The Chicago Bulls‘ all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan made an appearance during the festivities of All-Star Weekend in Cleveland over the last few days as part of the NBA 75 ceremonies. At halftime of the All-Star Game, the best players in NBA history were honored as part of the league’s 75th-anniversary celebration.
Given the storied history of the Bulls’ franchise, Jordan was obviously going to be one of many players from this team included as part of the celebrations. There were multiple moments worth noting from the festivities of NBA 75 during All-Star Weekend that featured Jordan. That included Jordan and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James hugging it out in a teary-eyed moment.
Jordan also looked to sneak up on the Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Luka Doncic for a hug that he wasn’t expecting. At first, Luka looked like he was caught off-guard when Jordan went for the hug. But it was obviously all in good spirits for this move by Jordan.
When you first look at Luka’s face, it really does look like he saw a ghost or something that startled him.
Luka Doncic on his interaction with Michael Jordan: “MJ knows my name. That’s a lot.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) February 21, 2022
More on their hug, and other Luka All-Star observations, here: https://t.co/9E1Y8p262W pic.twitter.com/rkCxSBMXBm
It really looks like Jordan and Doncic shared a special moment that also featured the Minnesota Timberwolves’ big man and 3-Point Shootout champ Karl-Anthony Towns. Once Doncic realized who that was, he clearly looked very excited about that moment.
Chicago Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan sneaks up on Luka Doncic for a hug at the All-Star Game
MJ went for the hug 😂@NBAUK | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/4AgsGzEqhu
— FanSided (@FanSided) February 21, 2022
Doncic also spoke on that moment after the All-Star Game in one of many press conferences during the weekend in Cleveland.
He mentioned that the fact that Jordan knows his name really means a lot to him. That just goes to show how important that moment could be for Doncic as his legend continues to grow throughout his NBA career.
Doncic is already well on his way to join the ranks of the NBA 75 with an insanely accomplished start to his pro career. He’s already got three All-Star selections, two All-NBA Team selections, and Rookie of the Year honors under his belt just three and a half seasons roughly into his pro career.
Meanwhile, Jordan obviously had one of the most decorated careers in modern sports history with six NBA Championships, five MVPs, six Finals MVPs, and 14 All-Star selections.
The Bulls also saw good representation at the All-Star Game this year with both two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine and five-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan competing in the festivities.