“I’m tryna kill him, tryna get him off of me immediately,” Mahmoud Abdul Rauf recounts his 30-point performance against Michael Jordan’s Bulls
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf reminisces about the time he torched Michael Jordan and the 72-10 Chicago Bulls for 32 points.
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Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Michael Jordan
Very few people in the NBA could ever say that they put on a show in the presence of Michael Jordan. When Allen Iverson came to the league, his crossover against MJ is still considered legendary by many. Among the few who had terrific performances against Jordan was Mahmoud Abdul Rauf. He had one of the best games of his career when the Chicago Bulls had gone 72-10 in the 1995-96 season. Rauf was only 6ft 1in as compared to Jordan, who was 6ft 6in.
Rauf reflected on his performance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, saying that scoring 32 points against perhaps the greatest team in the NBA was a special feeling. Apparently, Jordan was playing at the point guard position in that game. “They put [Michael] Jordan at the point guard, they were trying to run him at the point… and I was the third visit [guarding MJ].” the former Denver Nuggets player said. He claimed to have played a physical game against “His Airness. “I’m tryna kill him, tryna get him off of me immediately, which ended up working.” he added.
Rauf, however, told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that he would swap this performance for the NBA championship any day. “But I tell guys all the time, ‘It was nice to score 32 and beat ‘em, but I would flip it round and have the championship,” he admitted. Interestingly, Jordan never lost an NBA Finals series in his career and spearheaded the Bulls to two three-peats.
Michael Jordan named the greatest athlete of all time
Morning Consult recently released a list of the greatest athletes of all time. Michael Jordan topped the list with the most votes. The former Bulls legend is considered by many as the GOAT of basketball. He got 19% of the total votes, followed by Tom Brady who got 12%. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were the only other NBA players to make the list, coming in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
The GOAT argument has existed since the dawn of basketball. It has, however, gained fresh intensity since LeBron James came into the picture. The King recently shattered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, which for many, has cemented his status as the greatest player in NBA history. However, both players have played in different eras and have completely different styles of play. Comparing both would only undermine the greatness of two amazing basketball players.
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Nandjee Ranjan
(488 Articles Published)