Michael Jordan was the unquestioned No. 1 superstar in the NBA during the 1990s. When he was in his prime and winning championships, being the All-Star starter was something that was his due. But after his second retirement, when he came back to play for the Washington Wizards, he wasn’t the same that he had been before.
The 2002-03 season was the last year that Michael Jordan played in the NBA. Despite being 39, he averaged 20 points per game and averaged 37 minutes while playing all 82 games in the season. He was selected to the All-Star team, but he naturally wasn’t one of the starters.
Everyone knew that it would likely be MJ’s last All-Star Game, though, and there were calls for him to start from various sources. One of the people that felt like he should start was none other than Vince Carter, who was the leading vote-getter that season. And ultimately, Vince had to convince MJ to take the floor as a starter. V
Vince Carter Told The Story Of How He Had To Convince Michael Jordan To Start The 2003 All-Star Game
Michael Jordan could still play at the highest level, he had a huge performance against Carter himself at the age of 38 when he locked up the young superstar. But Michael Jordan was always about earning any honor, so it’s no surprise that he tried to tell Vince Carter no when he tried to give him the All-Star starting spot in 2003.
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“Basically, I decided but it was encouraged by the league that it was a good idea… And MJ wouldn’t take the spot, bruh… And so I pull him aside, it was all day. I was like, ‘MJ take it.’ He was like, ‘Nah, you earned this.’ So we get down there and I’m like, ‘MJ, take the spot, you gonna start bruh.’
“I said, ‘If you don’t take the spot, I’m going to stay in the back and I ain’t gonna come out… Yeah okay cool, I earned it, we know that, but you start.’ So right before they called him for the starting lineup, he still wouldn’t go. You see at the last minute, he took of his shirt and he go out there but he would not go.”
This is a wild story, but it’s completely in character for Michael Jordan, who always believed in earning accolades through prowess and hard work. But It’s also safe to say that considering how great he was, he had done more than enough to earn the right to start any All-Star game. And it’s great that he did, too, because it was a memorable game that ended up being his last All-Star appearance.
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