There are some athletes whose legacy and legend transcend the era that they played in. Their fame carries on long after they have retired and in some instances passed away, so even when fans that never watched them play see them in real life, they are awestruck.
Michael Jordan is definitely in that category, he is one of the most well-known names around the world. Even non-basketball fans know he is. And younger basketball fans, who may have their favorites within the current generation, still know exactly who MJ is and get excited when they see him.
This happened with two young fans presumably in Charlotte, when they were waiting to see LaMelo Ball but were shocked when they saw none other than MJ walking into the parking lot. They got a video of Jordan, but the GOAT didn’t seem too pleased by the camera itself.
They were looking for LaMelo Ball and ran into MJ instead
“Can we get a picture?”
“No” 😅
(h/t @overtime )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 22, 2022
Fan: “We finna see LaMelo Ball. Oh, that’s Michael Jordan! Michael Jordan, can I get a pic?”
Michael Jordan: “No. Put that s*** down.”
Fan: “Huh? Michael Jordan, let’s go!”
MJ is used to that kind of attention, he has dealt with a lot of this and more throughout his career and since. It must get overwhelming to always be taken pictures and videos of so it’s understandable that he simply wanted to go about his day and not have to worry about being recorded.
For these fans, it’s a moment that they will remember for the rest of their lives regardless. Whether they see LaMelo Ball in the future or not, they’ll always have this story of how they accidentally ran into the GOAT.
For his part, MJ has taken plenty of photos with people over the years, including this iconic one with none other than Muhammad Ali. So if he’s unable to do it now and again, then it doesn’t matter so much in the grand scheme of things.
