Watch: Michael Jordan Slaps His Own Player in the Back of the Head After Dumb Celebration
What do Charlotte Hornets guard Malik Monk and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr have in common?
They’ve both been hit by Michael Jordan.
Jordan and Kerr got into a dust-up during a Bulls practice some 20 years ago that left Kerr with a black eye, and the current Hornets owner slapped Monk on the back of the head after a premature celebration Wednesday night.
The Hornets were tied with the Pistons when Jeremy Lamb knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper to give Charlotte the lead.
As the crowd erupted in jubilation, Monk came off the bench and ran onto the court to celebrate the game-winner.
Here’s Jeremy Lamb’s 3 pointer to put the #Hornets up 2. You can see Malik Monk run on the court in excitement. Results in a tech. pic.twitter.com/niyHXm2B4C
— Ashley Holder (@AshNoelleTV) December 13, 2018
That seems like a perfectly normal thing to do, and it happens all the time in NBA games. However, Lamb’s buzzer-beater wasn’t exactly a buzzer-beater because there was still time left on the clock.
With three-tenths of a second still left in the game, the act that Monk (and others) committed resulted in a violation for too many players on the court.
That violation then resulted in a technical foul, and Jordan, who sits on the end of the bench during games, let Monk know he wasn’t happy with the boneheaded early celebration.
Jordan playfully smacked Monk in the back of the head twice and scolded him for not being aware of the situation.
Michael Jordan went Full Disappointed Dad Mode on Malik Monk, smacking him upside the head after Monk picked up a silly tech for running on the court too soon to celebrate Jeremy Lamb’s game-winner. pic.twitter.com/nOKDczgHxt
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 13, 2018
Fortunately for the Hornets, they were assessed only one technical foul even though multiple players ran onto the court. The Pistons knocked down the free throw to make it a one-point deficit before turning the ball over on the last play.
After the game, Jordan said there was nothing malicious in his slapping the head of Monk and it was a tap of endearment.
“It was like a big brother and little brother tap,” Jordan told The Associated Press. “No negative intent. Only love!”
Monk also played it off as no big deal.
“Big, big, big brother,” Monk said with a laugh Thursday. “But it was nothing. He was just playing.”
Monk went on to say, “It’s Mike, and whatever he does is going to make (news) because nowadays it’s all social media and everybody has their phone out there and I wasn’t surprised.”
The victory gave Charlotte its first three-game winning streak of the season and put the team one game over .500 with a 14-13 record.
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