The prospect of facing Michael Jordan instilled such terror in his opponents’ hearts that they avoided any shenanigans that would enrage the Chicago Bulls superstar. His peers dubbed him ‘Black Jesus,’ a moniker paying homage to his otherworldly abilities on the court. But unlike his biblical counterpart, Jordan showed no mercy to his opponents, prompting stars like Chris Webber to have a list of things to avoid doing against him
During an appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, the host asked Webber about his toughest matchup and unsurprisingly he named Jordan. Long then enquired about his strategy to guard the five-time MVP and whether he had a list of ‘don’ts’ when facing the Bulls superstar. Webber replied,
“I would say stay focused, do not fall for the gimmicks, do not talk to him, don’t give him any incentive. Just playing your hardest quietly is the best thing you can do against Jordan.”
Webber added it was best to refrain from making any remark that Jordan would perceive as trash-talking to avoid facing his wrath. Despite knowing the dos and don’ts when facing the superstar, the Hall of Famer and his Washington Bullets teammates were no match when they played against him in the 1997 playoffs. Webber labeled it as one the toughest series he ever played in, but for ‘Black Jesus,’ it was a walk in the park.
Webber recalls Jordan smoking a cigarette while calling out his matchup
The 1997 playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and The Washington Bullets ended in a 3-0 win for Jordan and Co. While the Bulls were expected to win the series without breaking a sweat, the five-time MVP went one step further to establish his dominance over the underdogs.
During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Webber recalled a hilarious story about how he outed his teammate when MJ asked who was guarding him before the game. Before Game 2, Jordan was standing by his Ferrari in the parking lot, smoking a cigar when the Bullets’ bus arrived at the arena. Recalling what happened next, Webber said,
“[Michael Jordan] goes, ‘Hey Webb, who’s checking me?’ And I looked at Juwan [Howard], and we both looked back at Calbert Cheaney and did like this (pointed at him). That was so whack of us, man, that was so wrong.”
Jordan, who scored 29 points in Game 1, seemingly felt slighted that the Bullets did not make a defensive adjustment to contain him. So he punished them by scoring 55 in Game 2 and breaking their spirit before completing the sweep in Game 3. On that fateful day in 1997, Webber witnessed firsthand how little it took to tick off the Bulls superstar and give him motivation to thrash an opponent.