Grant Hill was one of the most exciting young players to come into the league in the 1990s. Many predicted huge things for the star, but injuries took their toll and he was sadly unable to entirely fulfill his immense potential. He still had quite the career, though, going up against some of the greatest to do it and giving them the business now and then.
Hill was a fearless player; he wasn’t afraid to take anybody on. And in the 90s, there was one player that stood right at the top of the NBA in Michael Jordan. So it was inevitable that as a young stud coming into the league, Hill wanted to go against MJ. Speaking on the All The Smoke podcast, Hill told stories about the times he went up against MJ, although he noted that the GOAT was always really good to him.
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“I just wanted to go at him. Like, I played against him in the Dream Team, but I didn’t really go against him. And I crossed him up and I remember I was like gigged about that and we lost the game, but to go against Jordan … I’ll tell you this: Jordan was always good to me. Like, we’d always go out, we’d go out eat. I think, ’cause he lost his dad, I think he likes my dad. So, I don’t know if it was me or what, but he always – yeah, he did talk trash about Duke-Carolina – but he was always good to me.”
Hill had to wait a bit for his first NBA matchup against MJ, considering that the GOAT was retired in 1994 when Hill came into the league, but he also reminisced about the time he played against Jordan on a movie set.
“I’m out in LA and I’m filming ‘Living Single,’ and they created that bubble, and I go over there to play Jordan. And I played the first day and I’m giving him the business. Like, I’m killing Jordan. Like, I’m not a shooter, but everything I was shooting was going in. Like, I’m crossing him up. … I’m going at Jordan. He wants to guard me, and I’m giving him business.
“I’m calling my boys afterwards like,”I’m killing Jordan. Like, he too little,” and all of this stuff. And so the next day, I come over and I’m confident now. He gave me the business. The next day, I couldn’t get the shot off. He was all that footwork … but that was the best runs.”
Not a lot of people can tell a story like this about MJ and it’s evident that there is a fair bit of mutual respect between Hill and Jordan. Grant Hill was once named heir to the GOAT and while he may never have come very close to that and it may have given Jordan even more motivation, there is a mutual respect that exists between the two basketball greats.
