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Once upon a time, former NBA champion Rip Hamilton used to be teammates with Michael Jordan during their time with the Washington Wizards. Hamilton and Jordan were teammates for only one year during the 2001-02 season. During that time, Hamilton was one of the guys on the roster who looked up to MJ growing up. This led to the young Hamilton asking "Mike" if he could represent the Jordan brand.
Michael Jordan, being the tough guy that he is, turned Rip Hamilton down and told him that he wasn't good enough to represent his brand:
"My sneakers for All-Stars," Jordan told Hamilton.
Naturally, being told by one of the all-time greats that you're not good enough would likely diminish your morale. However, Hamilton used MJ's harsh words as a motivation to become worthy of sporting the Jordan brand. He was traded to the Detroit Pistons the following year. It was during his time in Detroit when Hamilton proved Jordan wrong.
Hamilton proceeded to win one championship alongside Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace in 2004. Then in the 2005-06 season, Hamilton was named to his first All-Star team. This led to him asking Michael Jordan again if he could represent his shoe brand. MJ stayed true to his word and granted the All-Star Hamilton his wish.
Looking back at the time Michael Jordan and Rip Hamilton were 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 played the mentor role to the young Washington Wizards roster. While MJ was still undeniably the best player on their squad, Hamilton was the only other guy who truly kept up with the legend.
At the time, Jordan averaged 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. As for Hamilton, his figures were near MJ's with 20.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2.7 APG. To be able to serve as MJ's duo, it's no wonder Hamilton was eager to represent the Jordan brand at the time.
