John Stockton took a hilarious shot at Michael Jordan in his Hall Of Fame enshrinement speech.
Michael Jordan is the greatest player in NBA history, and a large part of this claim comes from the way he dominated the NBA in the 90s. His early career saw some playoff failures, but once MJ had the legendary Bulls teams around him, he willed them to 6 championships against some truly great teams.
One of those teams that lost to the Bulls in the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons was the Utah Jazz. Led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz were a stacked team that would have likely won multiple titles in any other era. But when they went up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, they came up short twice, and it gave way to a bit of rivalry between the two franchises and their stars.
Michael Jordan made some incredible shots during his NBA career, his ability to come up clutch when his team needed him the most was transcendental. The shot against the Cavaliers early in his career is talked about quite a bit, but his shot over Byron Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals is perhaps the most legendary one on his resume. And in his Hall Of Fame enshrinement speech, John Stockton trolled MJ using the shot.
John Stockton Trolled Michael Jordan By Bringing Up His Shot In The 1998 NBA Finals
Losing to a shot like that has got to sting for any great player, and it’s clear that John Stockton held on to that for a while. Speaking at his Hall Of Fame enshrinement speech, the same day that His Airness was also inducted, Stockton took a quick dig at the GOAT about his shot.
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“Out there, there’s a large group of people that traveled over a 1000 miles. Some from Hawaii, some from Alaska, just to support me. You almost laugh start laughing there because I actually think they came to see Michael. You know, he makes one big shot and everybody thinks he’s kinda cool, I don’t get it.”
The remark drew lots of laughter from the audience, including Michael Jordan himself. John Stockton knows that Michael Jordan’s immense popularity was derived from doing things that almost no other player had ever achieved before, but he couldn’t resist roasting the GOAT at that moment. And whatever else was said and done, that shot showed in microcosm just what makes Michael Jordan the greatest player of all time.