data-mm-id=”_tr7qix5rm”>Jeff Hornacek is an NBA lifer, playing for 14 years from 1986 to 2000 before entering the head coaching ranks. While he's been out of the league since 2016, some old memories will eventually be drudged up of Hornacek's time as shooting guard of the Utah Jazz. He was also a central figure of the 1997-98 team that lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in that year's finals. That season, of course, is the focus of ESPN's extremely popular Jordan documentary The Last Dance, with episodes 5 and 6 scheduled to be aired this coming Sunday. Hornacek guarded Jordan for much of those Finals. On Monday, FOX Nation will release Guarding Jordan With Jeff and Abby Hornacek, a special feature on Hornacek's experience going up against Jordan at the peak of his powers. Jeff's daughter, Abby, is a travel, sports, and lifestyle host for FOX and will host the program. In an excerpt acquired by The Big Lead, Abby asks Jeff if he had any tricks for guarding His Airness, and his answers are about what you'd expect given everything we now know about Michael Jordan the player and the man. "You know, the biggest thing was I was just trying to make him shoot jump shots. You know, if he's going to beat you by making fifteen jump shots, then he beat you," Hornacek said. "You don't want to let him go to the free throw line, which was almost impossible because I think he averaged about 10 free throws a game, you know, and maybe catch him out and make that he's off a little bit from the outside. But that rarely happened and the one big key was don't make him mad."Abby then posed the natural follow-up: What happened when you made Jordan mad?"Well, you know, he was the ultimate guy that loved the challenge. And I'm sure it'll show throughout this documentary how when he's challenged with something, as competitive as he is, he's just going to take it to the end," Jeff said. "You know, I think I've heard stories from Gary Payton, the guys who were trash talking … I was never trash talking so it wasn't a big deal."The legacy of Jordan's competitiveness has only grown in scope in the 22 years since he was backing down Hornacek in the post during those Finals. It comes as no surprise that he should warn against getting Jordan angry. That's when he was at his most dangerous. And just like other dominant superstars in NBA history, all you can really do is make life difficult for Jordan and pray he's having an off night. Sometimes, that's all you can do when faced with overwhelming greatness: hope. Hornacek confirmed as much here. You can view the full interview, in which Hornacek will revisit his time as a player on the Utah Jazz and the challenges, both mental and physical, he faced guarding Jordan one-on-one during the 1998 NBA Finals, on Monday, May 4 on FOX Nation.
Related Posts
data-mm-id=”_9zsjvqfwo”>In the aftermath of the Super Bowl, many of the questions directed toward Patrick Mahomes and his teammates centered around the Chiefs becoming the next dynasty. While Frank Clark wasn't afraid to take the bait and say the Patriots dynasty is dead and the Chiefs is just beginning, most of the other KC players were more realistic, shooting down comparisons to the Patriots, knowing a dynasty isn't built in a day. If only the media reacted similarly. In what can only be described as an overreaction of epic proportions, everyone from ESPN to USA Today to Bleacher Report discussed their belief that the Chiefs dynasty started on Sunday with a win over the 49ers. While all may well be prophetic, they're also coming off as extremely shortsighted. Since wi…
data-mm-id=”_unbhevmci”>On March 18th, free agency opens in the NFL, which should kick off the wildest off-season we've seen in recent memory. Some of the players who have shaped the past decade and a half of pro football – Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, and A.J. Green among many, many others – are set to hit the open market, some for the first time in their careers. We don't profess to be fortune tellers as to where they'll eventually end up, but we'll try our best.NFL Free Agency Predictions Drew Brees Will Return for 2020, as a SaintSince the new year dawned, the Saints' future Hall of Fame quarterback has waffled on whether or not he will return for the 2020 season, with his stance shifting from "definitely returning" to "maybe returni…
data-mm-id=”_0eddg11az”>Barry Bonds made his Pittsburgh Pirates debut on May 30, 1986. As the lead-off hitter, the first pitcher Bonds ever faced was Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hershiser was coming of a 19-win season, but didn't even make it through four innings this day. No thanks to Bonds, however, who went 0-for-5 and struck out three times in a Pirates' loss.In a very weird quirk, Bonds actually got a hit in a game that took place on April 20th. With the Pirates and Cubs tied 8-8 in the 14th, play was suspended because it was getting dark and there were no lights at Wrigley Field. When the game resumed in August, Bonds drove in the winning runs in the top of the 17th. One of those runners was fellow rookie Bobby Bonilla. Adding Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonill…
data-mm-id=”_z9fin0zva”>The Denver Nuggets were one of the Western Conference's better teams during the regular season, securing the No. 3 seed as a great offensive team with a defense that ranged from solid to poor depending on the night. Through four games of their first-round series against the sixth-seed Utah Jazz, it hasn't quite been the same. The offense has been fine, and even very good on some nights. The defense, though … the defense has been nothing short of putrid, and has allowed the Jazz to take a dominating 3-1 lead in the series. That's not entirely the team's fault. Gary Harris and Will Barton were two of the Nuggets' best perimeter defenders during the regular season and both have missed the entirety of basketball's restart in Orlando. …
data-mm-id=”_g0mvhyrga”>Three weeks of fantasy football are in the books already. Man, how time flies. Fortunately, this week was not the injury bloodbath that Week 3 was, as no big-name fantasy stars went down on Thursday, Sunday, or Monday. Still! A good fantasy player never lets a waiver wire opportunity pass, if only to prevent others from benefitting. Here are the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 4. (All stats via ESPN PPR leagues)Justin Jefferson / Adam Bettcher/Getty ImagesJustin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings (Available in 62 Percent of ESPN Leagues)Jefferson was the Vikings' first-round pick this year, and it took a few weeks for him to get acclimated. Sunday seems to indicate he's done just that, as he put up Randy Moss-like numbers in the first …
data-mm-id=”_4malaxm76″>While most players and coaches avoid providing bulletin-board material for opponents during the playoffs, a select few have mastered the art through the years. Deion Sanders, Hollywood Henderson, and Joe Namath come to mind. Now, it appears, Bruce Arians wants to add his name to that prestigious list. Over the past few days, Arians has been on a smack-talking tour de force, firing back at Washington star rookie Chase Young and, for some reason, trolling now-released Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins ahead the Bucs Wild Card playoff game against the unnamed team from our nation's capital. It's an interesting tactic from a man who has never been shy about sharing his opinion considering Arians won't have to back up his bluster on the field. But …
data-mm-id=”_mq5nyf32f”>Tom Brady is to date the only blemish on Father Time's career record, though we're all operating under the assumption that he'll eventually have to retire. Or are we? It may be time for a show of hands for those who are starting to think the greatest NFL quarterback of all-time will maintain his body until the Singularity is achieved. He's been nothing less than spectacular through two games of his 22nd season, throwing for 655 yards and an eye-popping nine scores as the defending Super Bowl champions look even better than they did last year. Four of those have gone to Rob Gronkowski who, in his first reasonably normal year back from retirement, looks as though he's found the same Fountain of Youth Brady drank from deeply. A dozen more o…
data-mm-id=”_gapa377ui”>The Los Angeles Lakers, contrary to the organization's history, did not go wild during free agency this offseason in search of a third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Instead they mostly kept together the roster that helped reach the Western Conference Finals with a few minor additions. These moves were lauded by The Big Lead over the weekend. Others have different opinions on how the Lakers did. Colin Cowherd hosted a segment on their moves today and made the case that Los Angeles has been so terrible with roster management in recent years that we all collectively view their decisions through rose-tinted glasses. In other words, they are doing what they should and everyone is celebrating it like it is more than that. "The Laker…
data-mm-id=”_fahnxlqop”>Passengers on a train traveling through Colorado either captured the best video ever of Bigfoot or saw a guy wearing a Bigfoot costume lumbering around and squatting. One of those options is decidedly cooler than the other, but the other is probably more realistic. Either way, the internet is loving it as the clip racks up the views and aggregators snap into beast mode to pump out the latest Bigfoot content. People on a train in southwest Colorado may have spotted 'Bigfoot.' Thoughts?Video: bt92.travels (IG user)#colorado #news #bigfoot pic.twitter.com/iX1naHGOI5— OutThere Colorado (@outthereco) October 10, 2023Of course there's a third possibility — that this is some sort of marketing stunt for beef jerky or car insurance or something else th…
data-mm-id=”_i2h6io1t6″>If you're feeling very early-90's lately, that's because the Dallas Cowboys are back. They just destroyed their divisional rivals, 33-13, on national television. Their quarterback, Dak Prescott, is a leading MVP candidate. They have a dominant defense and high-powered offense. And the final piece of the puzzle, the thing that brings it all together, is their modern day Jay Novacek, second-year tight end Jake Ferguson. Ferguson had five catches for 78 yards in the Cowboys win. He also provided the team with two big highlights. He took two Eagles defenders for a ride on a big third down during the third quarter.Jake Ferguson racking up the YAC on the third down conversion 😤 @mundoNFL📺: #PHIvsDAL on NBC📱: Stream on #NFLPlus htt…