Rihanna and Cardi B Steal the Spotlight at Jason Lee’s Hollywood Cares Gala: A Night Filled with Glamour and Surprising Turns!

The Hollywood Cares Gala hosted by Jason Lee proved to be an evening of excitement and unexpected twists, with Rihanna and Cardi B commanding attention as they graced the red carpet in jaw-dropping ensembles.

Rihanna, known for her impeccable sense of style, stunned attendees with her avant-garde gown, featuring intricate embellishments and a daring silhouette that left onlookers in awe.

The pop sensation exuded confidence and grace as she mingled with fellow guests, effortlessly stealing the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Cardi B made a grand entrance in a show-stopping ensemble that showcased her signature boldness and flair. The rapper’s ensemble, complete with elaborate accessories and eye-catching details, cemented her status as a fashion icon and set tongues wagging among fashion aficionados.

As the evening unfolded, guests were treated to a spectacle of glitz and glamour, with live performances, gourmet cuisine, and a silent auction featuring exclusive items up for grabs. The ambiance was electric, with attendees reveling in the opportunity to support a worthy cause while indulging in a night of luxury and extravagance.

However, the night took an unexpected turn when Rihanna and Cardi B took to the stage for a surprise collaboration, much to the delight of the audience. The duo delivered a mesmerizing performance that showcased their undeniable talent and captivated the crowd, leaving them clamoring for more.

As the festivities drew to a close, guests departed with memories of a truly unforgettable evening, filled with star-studded moments and unexpected delights. Jason Lee’s Hollywood Cares Gala had once again proven to be a highlight of the social calendar, raising awareness and funds for important causes while celebrating the magic of Hollywood’s brightest stars.

 

 

 

Post Malone unintentionally disturbed the BeyHive after sharing a gushing tribute to Taylor Swift on Instagram, in which he described her as a ‘once in a lifetime’ artist.

 

Following the release of their new track, Fortnite, which serves as the lead single on Tortured Poets Department, and music video, in which he portrays her love interest, the 28-year-old rapper shared a sweet black and white polaroid of them, along with a heartfelt caption.

‘It’s once in a lifetime that someone like @taylorswift comes into this world,’ he wrote. ‘I am floored by your heart and your mind, and I am beyond honored to have been asked to help you with your journey. I love you so much. Thank you Tay.’

Although most of his 25.8 million Instagram followers and Swifties found the post thoughtful, his words ruffled some Beyoncé fans’ feathers.

Fans of the superstar pointed out the striking difference in his tribute to Swift versus the brief one he made to honor the Texas Hold ‘Em hitmaker after he was featured on her track, Levii’s Jeans, released last month.

In stark comparison to his post for Swift, Malone simply shared a photo of the Cowboy Carter album cover and one sentence under it, reading: ‘i love you @beyonce.’

On Sunday, one X user shared a side-by-side comparison of his tributes to his respective collaborators to highlight the difference in lengths, which has been viewed 5.8 million times.

‘I find this so interesting,’ the Beyoncé fans wrote.

One reply suggested that Malone might just have a ‘closer relationship with Taylor than with Beyoncé.’

‘Taylor wrote two posts about him. He gave her same energy. Stop crying for God’s sake,’ another wrote back.

A third wrote: ‘You are acting like as if he’s cursing on Beyoncé or he said something bad like… I don’t see any problem at all.’

‘Ok, but a complete sentence would have been nice is all,’ the original poster fired back.

Fans of the superstar pointed out the striking difference in his tribute to Swift versus the brief one he made to honor the Texas Hold ‘Em hitmaker after he was featured on her track, Levii’s Jeans, released last month.

In stark comparison to his post for Swift, Malone simply shared a photo of the Cowboy Carter album cover and one sentence under it, reading: ‘i love you @beyonce.’

On Sunday, one X user shared a side-by-side comparison of his tributes to his respective collaborators to highlight the difference in lengths, which has been viewed 5.8 million times.

‘I find this so interesting,’ the Beyoncé fans wrote.

One reply suggested that Malone might just have a ‘closer relationship with Taylor than with Beyoncé.’

‘Taylor wrote two posts about him. He gave her same energy. Stop crying for God’s sake,’ another wrote back.

A third wrote: ‘You are acting like as if he’s cursing on Beyoncé or he said something bad like… I don’t see any problem at all.’

‘Ok, but a complete sentence would have been nice is all,’ the original poster fired back.

The skirt portion contained layered details as well as a thigh-high slit on the left side.

She paired the stunning piece with sheer, white gloves as well as a custom, vintage diamond watch choker from Joseph Saidian and Sons.

Taylor opted for a smoky shadow around her eyes as well as a bold tint to her lips, and her eyebrows were covered up while a thinner brow was pencilled in, similar to 1920s style.

In the video, Taylor is seen running up to Post Malone and the two shared an embrace on an open road in the middle of the desert. Dark, greying clouds could be seen above them.

A brief montage showed the pair cosying up together as they shared a few sweet moments. At one point, the rapper cupped Taylor’s face in his hands, causing her to flash a happy smile.

The singers stared into each other’s eyes while Post Malone’s tattoos could no longer be seen on his face in the moving scene. A tornado of papers whirled around them as the songstress reached out her hands towards Malone.

The music video jumped to Taylor back inside the asylum while surrounded by doctors, played by Dead Poets Society stars Ethan Hawke and John Charles. Post Malone was also seen as one of the doctors.

Ethan and John began to do what appeared to be a form of electroshock therapy on Swift. But Malone turned off the power to save Taylor.

Not long after the music video released on Friday, Taylor took to her main Instagram page to share a series of behind-the-scenes images.

She also shared a message to her fans about the meaning behind the music video and penned, ‘When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music.’

‘Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it.’

She gushed, ‘@postmalone blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I’m so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration.’

‘I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets).’

 

Beyoncé and Rihanna among the celebs with the biggest fashion impact in 2023: Lyst

One has more than 300 million followers on Instagram, the other over 280 million… and their popularity goes well beyond social media.

Beyoncé and Rihanna dominated fashion trends in 2023 with Queen Bey pulling out all the stops in a veritable sartorial marathon for her “Renaissance World Tour” with outfits by the likes of Balmain, Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier, while Riri got fans buzzing with her appearances on the red carpet and as the headline performer at February’s Super Bowl.

Fashion is often described as a cyclical process — and not only in the matter of trends. While some celebrities find it difficult to make their mark and carve out a place for themselves among the select few who are favored by the biggest fashion houses, others have been making headlines in the industry for over a decade — and continue to do so.

Such is the case of Beyoncé and Rihanna, who are among the public figures who have been the most influential — and provided the most inspiration — for designers and consumers alike in 2023. These are the findings of the latest Year In Fashion Report from global fashion shopping platform Lyst.

 

 

 

The connection between Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is well known in the NFL. Their on-field chemistry is undeniable, leading the Chiefs to Super Bowl victories. But their bond goes far deeper than football – it is a true brotherly relationship that has strengthened both their play and personal lives.

Kelce and Mahomes first met when Mahomes joined the Chiefs in 2017 after being drafted 10th overall. Kelce had already established himself as one of the top tight ends in the league after being drafted by the Chiefs in 2013. But there was an immediate connection and respect between the two stars.

“From the first day I met Pat, I could tell he was special,” Kelce recalled. “He had an ‘it factor’ about him as a quarterback. You could see his passion, confidence and talent right away.”

Mahomes was in awe of Kelce’s consistent production and dedication to his craft. “Watching Travis work every day and the way he attacks his job inspired me as a rookie,” Mahomes said. “I knew if I worked as hard as him, we could do great things together.”

That mutual respect and admiration formed the foundation for what would become one of the strongest quarterback-tight end duos in the NFL. But it grew into a true brotherly bond off the field as well.

An Instant Chemistry On the Field

It didn’t take long for Kelce and Mahomes’ chemistry to translate onto the field. In Mahomes’ first season as the Chiefs’ starter in 2018, he threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Kelce had one of the best seasons of his career, catching 103 passes for 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Their connection seemed almost telepathic at times. Mahomes developed an uncanny ability to know exactly where Kelce would be, even when heavily covered, to deliver perfect passes. This allowed Kelce to consistently get open and make big plays.

“It’s like we can read each other’s minds out there,” Kelce said. “Pat knows exactly what routes I’m going to run and where I’ll be. And I trust that if I can get open even for a second, he’s going to give me a chance to make the catch.”

Their chemistry played a huge role in the Chiefs’ success. In 2018, they made the AFC Championship game in Mahomes’ first season as the starter. But their bond extended far beyond the field.

A Brotherly Relationship Off the Field

While their on-field connection was unmistakable, Kelce and Mahomes developed a true friendship off the field as well. They spent time together in the offseason working out and just hanging out. Their families also became close, with their wives developing a friendship of their own.

“Travis is like a brother to me now,” Mahomes said. “We have so much fun together on and off the field. It’s awesome to have someone on the team that you genuinely consider family.”

Kelce echoed those sentiments. “Pat’s like the little brother I never had. We push each other to be better but also enjoy life outside of football. It’s a real blessing to have that kind of friendship as part of this team.”

Their bond was evident not just in their play but also in how they interacted on the sidelines. They were constantly encouraging each other, even when mic’d up during games. Their positive energy and support for one another was infectious for the entire Chiefs team and fans.

Reaching the Top Together

In 2019, Kelce and Mahomes’ chemistry reached new heights. Mahomes threw for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns despite missing two games with a knee injury. Kelce had another dominant season, catching 97 passes and leading all tight ends with 1,229 receiving yards.

Their success culminated in the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV that season, the first championship for the franchise in 50 years. Kelce and Mahomes cemented their place in Chiefs history, celebrating the win together with pure joy.

“Winning the Super Bowl with my brother Pat was the best feeling ever,” Kelce said. “To go through this whole journey with him and reach the top of the mountain – it’s something I’ll never forget.”

Mahomes echoed the sentiment. “Getting to hold that Lombardi Trophy with Travis right by my side made all our hard work worth it. He’s been there with me every step of the way.”

Their bond was on full display as they partied the night away together after the Super Bowl. Videos showed them dancing, singing and fully embracing the championship celebration. It was clear their friendship went far beyond the football field.

Sustaining Success in Kansas City

Over the next two seasons, Kelce and Mahomes continued finding ways to elevate each other’s games. In 2020, Mahomes threw for over 4,700 yards and 38 touchdowns despite several top receivers missing time with injuries. Kelce once again led all tight ends, catching 105 passes for 1,416 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Their consistent production helped the Chiefs reach back-to-back Super Bowls, becoming the first team to do so in over a decade. While they lost Super Bowl LV to the Buccaneers, Mahomes and Kelce cemented their place among the best QB-TE duos in NFL history.

Heading into 2022, both players are still in their prime. Mahomes recently signed a record-breaking contract extension to remain in Kansas City long-term. And Kelce has shown no signs of slowing down at age 32. As long as they’re together, the Chiefs will remain contenders.

A Brief Rumor and Unbroken Bond

The only hiccup in Mahomes and Kelce’s relationship came in 2021, when rumors swirled of a “cooling off” between Kelce’s wife and Mahomes’ wife Brittany. Supposed social media interactions were analyzed, leading to speculation of a rift.

However, both Mahomes and Kelce quickly shut down any notion of problems between them. On the field, their connection was as strong as ever in 2021 as the Chiefs returned to the AFC title game. Off the field, they continued spending time together with their families in the offseason.

“Me and Pat are brothers – some Twitter rumors aren’t going to change that,” Kelce said. The brief rumor proved to be much ado about nothing, as their bond remained unbroken. Going forward, they will surely continue to motivate and support each other in their quest for more championships.

Unmatched Brotherly Bond

In the end, the relationship between Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes transcends any definitions. It is a true brotherly bond that has been strengthened through their shared success and struggles on the football field. But more importantly, it shows how strong interpersonal connections can form in the most unlikely of places.

As long as they remain in Kansas City, Kelce and Mahomes will surely continue elevating each other to new heights. Their story serves as an inspiration for what teamwork, friendship and family can achieve. It’s those intangible off-field elements that have made them one of the most feared QB-TE duos in recent NFL history.

 

Rihanna and Ciara might be R&B’s foremost frenemies — they can’t stop feuding in public, and they’re just as good at making up.

These days, the squabbling divas seem to be on the outs, and judging from Ciara’s latest comments, a reconciliation may not be coming anytime soon.

While sitting for a recent radio interview (via ONTD), Ciara was asked about the latest flareup in her up-and-down relationship with Rihanna, and her response was a masterpiece of passive-aggressive shade-tossing.

“I don’t have beef with anybody, but I’m not going to be disrespected either,” Ciara explained. “I wish her well.” And if that’s where she’d stopped, we could end this by congratulating her for staying on the high road, but she wasn’t finished yet. “I don’t know what her problem is,” the ‘Goodies’ singer continued. “I think she’s nuts right now, like, whatever’s going on, because for me, it doesn’t make any sense.”

But after getting the claws out for a moment, Ciara made sure to conclude on a friendly note, pointing out that Rihanna “Has a lot of good things going on with herself. A lot of of good things. I’ve always said I’ve been happy for her. I don’t get it. I really don’t, but I wish her well. I wish her positivity.”

 

 

Travis Kelce accepts a ‘friendly’ $14m Chiefs contract ‘to keep the team together’, claims ex-teammate Tyreek Hill: ‘He deserves to be paid… he’s the greatest tight end of all time’

While Tyreek Hill had high praises for ex-teammate Travis Kelce, the Dolphins wide receiver insisted that the tight end is not getting paid what he’s worth in Kansas City.

‘I think Kelce like at 14, 15 [million],’ Hill said on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast. ‘Nobody’s Travis Kelce. Nobody’s Patrick Mahomes, either. Those two – they’re just different.

‘They’re gonna be the highest-paid. But obviously, they’re gonna take friendly deals ’cause you know… [They want to] keep the team together.’

Hill got drafted by the Chiefs in 2016 and stayed in Kansas City until 2021. After sharing the field with Kelce for the first six seasons of his NFL career, the five-time First-Team All-Pro player insisted that Kelce was the best tight end he played with.

‘Of all time? For sure,’ he said when asked if Kelce is the greatest tight end before retracting and saying: ‘The greatest tight end that I played with, I will say that.’

‘I don’t wanna say nothing else about nobody else’s career. But [from] what I’ve seen and how hard he works in practice, he’s definitely the greatest.’

According to SportRac, Kelce makes a base salary of $12m, placing him behind Mahomes and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor.

ESPN is set to air the first two parts of its 10-hour “The Last Dance” documentary about Michael Jordan and the 1998 Bulls on Sunday, so a basketball world starved for games has spent the weeks since the network announced its adjusted start date reminiscing about the greatest player the NBA has ever seen. We here at Yahoo Sports NBA are no different, and in the latest installment of our chronicles we dive deep into MJ’s best beefs.

The 1985 NBA All-Stars

Legend has it that incumbent NBA stars were not fond of the attention paid to Jordan as a rookie, so veterans Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson and George Gervin allegedly orchestrated a freeze-out of the 21-year-old sensation at his first All-Star Game. The accused denied limiting Jordan’s chances, but George Andrews — then the agent for both Thomas and Johnson — lended at least a little credence to the myth.

In the version Andrews told to longtime Chicago Tribune scribe turned Bulls.com columnist Sam Smith, the veterans took umbrage with Jordan violating NBA protocol by promoting Nike with his pregame workouts.

“No question they were mad at him,” Andrews told Smith, “and it wasn’t just my guys.”

Per Andrews, the vets planned for Thomas and Johnson to defend each other with little resistance, so they could control the action, as Gervin guarded Jordan with more intent. Jordan scored seven points on nine shots.

As the story goes, longtime Detroit Free Press columnist Charlie Vincent approached Gervin afterward at the airport, where he was waiting for his plane with a couple of advisers to his point guard co-conspirators.

“They’re acting out and saying how they showed Michael who was boss, taught him a lesson and all that,” Andrews added, via Smith, “and it extrapolates into a plot against Michael, which was not the case.”

It just so happens the Bulls hosted Thomas’ Pistons in their first game after the break. Jordan amassed 49 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four steals in a 139-126 victory, igniting a rivalry that lasted for years.

Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons

Three years after the alleged freeze-out, Jordan’s Bulls faced Thomas’ Pistons for the first of four playoff meetings in four seasons. Detroit got the best of Chicago in the first three meetings, winning two titles in the process. When the Bulls finally broke through, sweeping the Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Conference finals, Thomas and company left the floor without shaking hands. Jordan took notice, returning the freeze.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum, who later chronicled the “Dream Team” in book form, Jordan told former Bulls general manager turned USA Basketball committee member Rod Thorn, “I don’t want to play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.” Jordan later confirmed his part in keeping Thomas off a 1992 U.S. Olympic men’s national team he most certainly deserved to be on, and he had plenty of support.

“I despised how he played the game,” Scottie Pippen said of Thomas in NBA TV’s 2012 documentary on the Dream Team. “Isiah was the general [of the Bad Boys], he was the guy who would yap at his teammates and say, ‘Kick them on their ass. Do whatever you have to do.’ No, I didn’t want him on the Dream Team.”

“Did Isiah Thomas deserve to be on the Dream Team? No doubt about it,” Johnson later conceded, via Vintage Detroit. “When you think about a team, everyone must get along. They gotta live to together, they gotta hang out together. Isiah, with his competitive nature, rubbed some of the guys the wrong way.”

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen gave Toni Kukoc quite an initiation into the Chicago Bulls mentality. (Vincent Laforet/AFP via Getty Images)

Toni Kukoc, Chicago Bulls

Jordan and Pippen heard tales of Toni Kukoc’s talent in 1992. He was a second-round pick by their Bulls in 1990 and had yet to join them in the NBA, instead improving his prototypical stretch four skills in Europe. So, when the Dream Team saw Kukoc’s Croatia on their schedule at the Barcelona Olympics, they salivated.

“You ever watch a lion or a leopard or a cheetah pouncing on their prey?” Karl Malone told Lang Whitaker for GQ’s wonderful 2012 oral history of the Dream Team. “We had to get Michael and Scottie out of the locker room, because they were damn near pulling straws to see who guarded him. Kukoc had no idea.”

Kukoc finished with four points on 11 shots in 34 minutes of a 103-70 defeat in the opening stage of the tournament. Jordan and Pippen combined for 34 points, 12 assists and 13 steals (!) in 28 minutes apiece.

Poor Kukoc, who unknowingly had Bulls general manager Jerry Krause to blame.

“Krause was recruiting this guy and talking about how great he was,” Jordan said in the 2012 documentary. “That’s like a father who has all his kids and now he sees another kid that he loves more than he loves his own. So we weren’t playing against Toni Kukoc. We were playing against Jerry Krause in a Croatia uniform.”

His other Chicago Bulls teammates

Let’s start with Steve Kerr, who Jordan once punched in the face during a heated practice.

“I took exception to something he said,” Kerr said in telling the tale to ESPN.com in 2013. “So I was talking back and I don’t think Michael appreciated that … and we got in the lane and he gave me a forearm shiver to the chest and I pushed him back. And next thing you know, our teammates were pulling him off of me.”

Kerr earned Jordan’s respect, standing up to him, taking a black eye and giving a few punches back.

“It made me look at myself, and say, ‘You know what? You’re really being an idiot about this whole process,’” Jordan said in Phil Jackson’s autobiography “Eleven Rings” of the Kerr quarrel at a 1995 post-comeback practice. “I knew I had to be more respectful of my teammates. And I had to be more respectful of what was happening to me in terms of trying to get back into the game. I had to get more internal.”

That realization came too late for many of his former teammates.

Upset that the Bulls traded good friend Charles Oakley, Jordan called his replacement, Bill Cartwright, “Medical Bill,” and bullied him, intentionally throwing Cartwright difficult passes, telling reporters, “He’s causing me too many turnovers,” and doing all he could to get coach Doug Collins to bench the center.

Jordan also punched Cartwright’s backup, Will Perdue. He called Stacey King a “powerless forward” and a “big, fat guy” who couldn’t rebound. He told Horace Grant he was “too stupid to remember the plays.” And he “practically ruined” Rodney McCray, yelling mid-practice, “You’re a loser! You’ve always been a loser!”

As Kerr rationalized in a recent “Book of Basketball 2.0” podcast interview with Bill Simmons, “You were scared to death of him. He was the most dominant force on the floor in every regard. It wasn’t just the talent; it was the force of will. Opponents were defeated by Michael before they even walked on the floor.

“So it was unbelievable to be on his team, to be his teammate, and you had to accept that responsibility. You knew he was going to be harsh on you. You knew he was going to be tough on you, was going to talk trash to everybody in practice, test you. And his reasoning was: If you couldn’t handle the trash talk in practice, there’s no way you could handle the pressure of the NBA playoffs. It made perfect sense.”

Xavier McDaniel, New York Knicks

Pat Riley’s 1990s New York Knicks were working on a second straight season of trying to rough the Bulls up in the 1992 playoffs. Xavier McDaniel did a number on Scottie Pippen in a Game 4 that knotted the series, “[tossing] him around like a rag doll,” but Jordan was not about to let that happen again in Game 5.

When McDaniel tried bullying Pippen again, Jordan quite literally went head-to-head with him, pushing their domes together during a timeout and pointedly telling McDaniel, “F— you,” in plain view of the broadcast.

Jordan proceeded to score a game-high 37 points in the pivotal 96-88 victory.

Clyde Drexler, Portland Trail Blazers

Remember Jordan’s famous shrug after his sixth straight 3-pointer in the first half of Game 1 of the 1992 Finals? He made sure Clyde Drexler did. The Blazers star finished second to Jordan in MVP voting that season, collecting a dozen first-place votes and making a conversation of the league’s best shooting guard. So, Jordan ruined him, too. Drexler’s teammate, Danny Ainge, later told David Halberstam for his book, “Playing for Keeps,” it was like watching “an assassin who comes to kill you, then cut your heart out.”

Jordan was not done there, either. When the two met again that summer for training camp with the Dream Team, Jordan trash-talked Drexler up and down the court, according to Halberstam. “Didn’t I just kick your ass? … Anything here look just a little familiar? … Think you can stop me this time, Clyde? … Better watch out for the threes, Clyde.” Charles Barkley had to step in, but Jordan kept hounding Drexler on defense.

Charles Barkley, Phoenix Suns

Speaking of Barkley, there’s a well-circulated rumor that Jordan took him golfing for 48 holes and bought him a $20,000 diamond earring on the eve of Game 4 of the 1993 Finals, tiring out and currying favor with Barkley. When Bulls assistant Johnny Bach asked Jordan why, he allegedly responded, “He won’t get in my way the rest of the series. What’s $20,000 to me? Charles thinks we’re great friends. I hate that fat f—.”

Jordan proceeded to score 55 points unencumbered in Game 4, giving the Bulls a 3-1 series lead.

Unfortunately, Barkley shot down the rumor, telling the Sporting News’ Sean Deveney in 2015, “Michael and I laughed about that 10 years, 20 years later. They say we played golf together every day, and we never played golf. They said we had dinner together every night, and we never had dinner. So we always found it funny that people said we spent every night together. We never saw each other during the Finals.”

But Jordan slyly suggested such tactics were a big part of his arsenal in his Hall of Fame speech.

“[Knicks assistant Jeff Van Gundy] said I conned the players, befriended them, and then I attack them on the basketball court,” Jordan said, tongue still firmly planted in cheek after also poking fun at Van Gundy’s height during the speech. “Where did that come from? I just so happened to be a friendly guy. I get along with everybody, but at the same time, when the light comes on, I’m as competitive as anybody you know.”

The talking between Jordan and Barkley certainly became less cordial over the years.

Either way, the friendship has not endured the test of time. Barkley and Jordan had a falling out when the former called out the latter for his ownership failures to hire the right people to run the Charlotte Hornets.

Danny Ainge, Phoenix Suns

And speaking of Ainge, Jordan killed two friends with one game.

In that same Game 4 of the 1993 Finals, Ainge was hounding his golfing partner defensively when he caught Jordan’s elbow at midcourt. Ainge embellished the contact. Jordan took issue. Ainge ripped the ball from Jordan, who pointed his finger in Ainge’s face. Barkley and Grant stepped between them. Both of them earned a technical for the skirmish, but somehow Ainge also walked away with the personal foul.

According to Ainge, Jordan said, “Quit fouling me,” and Ainge responded, “Yes, your highness.”

John Starks, New York Knicks

Jordan’s Bulls faced the Knicks in the playoffs four times between 1991 and 1996, so he got a healthy dose of John Starks. The impassioned guard had his ups and downs opposite Jordan, but he always brought it.

Starks went toe-to-toe with Jordan in Game 1 of the 1993 Eastern Conference finals and punctuated Game 2 with his legendary dunk over all the Bulls, giving the Knicks a 2-0 lead. Jordan got his revenge in Game 3.

Jordan caught Starks with an elbow, Starks retaliated with a hard swipe that caught Jordan, and a shoving match ensued. Starks refused to be separated, going back at Jordan and asking, “You wanna go, Mike?”

The exchange earned Starks an ejection, and the Bulls never lost again in the series.

When Jordan first retired in 1993, Starks told Sports Illustrated’s Alexander Wolff, “I’m going to miss him. He brought out the best in me.” So, when Jordan faced the Knicks for the first time since returning in 1995, he gave Starks 55 points in a 113-111 win at Madison Square Garden, symbolically reclaiming the throne.

“I think he forgot how to play me,” Jordan told reporters after the game.

Jordan’s Bulls proceeded to beat the Knicks in a five-game Eastern Conference semifinals series the following spring, bringing his playoff record opposite Starks to 4-0 despite plenty of bruises along the way.

Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics

Payton never stopped talking, even as a rookie, so Jordan turned to Bulls teammate B.J. Armstrong during their 1990 preseason game with the Sonics and said for all to hear, “Leave the f—ing rookie to me.”

Bulls coach Phil Jackson started calling plays for Jordan, a handful in a row, and he delivered every time. Payton found himself in foul trouble, scoreless in less than 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Jordan netted 33 points.

Let Payton finish the story, via The Player’s Tribune:

Looks right at me. “That s— you talking in preseason?”

The wild thing is, MJ isn’t even mad or nothing. He’s chewing his f—ing gum.

“This is the real s— right here. Welcome to the NBA, little fella.”

The Bulls and Sonics would meet again in the 1996 Finals. Jordan and Payton trash-talked throughout the series, especially in Game 2, when they met face to face at midcourt during a break in the heated action.

“It was a lot everything,” Payton later recalled when breaking down the friendly exchange of words for ESPN’s J.A. Adande. “A lot of ‘s—‘, ‘f—‘, ‘f— you.’ And then Ron Harper got into it, Scottie Pippen got into it, Phil [Jackson] got into it. We were going back and forth with the ‘f— you.’”

Despite Payton’s best efforts against MJ in the second half of the series, the Bulls prevailed in six games.

Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers

Jordan also put Miller in his place from the start. When Miller entered the league as a rookie in 1987, his Pacers faced the Bulls in preseason game, and teammate Chuck Person encouraged him to trash talk Jordan after getting off to a hot start. The way Miller tells it on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Jordan proceeded to outscore him 40-2 in the second half and declare afterward, “You never talk to Black Jesus like that.”

Jordan never relented, either. In a February 1993 meeting, Miller bumped Jordan underneath the basket after a put-back, and Jordan responded by shoving Miller’s face with both hands, drawing a punch.

Again, Jordan was neither ejected nor even called for a foul. He was later suspended a single game.

When they met for the first time in the playoffs for the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, Jordan kept on him.

“Playing Reggie drives me nuts. It’s like chicken-fighting with a woman,” Jordan told Newsday’s Greg Logan before Game 1. “His game is all this flopping-type thing. He weighs only 185 pounds so you have to be careful; don’t touch him or it’s a foul. On offense, I use all my 215 pounds against him and just move him out. But he has his two hands on you all the time, like a woman holding your waist. It irritates me.”

Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards

Jordan joined the Washingon Wizards in 2001, the same season they made Kwame Brown the first high school player selected No. 1 overall in the draft. Jordan initially took Brown under his wing, quickly learned the kid was not cut out to match his competitive fire, and then tore him to shreds for the rest of his tenure.

So, when Brown challenged his mentor-turned-menace to a game of one-on-one, Jordan taught him a lesson. Let Michael Leahy walk you through it with an excerpt from his book, “When Nothing Else Matters”:

He proceeded to humiliate Brown, mocking him while scoring at will, declining to help him up when the teenager fell hard to the floor, winning lopsidedly and, at the end, yelling at Brown to acknowledge his superiority in front of the team: “You better call me ‘Daddy,’ motherf—er.”

According to Leahy, Jordan also dressed Brown down during a game after the rookie complained about the absence of a whistle on a touch foul, unleashing a tirade that allegedly included four homophobic slurs.

Sports Illustrated reported that “Jordan ritually reduced Brown to tears in front of the team,” but Brown has a different recollection of his experience. In a 2017 interview with HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy, Brown clarified, “There was a report that Michael Jordan would make me cry in the front of the team. A guy who grew up like I grew up don’t really cry much. The report about him calling me a homophobic slur isn’t true.”

Jerry Krause, Chicago Bulls

The feud between Jordan and the Bulls GM was decades in the making. Krause took over for Thorn a year after Chicago selected Jordan with the third overall pick. When Jordan broke his foot three games into the 1985-86 season, Krause urged his second-year superstar to sit out the year, hoping to secure a better draft pick to build around his franchise player. Ever the competitor, Jordan disagreed, pushing through a minutes limit to help the Bulls win six of their final 10 games and secure the eighth seed with a paltry 30-52 record.

Had Jordan sat out the season, we would have been robbed of his 63-point playoff effort against the 1986 Celtics. As it were, the Bulls fell just outside a lottery that included Jordan’s former North Carolina teammate Brad Daugherty, Chuck Person, Kenny Walker and future Bull Ron Harper (and, of course, Len Bias). In his effort to field a formidable center behind Jordan, Krause selected Brad Sellers with the No. 9 pick in 1986, yet another teammate Jordan deemed unqualified to share the court with him. Two years after the failed Sellers experiment, Krause traded Jordan’s friend, Oakley, for Cartwright, and we have already covered that.

It went round and round in circles like this for the entirety of Jordan’s tenure in Chicago. He and Krause were cut from the same competitive cloth — Krause an old-school scout who believed in an organization’s influence on team-building and Jordan unwilling to concede power from the players to the front office. Jordan wanted more input on decisions concerning roster construction, and Krause felt he knew better. We should probably point out that Cartwright ultimately started at center for Chicago’s first three title runs.

There were contentious contract negotiations, to be sure, but the final straw came during the 1997-98 season that will be chronicled in the forthcoming “The Last Dance” documentary. Krause signed a number of the dynasty’s key contributors to one-year contracts and had a widely known plan to replace Jackson with Iowa State coach Tim Floyd, who just so happened to be a fishing buddy of the GM’s. Jordan was not a fan of this plan, refusing to play for Floyd, whom the superstar began derogatively referring to as “Pink” publicly.

“One thing is for sure, money won’t keep me in the game,” Jordan told legendary former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander of what might keep him in Chicago in 1999, via Blog a Bull. “Never. Just change ownership. And you know what I’d consider a change in ownership? Change the GM. Let Phil be general manager and coach. Krause? I don’t want to start a war around here. I’ll just say that sometimes it’s tough working for an organization that doesn’t show the same type of loyalty toward you as you show it.”

It was another clear shot at Krause’s infamous “organization’s win championships” quote. Regardless of Krause clarifying that his intended line included “players and coaches alone don’t win championships,” it clearly struck a chord with Jordan, who included a reference to the quote in his evisceration of Krause at his Hall of Fame induction speech: “He was a very competitive person, I was a very competitive person. He said the organization wins championships. I said, ‘I didn’t see the organization playing with the flu in Utah.’”

Jordan also said of the notably absent Krause in the same speech, “I don’t know who invited him, I didn’t.”

When Krause died at age 77 in 2017, Jordan issued a public statement: “Jerry was a key figure in the Bulls’ dynasty and meant so much to the Bulls, White Sox and city of Chicago. My heart goes out to his wife, Thelma, his family and friends.” That summer, the GM was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Everyone else in his Hall of Fame speech

Krause was not the only one who took fire during Jordan’s 2009 Hall of Fame induction speech. Just about everybody caught shrapnel, including: Thomas, Johnson and Gervin; Leroy Smith, who famously was awarded the final varsity spot over Jordan in their high school sophomore season; Buzz Peterson, Jordan’s freshman roommate at North Carolina who won the state’s prep player of the year honor over Jordan the year prior; Riley and Jeff Van Gundy; “the media naysayers”; his own relatives; and the Hall of Fame itself.

But he saved the best for last: Bryon Russell, the victim of the final shot of Jordan’s Bulls career — a jumper that eliminated the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Finals and concluded the season captured by “ The Last Dance.”

“I hate to do it to him. He’s such a nice guy,” Jordan said, smiling as he prepared to wrap up his speech. “When I first met Bryon Russell, I was in Chicago in 1994. I was working out for baseball. They came down for a workout. … I came over to say hello, and at this time I had no thoughts of coming back and playing the game of basketball. And Bryon Russell came over to me and said, ‘You know what, man, why’d you quit? You know I could guard you. If I ever see you in a pair of shorts.’ So, when I did decided to come back in 1995, and then we played Utah in ’96. I’m at the center circle, and Bryon Russell is standing next to me. I look over to Byron and said, ‘Do you remember the conversation we had in 1994: ‘I think I could guard you, I think I can shut you down, I would love to play against you.’ Well, you’re about to get your chance.”

Released in 2016, “Work” was a triumphant return to the Caribbean sound Rihanna had stepped away from upon her mainstream arrival. For the GRAMMY-nominated hit, Rihanna embraced the use of Patois as well as a sexually defiant, empowered point-of-view.

Rihanna’s single “Work” announces itself the same way steam rises. It bubbles, gulps and bellows upward until it reaches the surface; we’re already hot and sweaty by the time her voice arrives. The Barbados singer’s trance-like repetition of the word “work” grinds itself against the dancehall sound that first made her famous.

Released in 2016 as the first single from her eighth studio album, ANTI, “Work” was a return to roots. The track harkened back to the Caribbean musicality and pronunciation of her debut album, which had been slowly fazed out in favor of more pop-driven albums Good Girl Gone Bad and Rated R.

With “Work,” Rihanna brought dancehall culture and pathos into the mainstream, continuing the work of fellow Caribbean singers like Carroll Thompson, Ginger Williams and Donna Rhoden. By boldly using a Caribbean and Jamaican-influenced song as the lead single on ANTI, Rihanna made a political statement as much as a musical one. “Work” can be read as rejection of the whitewashing of her work and of the Americanized image created for her by Def Jam.

Rihanna was at a career high when “Work” was released, and the return to her origins pushed her to new heights. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first dancehall track to top the chart since”Rude Boy” in 2010 — and later earned nominations for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards.

Written by Jamaican American artist, PartyNextDoor and produced by Kingston, born Boi-1da, “Work” takes production cues from mid-90s Dancehall hits, the Beenie Man and Mr. Vegas collaboration “Badman Nuh Flee” and Sean Paul’s “Fit and Legit.” Boi-1da employs hand-claps, auto-tuned harmonizing, muffled piano and flute, as Rihanna shouts into the void. When added to samples of the late-90s hit “Sail Away (Riddim),” “Work’s” chorus, verse and bridge bleed into a single, pulsating orgy of sound.

The single was initially met with suspicion by American audiences, some of whom were confused by the simplicity of the song’s bare-bones composition and use of Patios, a West African-influenced creole language spoken in the Jamaican diaspora. This dialect can be heard in many modern rap songs, and Rihanna incorporated Patios in singles such “Rude Boy” and “Man Down.”

Her use of Patios was a step away from the manufactured, white-washed image created by the major studio machine and a return to her roots — all while continuing to embrace her sexually defiant, female point-of-view. In “Work,” Rihanna’s voice is steely and unbothered, yet vulnerable and present. The chorus’ monotony borders on a parody of the rinse and repeat pop “Work” inspired and elevated.

Rihanna makes clear her Caribbean intonation, delivering the lyrics to “Work” in a leisurely, laissez-faire style. What many white critics confused for simplicity or obscurification, Rihanna is simply singing for her people in the Afro diaspora. As Rihanna told Vogue of the song, “I felt like if I enunciated the words too perfectly, it would just not be the same attitude or the same sass… This song is definitely a song that represents my culture, and so I had to put a little twist on my delivery.”

“Work” can be loosely translated as a Jamaican patois for sex and this insider understanding drenches the song in a steamy subtext, making Rihanna’s repeated use of “work” a personal yearning for intimacy. The word “work” melds into itself, becoming a wordless amalgamation of sex and sweat, and the more Rihanna repeats herself, the more empowered the song becomes.

Read More: The Women Essential To Reggae And Dancehall

Throughout Rihanna’s career, she has asserted herself within the praxis of power. Songs like “Bitch Better Have My Money,” “S&M” and “Rude Boy” show the singer consistently in control, delivering lyrics as raunchy and robust as Jamaica’s Ranking Slackness, who penned infamously double-entendre odes.

As Jamaican music scholar Frederick R. Dannaway wrote, “woman’s sexuality is a powerful force, and is slightly feared, from the days of Nanny Maroon who repelled bullets with her pum pum.” Rihanna has known this since she released her first single, “Pon de Replay,” a dancehall track with a title taken from Bajan Creole, the spoken language of Barbados.

In “Work,” Rihanna connects to dancehall’s legacy of sexual innuendo and erotic lyricism. That PartyNextDoor claims to have written the single as a break-up song shows the level of ambiguity and complexity Rihanna brings to the vocals.

Rihanna begins the song by showing her discontent with her current lover, echoing PartyNextDoor’s break-up intentions, “Dry! Me a desert him / Nuh time to have you lurking.” She feels used by her lover, who only sees her as a sexual conquest. But by the second verse, she expresses vulnerability, admitting her own mistakes in the seemingly toxic relationship, “Baby don’t you leave” and “If I get another chance to / I will never, no, never neglect you / I mean who am I to hold your past against you.”

Not everyone is up to the task of Rihanna’s table-setting skills. Drake fails to deliver as the song’s guest rapper, who tries to appear nonchalant with his slow, “rolled-out-of-bed” delivery. Rihanna could have easily made this a solo single, but her year’s worth of Drake dalliances make the rapper the perfect foil for her lyrics’ intended target. When his verse arrives, Rihanna has gone from disgruntled damsel to passion’s inevitability.

That “Work” is both infectious and unknowable, simple yet complex, is indicative of the identities attached to Millennials and continued by Gen Z. With “Work,” Rihanna created her definitive masterpiece of a long and storied oeuvre. That her greatest hit is a Caribbean riddim, only adds to Rihanna’s rich legacy as her generation’s ambassador and innovator in Caribbean music.

She rarely gets a date night with her hυsband as they are both bυsy мegastars.

Bυt Beyonce enjoyed soмe tiмe with Jay-Z withoυt work responsibilities or their three children as they were spotted at an NBA gaмe in Hoυston on Friday.

The pop sensation, 37, rocked an allυring catsυit with her rapper beaυ, 49, wrapping his arмs aroυnd her as they enjoyed the basketball contest in her hoмetown.

Gaмe tiмe: Beyonce, 37, and Jay-Z, 49, were spotted at an NBA gaмe in Hoυston on Friday

Daring to iмpress, the Forмation singer paired the scintillating look with a set of black high heels and sмall retro sυnglasses.

The loved υp coυple – who share daυghter Blυe Ivy, seven,  looked to be enjoying the gaмe involving the Golden State Warriors and the Hoυston Rockets.

It was revealed earlier this мonth that Beyonce woυld be partnering with Adidas to re-laυnch her Ivy Park athleisυre range.

The мother-of-three didn’t explain why she was posing alongside the dozens of pairs of shoes bυt it’s likely a gliмpse into the creative process and what she’ll be offering with the new collection.

Loved υp: The pop sensation rocked an allυring catsυit with her rapper beaυ wrapping his arмs aroυnd her as they enjoyed the basketball contest in her hoмetown

Iмpressive: Daring to iмpress, the Forмation singer paired the scintillating look with a set of black high heels and sмall retro sυnglasses

Cυte coυple: The loved υp coυple looked to be enjoying the gaмe involving the Golden State Warriors and the Hoυston Rockets

She teased the re-laυnch with the release of a short fashion filм titled Hoмecoмing Weekend.

A lot of the new looks are reмiniscent of the pink and gold oυtfits froм Bey’s 2018 Coachella perforмance which she designed with help froм Balмain designer Olivier Roυsteing.

Along with selling sportswear the collaboration aiмs to ‘[inspire] and [eмpower] the next generation of creators, driving positive change in the world throυgh sport and identifying new bυsiness opportυnities.’

Giving the people what they want: On Satυrday night Beyonce treated her 127 мillion Instagraм followers to soмe snapshots of her Friday night look

When yoυ got it, flaυnt it: The Leмonade icon spread her arмs to show off her lυxυrioυs vote to fυll advantage

Sensation: Beyonce let her coat slide fashionably off her shoυlders and gave the caмera her best sυperмodel sмoldering stare

Ready for her close υp: Daring to iмpress, the Forмation singer accessorized the scintillating look with a pair of sмall retro sυnglasses

The singer, who serves as creative partner for the brand, said in a stateмent earlier this мonth: ‘This is the partnership of a lifetiмe for мe,’

‘We share a philosophy that pυts creativity, growth and social responsibility at the forefront of bυsiness. I look forward to re-laυnching and expanding Ivy Park on a trυly global scale with a proven, dynaмic leader.’

The Ivy Park fitness collection debυted in 2016 as a joint ventυre with Topshop’s Sir Philip Green, with an initial line of leggings, bodysυits, tank tops and sweatshirts.

The look of love: Beyonce also shared soмe selfies of her cυddling υp to her hυsband as they watched the gaмe in progress

Proυd Eмpire Stater: Thoυgh the dυo were in Beyonce’s hoмetown, Jay-Z paid tribυte to his own city of birth with a New York Yankees cap

Michael Jordan or LeBron James? It is one of the essential questions in the modern era of sports fandom, encompassing facts and biases, statistics and anecdotal evidence, and the ever-shifting barometer of cultural relevance. It turns friends into foes, barbershops into the site of parliamentary debates, and the Super Bowl LII champions into bickering schoolchildren. The question of Jordan or LeBron may live on for longer than they do. So, before we fully gear up for what should be a frenzied second half of the season, why not celebrate and examine the impact of two of the most influential players in basketball history?

Welcome to Jordan-LeBron Week.

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In December 1986, Michael Jordan dunked on Tree Rollins. It happened quickly and without warning, like a spider bite or a bird pooping on your head (both of which, I suspect, would’ve ultimately been less embarrassing for Rollins to experience). Jordan had the ball out near the left bend of the 3-point line and was surveying the court. There were three defenders nearby, two of whom were especially concerned with him. He pump-faked a pass to Charles Oakley, who was at the nearest baseline, and Cliff Levingston, one of the aforementioned defenders, stumbled backward from the feint, falling down, and let me explain something real quick:

It’s true that Jordan was at the beginning of his third season in this particular moment, and also that he’d lost basically all of his second season to a broken foot. But he’d already established a reputation as a devastating offensive threat. I mean, just consider these three things: (1) To that point of the season, he was averaging an absurd 38.8 points per game, including a 50-point explosion on the Bulls’ opening night. (2) He had scored 40 or more points in his previous seven games and would go on to score 40 or more in this game and the next, bringing the total to nine in a row, a run only ever bettered in NBA history by Wilt Chamberlain. And: (3) Beyond just the nine straight games of 40 or more points, he’d also go on to do it 15 times in 20 games. And so if you ask, “Why would Cliff Levingston fall down simply from a faked pass?” I would respond, “Because it was Michael Jordan who was faking it, and everything Michael Jordan was doing with a basketball at that time was fucking terrifying.”

So: Levingston stumbled backward, falling down, and it created a direct path to the basket for Jordan. Jordan took one dribble and gathered the ball, and as he did, Rollins, a 7-foot-1 center of monumental girth and mass, slid over to protect the rim. They both jumped and prepped their nuclear missiles at the same time, and, all things considered, Tree appeared to have the advantage, what with him being seven inches taller and 20 or so pounds heavier than Jordan. But then he didn’t.

Jordan mashed it home on him, and it was so surprising that he’d done so that two things happened, one of which was small and has happened many times since, the other of which is bigger and hints at why I’m telling you this story.

The small thing: The crowd cheered. Loudly. And the reason that’s noteworthy is because the game was being played in Atlanta, not Chicago. Imagine that. Imagine a man comes into your home, karate kicks you in the teeth, and then your family is so impressed by the move that they start cheering for him. “Whoa, great kick,” they tell him as you feel around under the couch, searching for your incisors and also your pride.

The bigger thing: When the dunk went in, the force of the shockwave knocked Rollins sideways. As he gathered his balance, Oakley, who had moved into the paint during the play, reached back and put his finger right in his face. It was, in a manner of speaking, a disrespectful exclamation point on the end of the play. Here’s a screenshot of the moment:

Jordan is on the left of Rollins, scowling at him, very clearly making a “Bitch, I told you don’t jump” face, and there’s Oakley on the right, very clearly doing a “Bitch, he told you don’t jump” finger point. They turned Rollins into the sliced meat of a 7-foot-long BITCH, DON’T JUMP sandwich, which is the worst kind of sandwich you can be turned into on a basketball court.

I mention this specific play because it represents the main idea of this article: that many of the players who were in the NBA during Jordan’s reign would go on to exist, at least in part, less as their own entity and more as a character in Jordan lore. Both Tree Rollins and Charles Oakley are that here; Rollins ended up becoming The Guy That Jordan Dunked On and Oakley, a devastating cheerleader, ended up becoming one of Jordan’s Guys, a small group of players he held extremely close. (One of my favorite Jordan stories: After the Bulls traded Oakley to get veteran Bill Cartwright, Jordan, who very much did not approve of the trade, spent the following days throwing impossible-to-catch passes at Cartwright so he could complain about how Cartwright couldn’t catch them. All I want is a coworker who cares enough about me to sabotage whoever it is that comes in after me when I get sent off to work somewhere else.)

Have you seen Mean Girls? It’s about a girl who shows up at a new school and infiltrates the school’s most popular group of girls (“The Plastics,” as it were). The Plastics are led by Regina George, held up around campus as the physical manifestation of teenage perfection. As a way to establish the dominance that Regina George holds over her high school, other students share different rumors about how incredible and overwhelming she is. “Regina George is flawless,” says the first girl. “I hear her hair’s insured for $10,000,” says the third person. “I hear she does car commercials … in Japan,” says the fourth person, and I don’t know why the “in Japan” part is so goddamn funny but it is. And it goes on and on like that. Then the very last person says, “One time she punched me in the face … it was awesome.” That’s how incredible Regina George is: so incredible that being punched in the face by her is a mark of prestige because being punched in the face by her means she had to, at least in that instant, acknowledge that you exist.

That is, in a sense, what I’m talking about with Jordan here; it’s a kind of eternal stamp, really. There’s a whole list of people who, for one reason or another, have forever become associated with him. And it’s a spectrum of influence that stretches all the way from Well, This Is Very Terrible to This Is Great.

All the way on the Well, This Is Very Terrible end, for example, is Kwame Brown, and I’m going to start with him because he had a quote in 2010 in which he explicitly references what you and I are talking about in this article.

A quick summary of the Kwame-Jordan history: Jordan was the head of basketball operations (and soon to be a player, lol) for the Wizards when they selected Kwame with the no. 1 pick in the 2001 draft. During Kwame’s time with the Wizards, there were multiple reports of Jordan bullying him, some instances of which were so crushing that they moved Kwame to near tears. (You can read all about it in this excerpt of Michael Leahy’s book about Jordan’s final run with the Wizards.) Kwame eventually denied the allegations, and even if he was telling the truth (it definitely felt like he was) it didn’t matter. The allegations were enough; they stuck to Kwame’s name forever.

In 2010, the Charlotte Bobcats signed Kwame to a one-year deal. Jordan was a majority owner of the Bobcats then, and so of course people asked Kwame about their past history. That’s why he told Michael Lee of The Washington Post, “We’re always going to be linked. I might as well come here, right?” Kwame knew then what I’m telling you now: When Michael presses his fingerprints down onto your heart, they’re not so easy to wash off.

(Kwame is a very extreme example of this. Other sad ones that are less biting: Muggsy Bogues, who Jordan one time backed off of during the final seconds of a close playoff game and allegedly shouted, “Shoot it, you fucking midget,” a double insult so damning [not to mention offensive] that Bogues later said it ruined his career; Sam Bowie, who remains tied to Jordan because he was drafted by the Trail Blazers one spot before Jordan was chosen by the Bulls; any of the guys Jordan prevented from winning a championship when he was playing, including but not limited to Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone; and any of the guys who Jordan hit an iconic shot over or had an iconic dunk on, including but not limited to Bryon Russell, Craig Ehlo, and the two Monstars who were holding onto him when he did the half-court dunk in Space Jam.)

The opposite version of the Kwame story is what happened with Steve Kerr, who played with Jordan for three seasons. Just a few months into their relationship (this was during the run-up to the 1995-96 season when the Bulls would finish a record-breaking 72-10), Kerr and Jordan got into an argument during a scrimmage that turned into a fistfight. Kerr later said that the fight seemed to make Jordan respect him. Here’s a good bit about it from a story ESPN ran about the punches in 2013:

There was mutual respect, with Kerr feeling that Jordan trusted him on the court more in important situations. In Jackson’s new book, “Eleven Rings,” he says the punch was a wake-up call for Jordan and a turning point for the championship-winning 1995-96 Bulls who won 72 regular-season games, a record that will likely never be broken. Who knows what the wake-up call would have been if the fight never took place? Who knows if there even would have been one?

“It made me look at myself, and say, ‘You know what? You’re really being an idiot about this whole process,’” Jordan says in “Eleven Rings.” He realized he hadn’t gotten in sync with his new teammates after coming back from his baseball sabbatical.

(Kerr, who now has two championships and broke the 72-10 record as a head coach, is a very extreme example of the This Is Great end. Other happy ones that are probably less historically profound: John Paxson hitting the 3 at the end of Game 6 that helped the Bulls win their 1993 championship and going on to serve as the general manager of the Bulls from 2003 to 2009; the flu, which had a horrible reputation for all of history until Michael Jordan’s Flu Game in 1997, at which point the flu somehow became an actual cool thing to have; and Phil Jackson, who showed up to Chicago as a suit jacket on an upside-down hanger and left Chicago with six championships and Greatest Coach of All Time considerations.)

I think the most curious case of the Jordan effect is Scottie Pippen. He was a wildly talented player and also a wildly important player. And it’s hard to imagine that Jordan ever would’ve wound up becoming the highest grade of basketball royalty without Scottie running along next to him. (Now seems like a good time to remind you that Jordan never even made it out of the first round of the playoffs before Pippen arrived, let alone won a championship.) And so, in that respect, it feels like it’s a slight that the highest acclaim ever given to Pippen was that he was just a very, very, very good second-place player on his team. ON THE OTHER HAND, THOUGH, it feels equally weird to argue that Pippen would’ve ever grown his shadow 100 miles wide like it is now if he’d not had Jordan running along next to him. (Now seems like a good time to point out that Pippen’s best playoff run without Jordan, which came with the 2000 Blazers and lasted all the way up to Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, ended up crumbling because it looked like nobody on the team wanted to do what it was that Jordan felt so comfortable doing: close out a game against a deadly, attacking opponent.) So I don’t know. I don’t know how to play that.

What I do know is that only Jordan’s unique brand of greatness allows for this kind of discussion (LeBron, I believe, will get here, too). Because it transcends the expiration date of traditional stardom. It creates an everlasting life, of sorts. Whether a player wants it or not.