When Richard Hamilton was selected by the Washington Wizards in 1999, it was the culmination of his journey to being a professional basketball player which he always wanted. Things got even better for him when Michael Jordan joined the team as its part-owner and President of Basketball Operations in January of 2000.
Learning from the game's best was an exciting prospect for Hamilton and he looked forward to it when he found out about Jordan's role with the Wizards. A year after, His Airness announced that he will play once again and join the team's roster. Hamilton was paired with him in their backcourt and often times was given pointers during games.
However, it wasn't all fun and games for him playing alongside the six-time champion and he learned about it the hard way.
The 38-year-old Connecticut product recently recalled the time he was playing with Jordan and how he was dissed by him especially during his rookie year. He also shared how MJ talked trash against him which surprised him a lot.
As it turned out, Hamilton became one of the better perimeter shooters during his playing days. After his first three seasons in the league, he joined the Detroit Pistons and won a championship back in 2004.
It might not be the way he imagined learning and playing with Jordan was, but Hamilton certainly became a better player because of that experience. Jordan's dissing definitely fired him up and helped bring out the best in him because he took it as a challenge.
Later in his career, the five-time MVP acknowledged the improvement of his former player's game by making him a member of Team Jordan and finally allowing him to wear his shoes.
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