Rasheed Wallace might be one of the savviest defenders in NBA history, but he had no intention to embarrass himself against Michael Jordan. When the Chicago Bulls legend pulled up to a practice in North Carolina during the 1993-94 college season, Wallace knew better than to challenge someone who used to dominate the best players in the world on a regular basis.
Speaking on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Wallace recalled the day Jordan came to a practice after taking a break from the NBA for the first time.
“The moment I remember most was when he came to watch us practice one day. He even jumped into practice a little bit. We finished practice, and you know how it is. You get about 10 minutes afterward to work on your form, get up some extra shots, all that. I did that.”
“Then me and a couple of the other bigs went into the locker room. I had my shoes off, my tape off, and I was icing. Then one of the managers came in and said, ‘Coach wants you out on the floor.’ I said, ‘Coach who?’ He said, ‘Coach Smith.’ I was like, ‘Man… alright.'”
“So I put my socks back on, put my shoes back on, and ran back out there. Mike was out there playing guys one-on-one. He was playing Stack one-on-one, Donald Williams, Touché, Jeff McInnis, Dante Calabria. Then he asked if I wanted to jump in.”
“No. No. I had sense. I had what they called a schoolyard handle. I didn’t care if I turned it over, if it bounced off my leg or my foot. That’s schoolyard basketball. My handle wasn’t good enough to play against that dude.”
“No, no. I’m not playing Michael Jordan one-on-one. I’m going to watch. He asked, ‘You don’t want to play?’ I said, ‘No.’ I’d already watched Black Cat. I saw what he did to professionals. And I’m just a freshman. You crazy.”
It’s hard to blame Wallace for ducking Jordan. The 5-time MVP had already built a reputation as one of the greatest players ever by then and one of basketball’s fiercest competitors by the mid-1990s. Wallace might have been one of the best young prospects at that time, but he knew the gap between a freshman and arguably the greatest ever in his prime was enormous.
Wallace spent two seasons at North Carolina from 1993 to 1995 before entering the NBA Draft. His freshman season came during the 1993-94 season, when he averaged 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, shooting 60.4% from the field. The following season, he averaged 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, shooting 65.4% from the field, and earned a second-team All-American selection.
For Wallace, one of the clearest memories was not an NCAA tournament run or a dominant performance. It was knowing when not to challenge Michael Jordan.
