John Calipari has been a head coach for over 40 years, and while he has spent the majority of his time in college, he did have a brief stint in the NBA. Calipari coached the New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1999, and during an episode of the Two Cents Podcast, shared an epic Michael Jordan ‘took it personally’ story.
“We’re playing [Jordan] and I had Kerry Kittles,” Calipari said. “… [Kittles] has 17 in the first quarter on Michael. So now, we come out of the quarter, and Michael’s going like that (made an ‘0’ with his right hand) to me. And I’m looking down and I look up and I look down and I look back up and he’s [still] going like that.
“And I look at my staff and I go, ‘Is he doing that to me?'” Calipari continued. “They go, ‘Mm-hmm.’ [I asked], ‘Well, what the hell does it mean?’ [They said], ‘That Kerry ain’t scoring again.’ … I had to get him out of the game and leave him out so my man wouldn’t break his spirit. I just said forget the game, it’s gonna break my man’s spirit.”
"Forget the game, it's gonna break my man's spirit" (1996)
Former Nets coach and NCAA legend, John Calipari, talks about the time his rookie, Kerry Kittles, put 17 points on Jordan in the first quarter, a 32-18 lead for the Nets. Jordan looked at Calipari and said "👌" meaning… pic.twitter.com/AaHibF1Lqc
— Apex Jones (@ApexJones22) July 7, 2025
The game that Calipari was referring to took place on Dec. 23, 1996, at the United Center. Kerry Kittles, who had been selected with the eighth pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, got off to a red-hot start.
As Calipari stated, Kittles had 17 points in the first quarter, nearly outscoring the Bulls by himself. The rookie went a perfect 7-7 from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc in the period to help the Nets jump out to a 32-18 lead.
Unfortunately for Kittles, he had poked the bear that was Jordan by putting on that show. The youngster didn’t even get to attempt a shot in the second quarter, and Calipari opted to play him just over five minutes in the period, presumably to save him.
Jordan wasn’t going to let up, though. Kittles played the entire third quarter and only attempted one shot, which he missed. He had been completely taken out of the game.
While this was going on, the Bulls had managed to turn things around as well. They were up 87-66 entering the fourth quarter, and head coach Phil Jackson decided to pull his starters.
Kittles would put up five more shots in what was basically garbage time and made one of them. He finished the night with 19 points (8-13 FG), four rebounds, two assists, three steals, and one block.
Jordan, meanwhile, had 24 points (10-18 FG), three rebounds, and four assists. It wasn’t his greatest showing offensively, but he still managed to stamp his authority on the contest on the defensive end.
It speaks to Jordan’s greatness that he was capable of having a big impact on both ends of the floor for much of his career. He made the All-Defensive First Team nine times and won the scoring title in each of those nine years, too. The two-way play is just one of the many reasons Jordan is still widely regarded as the greatest of all time.
