Landon Buford
It has been almost twenty-two years since Mitch Richmond elected to retire from the NBA after 14 seasons in the NBA. During his early years in the league, Richmond had to guard the likes of Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Dan Majerle, Reggie Miller, and his former teammate Chris Mullin to name a few.
On Thursday afternoon, Mitch Richmond took part in a Q&A session on Twitter Spaces hosted by NBA.com’s Mark Medina. During their conversation, Richmond was asked about
A rumor that Michael Jordan once said that he did not want to face you guys at Arco Arena.
“I don’t know about wanting to face… He had a hell of a team coming into Arco. I think he said he respected my game because I played both ends just like he did. And he respected me because I tried to stop him as well as he tried to stop me, said Richmond.
“[After all], I knew going up against Michael [Jordan] would be tough, but I’m definitely doing it to make sure he works at it and push him to the limit. That’s what he was going to try to do with me on the other end. He felt that energy on both ends of the court. That I was going to try to score on him, and I would try to defend him. I think he gave me credit by saying, you know, that I would bring it each night.”
He would later add, “Well, I tell you what I would probably be able to play 25 years I know that. The game is not as physical as it is, I don’t think there’s much attention to defense also, but I still think it is fun to watch. It is still a fun game you can see how it has come from where it was back then to where it is now. No question my numbers would be up there.”
Medina followed up by asking what specific numbers he would average into today’s game?
“Well, my best season I averaged like 25 or 26 and so, at least I would be averaging 30 no question. I would say that. If Mike averaged 38 when we were back then. What do you think Mike would average? I mean I had to be up in the 30s. Mike probably be 44, I mean I think I would be 33, 34.”
