Transcription
out the brightest star in the NBA. Brightest new star in the NBA, Michael Jordan. Who, by the way, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Right. When did you leave? I left about two years after I was born. That's too bad. You could have stuck around and played for St. John. Come play for the next Michael. Is there anything? Is there anything at all that has surprised you in your early games in the NBA? Well, it, it really hasn't surprised me. I adjusted to it pretty easily. And I'm surprised how fast I'm picking up the game. And, uh, it comes from playing with the Olympic team. When we played against the NBA all summer, so that gave me experience. And, you know, I came into training camp prepared. And, you know, playing the summer kept my skills up.
And all right, let me ask you one question before we go to some highlights. There's been a lot said about, about playing for Dean Smith. He's a great coach, but you have to play, really, so much, you know, within a team concept. Guys like you and Waller Davis and all these great North Carolina players, when you come to the NBA, it's almost easier for you. Is that true? Well, I think when I went to UNC, uh, I was coming out of high school more of an individual player. But, you know, at UNC, you learn team basketball. And, uh, I think Coach Smith made me into a team basketball player in other phases of the game, not just scoring. And now, you know, I'm kind of putting all of it together. And, and in this league, I, I kind of have one-on-one situations more often than in, in college. Now you are putting it together. I know the Knicks would confirm that. Let's look at some highlights now, Michael, and you comment on it. Uh, and if you do well enough, maybe Butch will be in trouble.
Well, right there, I just, uh, I reached back. I saw the ball was slow. And, you know, I, I was just trying to think of something to do. And I, I, I took off too far, but, you know, I barely made it. And I'm happy that I made the points. Unbelievable hands, really unbelievable. Well, it comes with, uh, with fundamentally defense that I learned at Coach Smith. And he, he gives me a lot of freelance. And here, I just take, uh, baseline. And, you know, I learned that from James Worthy playing against Tom all summer.
Michael, uh, was there any team that you wanted to play for other than Chicago when you were drafted? If you had a team that, that you could have chosen, what would that team have been? Well, I didn't think of a team to play for. I, I like the Los Angeles Lakers and Worthy, C. Worthy, and all the players they have. They have a very talented team. But if I went to LA, there's no way that I can help them. You know, they have a very good team and they won national world championships without me. So, you know, I'm happy that I came to Chicago and I can contribute and help them win.
I know it's early times now, and, and you've seen Detroit, you beat them like last night. You, you played against Milwaukee, I beat them in an exciting game in Chicago. You beat them, in fact. U, how do you like your chances? Well, I think our chances are, are very good. You know, a lot of teams are taking us for granted. You know, and, uh, not anymore. Maybe not anymore. But, you know, we like to be the underdog. And, you know, we feel that we're a very improved basketball team. We have that winning attitude. And every time we take the court, we think we have a winning chance. And we go out and play hard. And that's what we need.
All right, a couple more questions. First of all, you saw Bernard King a lot on television last year in the playoffs making all those 40-point games. Uh, what do you think of Bernard King? I think he's an outstanding basketball player. And just playing against Bernard, you can learn a lot. His, his height, for his height, he can play inside, use his quickness, use his jumping ability. And, you know, I'm, I'm about his height, then I have to play inside at some point in time. So you can learn a lot just playing against him. And, you know, you really can't stop him, you just have to contain him. Uh, in the exhibition game and here tonight, there were stages where it was a gunfight between you and Bernard. Do you welcome that, playing one-on-one against a great player? Well, I think coach realized, and I think I, I am a little bit quicker than Bernard. And we use that to the best of our ability tonight. But, you know, I, I don't never think it's a, a rivalry between Bernard and myself. I just think at one point in time, we have to take advantage of our advantages.
All right, what, what, what does a crowd do for you tonight? Even though it was a Nick crowd, they refer Jordan because it's a sophisticated crowd. New York, as you know, they like great players. I, I thought there was a time there in the second period where you were going one-on-one a lot. It was almost as if the crowd was expecting you to do something spectacular, and you were going to respond. Well, really, I was just trying to create something. I felt that, you know, like I said, I could go one-on-one with the player, either I could score or, you know, create some other situation for my other players. And I guess the crowd got really up about that. And fortunately, I got a couple of baskets, and then again, I got a couple of assists. He did a lot of things tonight. He's going to do a lot of things in a brilliant career as well. Michael, thank you very much for coming by. And, uh, congratulations to you on your great start. And we in the NBA that have been around a while, really happy to have you here. Thank you very much. Okay, Sam.