his debut appearance on NBA on NBC broadcast after Mike Tirico reacted with shock when he learned that the Hall of Famer had not touched a basketball “in years.”
Jordan said that he was attending last month’s Ryder Cup in Long Island at the time of the incident, adding that the individual who asked him to shoot the free throw was the owner of the AirBnB property he had rented.
“I was at the Ryder Cup,” Jordan recalled. “And I rented a house from the owner. He came over to do pictures. He had grandkids. And I was meet and greet, thanked him for allowing me to stay in the house. And he had a basketball court. He said, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’ I said, ‘Really?’”
“Now I had already paid for the house. … So, when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years. In years,” he added. “The reason being is those kids heard the stories from the parents about what I did 30 years ago. So, their expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched a basketball.”
When Tirico, on a lighter note, said that he “hoped” Jordan “swished it,” the NBA legend said, “Absolutely.”
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