Michael Jordan. A basketball legend referred to by many as the GOAT. The man who earned the nickname 'His Airness' is a six-time NBA Finals champion, a six-time NBA Finals MVP, and the most famous part of the legendary Chicago Bulls squad which dominated the league in the mid-to-late 1990s. These days, 'MJ' is a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, having sold off most of his majority stake in the franchise.
At his peak, there wouldn't be a long list of players who would be able to hang with Jordan in a 1v1 contest, but he did once name four he believes could hang with him, and could even beat him as well.
Jordan was formidable in a 1v1 environment, boasting a near-faultless record in such encounters. One such story resurfaced in 2013, when rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, freshly drafted by the Hornets (then Bobcats), found himself challenged to a one-on-one game by the six-time NBA champion. The outcome was the 50-year-old team owner walking off the court victorious, leaving his young player stunned.
Indeed, Jordan has only ever lost once in a 1v1 environment, and it wasn't even against a fellow NBA star! Jordan proved no match for millionaire CEO John Rogers when the two faced off in 2003. Rogers was a participant at a basketball camp Jordan was running shortly after he retired from the NBA following two final seasons with the Washington Wizards.
Rogers had played college basketball at Princeton, but he'd only featured in four official games. Aged 45 at the time, he was five years Jordan's senior, and was significantly shorter than 'Air Jordan.' During the session, Jordan invited participants to take him on in a one-v-one game, with the winner the first to score three baskets. A Jordan victory looked inevitable when he took a two-nil lead. However, the famous No.23 missed his next shot. The pair then exchanged misses before – after complaining of a sore knee – Rogers surprised MJ by racing to the hoop and banking in the game-winning score. Jordan could be heard saying "oh no!" as the ball bounced in off the backboard.
At the other end of the scale, however, there are four players in NBA history that MJ doesn't fancy himself against when it comes to 1vs1.
Michael Jordan's Picks
Four players made MJ's list as people who could beat him 1v1
Known as 'The Answer', Allen Iverson, who turned out for the Philadelphia 76ers, was named NBA Rookie Of The Year in 1997, and he was one of four named by the legendary great when asked about who'd beat him in a 1vs1.
Jordan, speaking to Jumpmanhistory, said: "The hardest opponent for me to play against? In terms of 1-on-1? Small guys. Allen Iverson, Damon Stoudamire, Rod Strickland. Muggsy Bogues. Those little guys like that.
"Iverson could beat me on the perimeter, but I could take him in the post. He's a heck of a good player. He's a young talent. He's gonna continue to get better once he learns how to play the game on a much higher scale.
"Right now he's doing a lot on physical ability. He's good, he's quick. That's a challenge for me to go out to him and his stature. He's so quick and small. But it's a challenge. I won't back away."
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