GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Back in his playing days, Grand Rapids Gold head coach Jason Terry always got hyped for big games. However, not many contests in his career equaled the excitement he had when his Atlanta Hawks matched up with the Washington Wizards.
"I know I didn’t sleep the night before," he admits. "I probably slept in my uniform."
It was the second game of the 2001-2002 season and in the house that night was the returning Michael Jordan, the guy Terry grew up idolizing.
"Even though he was in a Wizards uniform and not a Bulls uniform, it still was Michael Jordan, and it still was like wow. This got to be the coolest thing ever," Terry says.
Once the ball was tipped, Terry said he become much more relaxed. Then in vintage form, Jordan started talking, and Terry couldn’t help but get sucked in.
"He still was ribbing me for knocking off his North Carolina tar heels in 1997," remembers Terry. "It was so random in the middle of the game. It was like, is that what he’s thinking about in the middle of the game."
The 38-year-old Jordan scored 31 that night, leading Washington to its first win that season. But Terry still held his own, scoring 23 for the Hawks. It's something he’s still proud of even after all these years.
"I’m going to compete," he explains. "I thought I was hot stuff."
He’s played against Lebron and Kobe but to Terry, Jordan is still the King. And when we told him there was a basketball card that had Jordan scouting and complimenting Terry, he couldn’t help but light up.
."Man hook it up for me. I’ll cash out you."
So we did just that. On the back the Card reads, "Jason Terry turned in an outstanding senior season at Arizona in 1998-1999. He really impressed me and the way he directed the team as the leader at point guard."
"That is awesome," he says. "Knowing Mike the way I do, like, it's super hard to get a compliment out of the guy because he's so competitive. But I'm humbled."
Just for a moment, it was like Terry was a kid again. A kid who just wanted to be like Mike.
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