Michael Jordan is considered arguably the NBA’s greatest player ever, which can be credited to his athleticism. He became the barometer of what a superb scorer should be like. One of Michael Jordan’s college coaches, Roy Williams, experienced the greatness firsthand.
In a 2020 interview in The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Williams told Cowherd that he once saw Jordan run so fast that he could have been among the five fastest times in the NFL Draft Combine that said year.
Williams, then the University of North Carolina’s assistant coach, recalled:
“I’ll never forget this. [In] his sophomore year, [he] ran the 40-yard. Me and Coach [Bill] Guthridge and our trainer Mark Carnes all three had hand stopwatches, so we’re not professional timers by any means. But [when] he crossed the line, I looked and I said, ‘Wow!’ Coach Guthridge, what’d you get?’ And he looked at me and then Mark said, ‘I got 4.39.'”And Coach Guthridge said, ‘I got 4.38,’ and I said, ‘I did too.’ So I waited a couple [of minutes] and I said, ‘Michael, we missed your start. We made a mistake here. Come on, I need you to run again.’ He said, ‘Oh! Too fast for you, huh?’ He [went] back to the line and ran it again. And all of us got below 4.4 as a sophomore.”
Williams then said that Jordan, while finishing the race just above 4.3, improved tremendously from his freshman year when he ran the 40-yard dash at just a shade below five seconds.
1982 Michael Jordan vs. 2020 NFL rookies
Based on Roy Williams’ claim, a 19-year Michael Jordan, assuming he time travels to 2020, could have been among the fastest NFL rookies during the draft combine.
Michael Jordan’s 4.38-second run in the 40-yard dash would have tied wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Denzel Mims in fifth place.
Darnell Mooney ended up with the Chicago Bears as their fifth-round pick, while Denzel Mims was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round but is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was the fastest player in the 2020 combine as he ran 40 yards in 4.27 seconds, followed by cornerback Javelin Guidry (4.29), wide receiver Quez Watkins (4.35), and safety L’Jarius Sneed (4.37).
