No matter how Michael Jordan’s 1v1 skills appeared to the outside world, there was no denying their terrorizing impact on his opponents. Ronnie Fields witnessed this firsthand while guarding ‘The Black Jesus’ in his early 20s. Nearly three decades later, the 47-year-old looked back on this instance, lauding the skill set of the 6x champion.
During the latest All The Smoke episode, Fields admitted to studying Jordan’s moves closely. As a result, the then-youngster took calculated steps while marking MJ on the court. Yet, the latter found a way to exceed his expectations, breaking the pattern of his actions. Recalling the moment, the Chicago-born stated,
“I said, ‘Okay, so he can’t shoot over me with a fadeaway’. So, that’s the first thing I’m bitting on realizing he still had a live dribble. So he get you right on the elbow…and then he turned. Haven’t bounced the ball. So, I’m like, ‘Yeah, he going right to that fadeaway’. So I go to reach and come off my feet. He stepped through one dribble, dunk”.
This situation occurred ahead of MJ’s comeback into the NBA in 1995. After a nearly two-year-long hiatus from basketball, Jordan wanted to gather much-needed game time into his legs. He consequently arranged a closed-door game by calling several local players into the gym.
Being one of the top talents around Chicago, Fields received this call-up. Upon entering the gym, however, the 6ft 3″ had no intention of locking horns with Jordan. But, the latter had a plan in mind. He demanded Fields guarding him during the game, paving the way for an exciting matchup.
This was when Jordan started driving at the Chicago-born, leaving the latter helpless on the floor. MJ followed up his dunk with numerous other skills before concluding the game with his shooting prowess.
Upon reflection, Fields understood the true essence of MJ’s much-talked-about “aura”. Despite staying away from basketball for so long, the game never left Jordan. On top of this, his lack of rustiness during the plays caught everyone by surprise, adding volume to his greatness.
Michael Jordan dominated even after his retirement
After taking final retirement from the game in 2003, Jordan kept himself detached from the on-court happenings of the NBA. Even after becoming a franchise owner in 2006, MJ was seen sitting courtside rarely. Yet, this never diminished his authority in the game.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist experienced this soon after coming into the NBA as a Charlotte Hornets player. During his rookie campaign in 2012/13, the Philadelphia-born played one-on-one against his then-franchise owner. Despite the odds being heavily in his favor, the 6ft 6″ rookie lost miserably to a 50-year-old Jordan.
Reminiscing about the time, Kidd-Gilchrist once mentioned, “He did play me 1-on-1 one time and it was hard for me…I lost. I lost to a 50-year-old guy. That’s my boss, though. He’s the best player to play the game”.
This further indicated how tough it probably was for Fields to contest MJ on the court. In the process, it highlighted how difficult a task his opponents used to carry out while marking him during NBA games. All these point toward the irreplaceable impact of Jordan, making him a one-of-a-kind star.