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“I Was Shocked”: Ex-rockets Guard on How His First Meeting With Michael Jordan Left Him Mesmerized
Michael Jordan remains a hugely admired figure around the globe. Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls and remained hugely instrumental in their successes in the 90s. The former NBA star-inspired millions of aspiring basketball players worldwide. One such basketball star revealed his awe and admiration of Jordan when they first met.
Former NBA star Alexey Shved still maintains an active basketball career. Shved spoke to Kyle Hines on ‘The Players Podcast’ where he detailed his experience of playing against Jordan for the first time in his career. He recalled that he remained awe-struck in the presence of greatness after watching Jordan play over the years on a television set.
Shved said, “In NBA, if you go to any team, they have the stars. I remember one year I was shocked because of the guys I watch on T.V.; now I need to step on the court and play against them. And I remember playing against Grant Hill. This is a long time ago. This is like stars from the 90s. And the first time I see Michael Jordan I was shocked too. But he wasn’t a player, but I saw he won the game and D-Wade, LeBron. There are a lot of guys there.”
In #ThePlayersPodcast, @Shved23 talked about how he felt playing against NBA stars and meeting Michael Jordan. He also explained why @JCrossover is the hardest player to guard
Tune in to the entire episode : https://t.co/chMB9vCx21#ELPlayers @SirHines pic.twitter.com/HnXpYLYq8j
— EuroLeague Players Association (@the_ELPA) December 13, 2021
Alexey Shved played in the NBA between 2012 to 2015. The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Shved in July 2012 on a multi-year deal. Shved later went to play with the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and the New York Knicks. In 2015, he returned to Russia to play for the Khimki Moscow.
Jordan, on the other hand, played in the NBA for 19 seasons.
Michael Jordan as a larger-than-life figure for the Chicago Bulls
As Alexey Shved so candidly explained, Michael Jordan inspired and also astounded his admirers and adversaries in the NBA and elsewhere. The Chicago Bulls legend remained at the focus of NBA’s aggressive marketing campaigns for the most part of two decades. Jordan’s larger-than-life play style on the basketball court and an even larger personality off the court sustained his stardom.
From left, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc were big parts of Bulls teams that won three straight NBA titles from 1996 to 1998. Jordan and Pippen were members of the first “three-peat” team, which won titles from 1991 to 1993. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
‘The Last Dance’ an Emmy award-winning documentary also focuses on Jordan’s temperament and his leadership of the Bulls team. His last year at the Bulls was a central focus of the docuseries. The 1997-1998 NBA season witnessed Jordan leading the Bulls to another historic three-peat. However, with a declining Bulls team, Jordan announced his second retirement spell in 1999, which arrived as a colossal blow for Bulls fans.
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