John Calipari shares chilling story about facing Michael Jordan: "He'll go for your throat and more”

Arkansas coach John Calipari is viewed by many as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. While he had strong runs with UMass and Memphis in the 90s and 2000s, he is best known for his success with Kentucky in the 2010s and early 2020s.

On Monday, Calipari appeared on "The Two Cents Podcast" and spoke about his experience coaching against NBA legend Michael Jordan during his time in the NBA.

"I learned a ton," Calipari said (Timestamp 12:25). "One quick story. Michael Jordan. I never messed with, like, I wouldn't even look at him and the reason is if you pissed him off."

"He'll go for your throat and more," Anfernee Hardaway interjected.

Calipari then continued with his story:

"So, one time I'm in a huddle and he walks over the huddle, sticks his head in. I act like I don't even see him. I just keep talking.

"Another time, we're playing him and I had Kerry Kittles and we're running it, he has 17 in the first quarter on Michael. So now we come out of the quarter and Michael's going like that to me (holds up an "OK" hand gesture") right and I'm looking down and I look up and I look down and I look back up and he's going like that."

Calipari continued his Michael Jordan story:

"I look at my staff and I go, "Is he doing that to me?" They go, "Mhm." Well, what the hell does it mean, "That Kerry ain't scoring again." Kerry didn't catch the ball until I had to, you know how this goes, I had to get him out of the game and leave him out so my man wouldn't break his spirit. I just said forget the game, it's gonna break my man's spirit."

John Calipari is heading into his second season with the Arkansas Razorbacks

After 15 seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats, John Calipari left the team after the 2023-24 season. He took a job with the Arkansas Razorbacks and helped them reach the Sweet 16 in his first season. He even helped them pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. In the second round, Calipari's No. 10-seeded Razorbacks defeated No. 2-seeded St. John's.

John Calipari is now heading into his second season and islooking to help the Razorbacks get over the hump. They have gone on several runs to the Sweet 16 in the 2020s, but have failed to advance beyond the Elite Eight.