Jordan made fun of one of the NBA’s biggest giants with grace

Michael Jordan and Dikembe Mutombo have a long history of scintillating phrases on the basketball court. Rival in the game and fellow players in life, the NBA legends have repeatedly demonstrated not just performance, but also an entertaining show that elicits genuine affection from the audience.

Fun on the basketball court

Many basketball fans point out that the period of the 1990s was the most colourful one in the history of the sport. Games would be staged, but the essence of the game didn’t change. Competitors would put the ball in the basket and showcase their prowess and talent, but without forgetting their human joy and humour.

Today it is rare to see anything like that, and sometimes the matches are even held as a traditional sporting event, which is why the audience is no longer so large-scale and “motley”. One of the most memorable rivalries is Jordan-Mutombo. The two giants never missed a moment to poke fun at each other and cause numerous smiles from the audience.

An important match and Jordan’s antics

On November 23, 1991, the Chicago Bulls played against the Denver Nuggets. The former beat the latter by a margin of 7 points, with Jordan scoring 37 of 107. He was voted the best player on the championship team. Towards the end of the game, Michael didn’t miss a moment and decided to tease Denver Nuggets centre Dikembe Mutombo.

Before the game, the teams clashed in the locker room, where Dikembe told Michael that the latter had never managed to execute a poster-dunk in his presence on the court during the six-year rivalry. New York Knicks’ Patrang Jung, another legend of the 1990s, was also present.

Jordan showed no reaction to Mutombo’s onslaught backstage, but on the court, near the end of the game, he drew a powerful poster through his opponent. Furthermore, Michael completed his performance by performing Dikembe’s trademark gesture of twirling the ball on his finger while looking at his opponent with one eye.

It should be noted that this gesture became iconic in Dikembe’s performance when he performed it in one of the most important games of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. At that time his team played against the Atlanta Hawks. Often during interviews the athlete gave a masterclass in the execution of this technique.

Jordan demonstrated his skill, which he picked up from his opponent 3.5 seconds before the buzzer on the free throw line. This moment had no impact on the outcome of the game, but Michael still put on a show of his own. His good-natured trolling of athletes with a height difference of 20 centimetres (Jordan is shorter than Mutombo) thrilled the crowd that night.

Mutombo’s invaluable contribution to basketball

Although Dikembe never managed to surpass Michael in the number of titles he won, he left a significant mark on basketball history. He is a member of the Hall of Fame and one of the best defensive players in NBA history. In addition, he has participated in 8 All-Star Games.

Mutombo made his league debut in 1991. From his first games, he was already impressive on the defensive end, securing himself an unrivalled future in basketball. This is one of the reasons why Michael singled him out and, although he made jokes about him, he did so with genuine respect for the athlete’s talent.