Richard Hamilton’s time in Washington with Michael Jordan was not always pleasant. Hamilton talked about how Jordan traded former Washington Wizards teammate, LaRon Profit, after he trash talked the six-time NBA champion. Jordan was the Wizards’ president of basketball operations at the time.
Afterwards, Jordan would come out of retirement to play for Washington for the 2001-2002 season. That’s where Hamilton’s second curious story of Jordan occurred.
Hamilton claims Jordan once prevented him from scoring 50 points in a game against the New York Knicks.
Appearing on Showtime’s All the Smoke, Hamilton recalls how he dropped “30” points in the first half. However, Jordan iced him in the second half after telling Hamilton he “had a great half.”
“Allan Houston was killing me. He killed me in my first two years. So, when MJ came my third year, now I feel like I’ve grown up… I’ve got big bro, I’ve got the bully in the room. So, I’m a little bit more confident. So, we’re playing against New York in Washington and the first half, I go out and I give Allan Houston 30 in the first half.
“I’m geeked. I’m like ‘for all the times this mother-f—–‘s been killing me and getting me in foul trouble, I’m in his ass right now. So, we’re in there at halftime and we’re talking. Coach talks, does his speech. MJ comes up to me. He’s like ‘hey man, hey young fella, you had a great half. But big bro is gonna take over the second half, so don’t worry about it. I’ve got you.'”
Richard Hamilton / All the Smoke
In so many words, Jordan was telling Hamilton it was his turn to take over the game. Hamilton says he only had “two shots” in the second half, as Jordan indeed took over the game.
“I only had two shots in the second half. At the end of the game I was like ‘damn, man this was my perfect opportunity to kill this dude. This dude killed me my first two years and now I’ve got you on my side.’ He was like ‘don’t worry man, you’ll get another opportunity’ … That story always sticks with me because that was my opportunity to go out and get 50.”
Richard Hamilton
It appears the game Hamilton was referring to was a December 14, 2001 meeting. The Wizards won the game, as Hamilton added.
Hamilton finished with 34 points in the game. Jordan scored 10 of his 19 points in the second half on 4-of-9 shooting.
A recap of the game by the Associated Press (via ESPN) described the game.
Hamilton scored 27 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, then Jordan took over with eight of his 19 points in the third quarter as the Wizards won 96-80 Friday night.
But it appears Hamilton’s recollection of the game is a bit off. Hamilton was indeed red hot in the first half. He scored 27 points not 30. Both Jordan and Hamilton had nine shot attempts in the second half, according to the box score.
Of course, the flow of the game gives context. Jordan did take the first two shots of the second half for the Wizards. He also scored six straight points for the Wizards. Hamilton never got in a rhythm missing his first four shot attempts after halftime.
Nonetheless, Hamilton was traded to the Detroit Pistons following the season in a six-player deal that the Wizards landed Jerry Stackhouse in return.
Given the amount trash talking Hamilton admitted he and Profit gave Jordan a year earlier in practices, maybe Jordan held a grudge against the pair?
Regardless, Hamilton got the last laugh. Jordan failed to make the playoffs in 2002-2003 with Stackhouse. Jordan would retire as a player for the final time. But, he was dismissed from the organization as an executive by then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin.
Stackhouse recently admitted he regretted his time playing with Jordan in Washington with a similar take as Rip.
Meanwhile, Hamilton led the Pistons to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances, winning a NBA championship in 2004. Oh, and he scored 50 points in 2006, coincidentally against the Knicks.
