Apart from being a Washington Wizards player in 2001, Michael Jordan was also the president of basketball operations and part-owner of the team. He was one of the front office people responsible for drafting Kwame Brown as the Wizards’ No. 1 overall pick that year.

As it turned out, Jordan only agreed to draft Brown in the hope of leveraging a trade deal for Chicago’s Elton Brand. The agreement did not materialize, and MJ was disappointed with how Brown performed. The GOAT voiced his regret to Charles Oakley and unapologetically let Kwame hear it, too.

“God, I would never draft a big man who couldn’t palm the ball,” Jordan said, repeating the sentiment within earshot of Brown via Sports Illustrated.

Kwame failed to deliver

In retrospect, some could say that Jordan did not give Kwame a fair shot, especially considering Brown was only 18 years old at the time. On the other hand, it’s also hard to disagree with “His Airness” as Kwame’s lackluster debut season with the Wizards only proved to MJ that everything they saw in him in the draft combine wasn’t true.

For Jordan, a 6-foot-11 averaging 38% from the field was unacceptable, let alone if unable to palm a ball.

“It’s a lesson learned,” Michael concluded, admitting drafting Brown was a mistake.

Kwame opened up

Brown only played two seasons with Jordan, but memories of all the scorning and riding from the GOAT still hurt him to this day. According to ‘Coffee,’ MJ and other Wizards veterans never failed to make him feel that he was unworthy of being there.

Some could say that Michael and company were just toughening him up, but Kwame felt he was mistreated.

“MJ never wanted me on the Wizards from Day 1. He drafted me to trade me for Elton Brand, but the Owner of the Wizards blocked the trade… They used to bring old veterans into practice just to have them foul and beat the crap out of me every day. I had Charles Oakley threatening to beat me up. I was an 18-year-old KID,” Brown once opened up.

After leaving the Wizards in 2005, Brown went on to play for six different teams. Looking back, Kwame had every opportunity to prove Jordan wrong throughout that stretch. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do so.

Whether it was misreading on the part of Jordan and the Wizards scouts or something else, it’s safe to say Brown never lived up to his No. 1 overall pick status. Nowadays, NBA fans remember Kwame as one of the biggest busts in the history of the league.