Michael Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. The Chicago Bulls legend finished his NBA career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 1,072 games with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.
MJ won six NBA titles, six Finals MVPs, five regular-season MVPs, three All-Star Game MVPs and 10 scoring titles with the Bulls. He was also the 1985 Rookie of the Year and the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year.
Jordan had one of the best Hall of Fame speeches of all time. With that said, let's take a look at the five best quotes from Jordan's Hall of Fame speech.
1. Michael Jordan on Scottie Pippen
Jordan made sure to show love to his best teammate of all time, Scottie Pippen. The duo went 6-0 in the Finals with the Bulls and are the best one-two punch in NBA history.
To begin his Hall of Fame speech, Jordan said, “And all the videos. You never just saw me, you saw Scottie Pippen. Every championship I won.”
Pippen, who made the Hall of Fame in 2010, averaged 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists during his first stint with the Bulls from 1988 to 1998. Like Jordan said in “The Last Dance” documentary: he doesn't win six rings without Pippen.
2. Michael Jordan on David Thompson
Jordan asked Hall of Famer David Thompson to present him into the Hall of Fame. MJ said he was inspired by watching Thompson play growing up as a kid in North Carolina.
His Airness also delivered this funny quote: “When I called him and asked him to stand up for me, I know I shocked the sh*t out of him. I know I did.”
3. Michael Jordan on Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf
Jordan broke his left foot three games into the 1985-86 season. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf was determined to sit MJ for the entire season because he didn't want to risk Jordan getting hurt again.
Jordan and Reinsdorf were told there was a 10 percent chance MJ's career could be over if he came back too early. That sparked a heated conversation between Jordan and Reinsdorf, but it ended on a funny and light note.
MJ talked about it during his speech.
“He (Jerry Reinsdorf) said let me ask you this: ‘If you had a headache, and you got 10 tablets and one of them is coded with cyanide. Would you take the Tylenol?' And I looked at him and said, ‘How bad is the headache?' ”
Classic Jordan!
MJ came back during the season and willed the Bulls to the playoffs despite being on a minutes restriction.
4. Michael Jordan on Tex Winter
Tex Winter was the mastermind behind the triangle offense. He and Jordan developed a great bond in Chicago.
However, Winter would always tell MJ to move the ball on offense and play within the triangle offense. During his speech, MJ told a hilarious story about a conversation he had with Winter once.
“I could never please Tex. I can remember a game coming off the basketball court. We're down five or 10 points and I go off for about 25 points and we come back and win the game. And we're walking off the floor and Tex looks at me and says, ‘You know, there's no I in team.' I said, ‘Tex, there's an I in win.' I think he got my message.”
5. Michael Jordan on Bryon Russell
Utah Jazz guard Bryon Russell made the team in the first place through hard work on defense. So, he always had supreme confidence.
When Jordan was playing baseball during the 1993-94 season, he ran into Russell, John Stockton and Karl Malone while the Jazz were working out at the Bulls' facility. That's when Russell made the mistake of trash-talking Jordan.
MJ talked about it during his speech and had the whole crowd laughing, even Stockton and Jerry Sloan.
“When I first met Bryon Russell, I was working out for baseball and they (the Jazz) came down for a workout and I came over to say hello to John (Stockton) and Karl (Malone). And Bryon Russell came over to me and said, ‘You know what man, why'd you quit? You know I could guard you. If I ever see you in a pair of shorts…'
“So when I did decide to come back and we played Utah, I'm at the center circle and Bryon Russell is standing next to me and I look over and say, ‘You remember this conversation you made in 1994 about how you said you could guard me?' Well, you about to get your chance.”
Jordan hit the game-winner over Russell in Game 1 of the 1997 Finals and in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals. So, it's fair to say Russell should have never talked smack to “Black Jesus.”
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