Michael Jordan made a shock appearance as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the NBA All Star game and showed once again that whether or not he’s the basketball GOAT, he still owns any arena he walks into, even when it’s filled with royalty.
Jordan shared a special moment with the man who is most often drawn into the GOAT debate with him, embracing LeBron James after the Chicago Bulls legend arrived on the court to an awed reception.
Having been a guest at the Daytona 500 race earlier in the day, Jordan arrived in time for the half-time ceremony, which honoured the ‘NBA 75’ for the top 75 players to ever play the game.
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Jordan’s arrival, coming just after the likes of Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson and plenty more, and unexpected as it was, blew the roof off the arena in Cleveland.
His appearance was summed up by former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho who tweeted video of Jordan in a group of all-time NBA greats including Johnson and Jason Kidd.
More often than not players of their iconic status would suck up all the oxygen in the room, but not when they’re standing near Jordan.
“Michael Jordan is one of a kind,” Acho tweeted. “In a sea of alpha males – the greatest NBA players of all-time – and they just stand at attention excited to be in his presence.”
https://twitter.com/EmmanuelAcho/status/1495594774656700420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Within that video the 59-year-old Jordan, famous for his fierce competitive streak, challenges the 62-year-old Johnson to a game of one-on-one.
https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1495592288751345666?s=20&t=WmWdMSb3ByYGvcHw7oWDGg
While the all-time greats were in Cleveland for the special celebration, they were also fortunate to witness one of the greatest individual performances in an All Stars game, with Steph Curry taking over in a 50-point game for Team LeBron.
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