Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf On Beating Michael Jordan And The 1996 Bulls: “I’m Trying To K*ll Him”

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf once spoke about beating the legendary 1996 Chicago Bulls and his mindset on going up against prime Michael Jordan.

4 Min Read

Credit: Fadeaway World

Michael Jordan and the 1996 Chicago Bulls with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman are considered the greatest team of all time. They won 72 games in the regular season, lost just 10, and capped it all off by winning the NBA championship. It was the proper return of Jordan after his first retirement, and he reminded the league of what was in store for them for the next couple of seasons. 

But when someone is as dominant as Jordan, others can’t wait to be the ones to knock them off of that perch. Many tried to go at the GOAT, but most, as we now know, failed. His Airness dominated all comers, taking each battle personally and ensuring that he emerged victorious. 

But no one can be flawless, and even in that season, the Bulls suffered 10 defeats. One of those losses was against the Denver Nuggets, led by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Abdul-Rauf is forgotten by many, but he was a really good player in the NBA during the 90s. And in that 1996 season, he dropped 32 points in a 105-99 win against the Bulls. For a lot of those players, even beating Jordan once was a big deal, and it shows based on how he still talks about it. 


Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf On His Mentality While Facing Prime Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan‘s aura often beat players before they even got on the court. But some weren’t scared. Allen Iverson famously crossed him up as a rookie, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf spoke on All The Smoke about the competitive fire he had in him when he went up against Jordan. 

“I know you Jordan, but I ain’t saying this, I ain’t looking like this, but man are you serious? Oh no, I can’t be the oddball. You already come out wanting to kill him. And it’s like you gotta have even more. And so that was my mindset. I’m trying to kill him to get him off of me immediately. Which ended up working… But I tell guys all the time, it was nice to score those 32 and beat him. But I would rather flip it around and have the championship than that one game.”

And that’s what it ends up being about in the end. Even though Michael Jordan lost plenty in his career, he was undefeated on the biggest stage, and he won the biggest prize more times than even most other legends. It says it all when beating him, and the Bulls even once is an achievement that players talk about years after retirement.

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.

Newsletter

Stay up to date with our newsletter on the latest news, trends, ranking lists, and evergreen articles

Follow on Google News

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.

Share This Article
Follow:
Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *