Once upon a time, former NBA champion Rip Hamilton was teammates with Michael Jordan during their time with the Washington Wizards. In the 2001-02 season, Hamilton and Jordan were teammates for only one year. During that time, Hamilton was one of those on the roster who idolized Jordan’s growth. This led to a young Hamilton asking “Mike” if he could represent Jordan Brand.
Michael Jordan was a tough guy who turned down Rip Hamilton and told him he wasn’t good enough to represent his brand:
“My All-Star shoe,” Jordan told Hamilton.
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Of course, being told by one of the all-time greats that you’re not good enough can lower your morale. However, Hamilton used Jordan’s harsh words as motivation to make himself worthy of the Jordan Brand. The following year he was traded to the Detroit Pistons. Hamilton proved Jordan wrong during his time in Detroit.
In 2004, Hamilton won a championship with Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. Then in the 2005-06 season, Hamilton was selected to the All-Star team for the first time. This led to him once again asking Michael Jordan if he could represent his shoe brand. Jordan kept his promise and fulfilled All-Star Hamilton’s wish.
A look back at Michael Jordan and Rip Hamilton’s time as teammates
Back in the 2001-02 NBA season, a young Rip Hamilton had the opportunity to play with his idol, Michael Jordan. During their time as teammates, Jordan served as a mentor to the Washington Wizards’ younger players. While Jordan is undoubtedly still the best player on the team, Hamilton is the only one who truly follows the legend.
At that time, Jordan averaged 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. As for Hamilton, his statistics are close to MJ, averaging 20.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Being able to join MJ’s duo, it’s no wonder Hamilton was eager to represent the Jordan Brand at the time.