Michael Wilbon Interview

For those who don't know the national sports media associations right in our backyard in Winston-Salem every year. The NSA may celebrate the best forecasters and sportswriters in every state and nationally, and we've spoken to many of the winners would've been recognized this summer if not for the pandemic were going through national award winners like Kevin Harlan of Turner and Wojcik ESPN and Patrick was with us and he was set to go into the Hall of Fame as is, or, as was our next guest, Michael will bond of ESPN's pardon the interruption. Spending time here, Michael appreciate your time with us. Congratulations on the honor is well how much we look forward to be in a part of the NSM a festivities in Winston where are you honor like this in your profession, your industry, and with that peer group in mind you, you're missing people that I know in every case sometimes socialize with. Anyway, in addition to Kevin Harlan who luckily I left audit getter, a dinner with at least a 100 in an arena dinner hi Kim what city were able Charles Barkley were multivendor like during the NBA finals and after almost a year ago. Sadly, on the way a defense that had to be in the fall when the feet of four started but you know damn Patrick who helped held my hand to my first sort of NBA job and Scottie Pippen did put up with me that you know I'm tremendously saddened by our inability to know convene in June to do after another NBA finals NHL final image of Kelly cup final do that and see each other and hopefully will do will do it anyway but honored to have it happen saddened that it won't happen on schedule. But you know those. These are all people that I know most cases know well make it happen probably in 2021 is to be bigger than ever. Just make sure when you come down here that you iron your soup because we are making fun of Tony Kornheiser. I mean, it probably bothers you to know in that he was inducted last year before you and Mandy need to iron his suit is all and all, I don't know what he was doing iron is so high. I've never iron day so I will know what it was wrinkle. It was wearable. I think I was Lord what happened to I think it was just wrinkled a wrinkly certain whippy baguette or dry cleaner to Burnaby Carolyn iron himself.

What is that that I won't have happen. But no, no, we did not bother me, to Tony where there was no sterility within. He certainly is deserving. It is about anybody in in that fraternity now and so Kelly was one of the people was the first to congratulate me. We heard I was I was being so that's believe me there is no not even one second of professional jealousy. There now are a few pictures assuming what I wonder what the heck you deal with on the way Washington note down the road down North Carolina yeah and I think I sent iron dry clean course. Michael will bond with us. You're not exactly. It's cabin fever man were all indoors. It's tough.

Michael will box is what it is always about you doesn't iron assert Michael Jordan. And speaking of speeches I've said is Hall of Fame speech in 2009. It was probably the last public representation of what Jordan was like as a player and some people criticized at the time when they saw the fangs come out and just saw some of the trash talk, I remember you were talking to him around that ceremony and you've gotten to know them. Of course were excited about the doc you series that's going a lot. Once on Sunday. The 10 parter the last dance that I hear is just fantastic. You're going to be a part of this is well and am wondering how good of a job. Do you believe this documentary does of capturing what Jordan was like as a player decide that we never saw what I haven't. I'm not gonna watch until you hear Dr. take a sneak peak. Even though I could not to consume it the way everybody consuming the dock at the documentary of the event, which is what is being called an equity. If it is an event which actually been an event during the NBA finals. If it had been airing a schedule, but now in the economy have next to no sports content is deftly going to be an event and I am told by people watch it.

That is riveting, compelling, those a couple of the words I heard from other people.

Again, can't offer any testimony firsthand. Yet, but given what I heard about it. I know of it heavyset for For a few questions.

I can do a great job and is Michael Michael deciding okay, talk about all the things that I didn't talk about publicly over there. Prominent in the last thing he could not just about the last year. It's really about his career as seen through the lens of that last year and in the context of it not going back of of having functionality and I'm I'm excited to see it even though I know I know some of a lot of stuff in there that I have no idea about stuff. Talk about some plane trips with the team and I'm sure on bossy in the locker room just things it Michael decided to talk about publicly for the first time in every day this week were to have somebody who got to know him either playing against him or playing with them, Johnny Dawkins from UCF to head coach there who played at Duke all those years. Of course he's good to be with us later in the week and Joe will play with him with the Tar Heels. Now the head coach of the G leads Greensboro swarm were talking with Mike will bond here on sports on triad so I remember reading one of your stories and you described Michael you are doing a story on Alonzo mourning, I think, and he learned that you were writing that story and he said he is not the score that night and you even said Michael made sure to remind Georgetown guys Ewing Alonzo mourning about the game-winning shot which you covered in New Orleans in 1982 winning the national title. I mention all that to set up this how proud do you know Jordan to be of his days in Chapel Hill got me they set up everything which is not immediately go to school to one and on their commute will we do know he cried he should peers real tears when it was decided that he was about to go back for his senior year and you not listen to him tell the story about talking to Karen Smith crying when Enoch I'm sure his parents and Coach Smith talked about what they thought he should do and made a strong recommendation.

Michael didn't want to do that you want to find a collar to maybe we talk about all the time and you know what I have a chance to talk about a lot of the faded informal settings and formal settings in units.

Johnny Dawkins was one of my favorite people on the planet is awesome job Johnny Dawkins play in high school, Washington DC where I lived my entire adult life in local Washington Post for 30 years and I also live with a wife with the Duke Law school, so I got with his crafter to go in your all that North Carroll at the Tar Heel Duke stuff back and forth but I don't care about letting go up the back row to go to ACP school, but I have your letter that my wife and Michael and Johnny and Michael and all the people that Michael comes in contact with him. He loves that he loves to wear his Tar Heel nest on his sleeve on his chest is famous that he wanted to know the shorts underneath is basketball you left it love it love it love it loves it and I love everything about his time in North Carolina and I think anybody listens to him knows how he wears it man. He wears a badge of honor. This is not like you got to use the excuse themselves as close a Savior from so-and-so high school. No, no, Michael Jordan, you know, we would say you know he was being introduced.

Now you Angela from North Carolina like in the Chicago introduction Chicago Stadium and the United Center and Reno and from North Carolina said Natalie is proud it's in SMA Hall of Fame inductee Michael will bond joining us from ESPN's aunt I was reading a story for merchandise of the athletic yesterday who has watched much of the last dance which again debuts Sunday the first part of a 10 part series parts one and two, I should say Sunday at 9 o'clock and this is something I found interesting that the director mentioned in a conversation with Jordan that didn't make it into the dock.

He said as they were just getting to know each other. He asked him the question and this is from Richard story. Why do you want to do this and Jordan said I don't and he responded why not in this quote I think stands out to me said when people see the footage I'm not sure they're going to be able to understand why I was so intense, why I did things the way I did them the way I acted and why I said things the way I said them, how concerned do you believe Michael to be about his image as this documentary series is set. The review release water hundred percent race true. Good thing there are times I thought what either conversations that we had off the record that I had gone back to him if that hate you that this illustrates whatever illustrates it could have been like a month later.

Years later, a decade later Michael goes right you fine. Go ahead and use it to put on the record, you can use in the story times. He said no and I was thinking why do you care about it for people to go crazy you Michael Jordan why you care that we would go back and forth about the new chair care and understand all the time why he cared that my sort of think is funny like they were there things where you don't, Charles Barkley and Charles were my dearest friend there thing to try to say all right and I edited two of Charles's books and Michael would see me later or call me and say I said that I couldn't get away with saying what Charles could you just can't care you can't care about you can't care about the reaction any doctor about the reaction we you know that's who he is.

He is very different. You'll there three. I'm fortunate to have got a work of Magic Johnson. In addition to known already and covering his career, knowing him, worked with them the better part of eight years. It can be ESPN and ABC and he and Michael inch often compare our musical got really the core, the dream team and and in His relationships and they played against each other dear so different there so so different. And Michael does care about his image, and how he's perceived and to the point where I said why do you care about this. I know that story and that story dealt in part with Scotty Burrell and he's used as an example with the director and I might've screened him about a gallon every day. I might've done this so that I could get into a place like that he be ready for the pressure and the distraction on the cooling nature of the NBA finals and I don't know that people can understand what I was doing that, I think the answer from the director was okay this is your check. This is your chance to make sure everybody understands and I'm glad he took them up on it. I think I understood most of it most of it. Not all of it, but I didn't understand it magic in a will in a way was different than Michael did it that Lebron doesn't think Colby did it, then you know if you want to go to other sports the maybe wiggly Tom Brady did it or does it implement Capacitance yet but Yeah, I Know That That Is Not Some Put on It Is Not Something to Michael Santa Heidi on That's How He Felt at the Time in Real Time and Really Staked out Their Territory and Said No I'm Not Move outside This Because I'm Not Sure People Do Not Proceed but Not All My Teammate for Protection.

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The Giant HBO Dock and Also the Fab 530 for 30 It's Going to Be the Last Dance Sunday 9 O'clock Be Enjoined by Mike Will Bond Here on Twitter at Real Mike Will Bond You Can Shoot Them a Follow He Isn't in SMA Hall Of Fame Inductee for This Year, but Some I Mentioned the Hall Of Fame Speech and You're Talking about Things That Bothered Him like He Could Have He Could Say the Things That Charles Barkley Says, but It Just It Would Bother Him the Way People Would Criticize It. How Much Do You Think Him Being Affected by Slights and Not Wanting the Slight Others Is a Is a Big Part of His Career Because He Has David Thompson Speaking Because He Didn't Want Any of the Tar Heels to Feel Slighted by Choosing Just One of Them and Also His Bulls Team at Teammates As Well and You Mention All the Stories He Had Leroy Smith, the Guy Who Made the Varsity High School Team at Laney High School in Wilmington at the Ceremony. He Talked about Brian Russell, How Much Do You Think That Is an Integral Part of Figuring out Jordan. This Idea of Slights Well a Couple Great.

There Were Times When He Went to Great Great Learn to Protect People That He Worked to Protect" Storm That Meant Something for and Then There Were Times Where He Perpetrated the Slight Community Invited Him to the Following Summary I Thought That Was Great. Like You Said When We Start a Conversation. I Think All of That Reflected Who Michael Was the Competitor, Not Take It As It I Know People Will Love Him, Who Was so Offended by the Hall Of Fame Ceremony.

My Brother Was the Banker in Chicago Is Probably a Meeting Is No Bigger Jordan Fan to Get Season Tickets to the Ballgames. All of That Time, the Microplate of Chicago Disease Either the Board and No Trailer.

There Is in the Hall. He Called Me about the Hall Of Fame Speech and He Said I Can't Believe She Did What Did You Think Would You Think EP Was Why Did You Think He Was Able to Be the Player That He Was and People Don't Get It. That's Not Good. That's the Point of Michael Talks Why People Don't Get off but I Think Decoupled Way That I Think It Was a Big Part of Who He Is but the People He Is Protective of Being like Coach Smith and Some of the Guys He Played with Who Aren't As Famous Roommates and Teammates and People That Are Important in His Whole Life. I Mean Those People Man. Michael Would Take You to the Mat to Protect Them and to Demonstrate How You Felt about Them. His Loyalty to Blessing for You.

I Know in Conversations with Kornheiser. You Guys Aren't Allowed to Talk about Golf Outings with the Former President Of The United States, Barack Obama, but I Don't Know If That Rule Applies to the Goat Michael Jordan. Do You Have a Golfing Story regarding Mike. I Go I Really Funny and We Don't Want to Talk about the Outing. Pres. Obama. Funny Thing Is Going to Ever Act Me Company by Their Not to. Don't Let Me That Those Are Make the Interesting Thing for People to Reporters and Paid to Make Things Public for Decades Is That There Are Times We Don't Not Interested in That and Would Mike Want Anyone Else Playing It up Okay and Michael's Event in the Bahamas and Rome Best and I Will Partners Probably Plan Better Than Most People Better Is a Much Better Golfer Than I Am and I Was Even There He Was 630 Dollars and 11 Plan Pretty Well. Will Plan Pretty Well on the Final Sunday When They Can Pocket We Are Where Wallin and We Can Win It, but We Were Not Out Of It and across All Stairway from His Green across to Our Greed Comes Michael's Writing to Talk Trash. What Were Trying to Make a Pot and It Was so like I Just Remember Thinking I'm Finally Getting Trash Talk the Competitive Circumstance by Michael Jordan. Now I Know How to Still Believe It Happened before. Whether a Deadline or Writing Something to Get Bigger Story. Michael with Sadie If He Knew You Will You Know I Look at the Big Story Peter Bessie Had Their Last Weekly.

Michael Knew How to Eat Just Knew How to Do That. It Was It Was What We All Did He Just Carried It to an Art Form Level, on a Sunday in the Golf Tournament.

Dennison I Trying to Kill Try to Win and Use the Voice to Come to This Stride across the Fairway and Jordan Comes across Fans of the like, You Can't Make That Part Exits outside the Range and It Was Just It Was Hysterical. I Loved It. One of the Thing a Guy Got Group on the South Side of Chicago. I Grew up with Some of the Great Trash Talkers. Maybe None of Them Famous. Maybe Some of the Famous and I Grew up with Those Guys and This Is What We Did and It Did Not Intimidate Me and That's How I Lived from 108 Years Old to Know in My 30s When I Stop Completing Anything except Golf and I Think Because I Laughed Because I Loved It Because I Wasn't Intimidated by Acting As One of the Reason That Michael Felt More Comfortable Talking to Me She Knew I Didn't Take It the Wrong Way You I Enjoyed It and He Knew That Some Part of Me While I Was No Good at Limping Athletically, but It Time and Get Me. He Knew That This Had Been Part of My Life.

I Knew the Context of Its Intent Is to Object When He Was Taking Tennis Lessons and Formally but He He Was Starting Point for Tenants Who Are in in in the Drinking Summer and He Was Talking Trash to Me with a Tennis Racket in My Hand and It Was Just Funny.

I Loved It All. And so I I Don't Take It the Wrong Way. I Think He's Right.

I Think the Kobe Bryant Also Had a Great Measure of This Is One of the Things They Shared, and Kobe Always Felt Something That Would Be to Call You on the Record.

Let Me Write about This or Talk about It. He Would Fade. You Know What I Know You'll Get It but I Don't Know That the Viewers or Listeners, Readers. I Don't Think Going to Get It and Keep It off the Record Very Similar in That Way Because One of the Broadly Shared That They Knew They Had to Go to a Certain Length to Get the Result They Need to Get Athletically Competitively but It Didn't Mean Everybody Was Going to Understand the Buttons They Pushed and I Know Michael Feels That Where It Is That I Know You Know That We Are Hundred Percent and I Hope That People Get a Real Glimpse inside of Why He Operated the Way He Did, and Why Such Protection Is Teammates and Coaches and People Close to Him Why He Fought to Protect Them from the outside World Known about Storytelling. That's What We All Seem to Do. Whether It's Sports Talk. Whether It's Call in Writing Whether It's Television on Part of the Interruption or Something Else and I Think What You've Demonstrated in Those Last Five or 10 Minutes. The Stories You Share with Us Justify the Fact That You Are to Be an Estimate Hall Of Fame Inductee Michael Will Bond I've Admired Your Work for a Very Long Time. I Look Forward to Hearing More Stories When You Come down the Winston-Salem Hopefully in 2021 Will Iron Your Suit for to It. Don't I Would Never Check the End of That Base You Have a Limited End of the PF. Please One of the Great People to Find out during the. The Documentary, Michael's a Great Story, Great Story, You Know I'm Still Not Right for Me As a Journalist Are You That I Am One Anymore, but We Have Been with Her Occasionally. Stories Are off the Record They Go to the Grave. Off the Record, Somebody's Grave and There's Some Stories That I Still I Don't Think It Would Be in the Dock and I'm Still about the Record They They Are That What I Call That They Cannot Use It but I Know the People in the Glimpse of What Would a Great Storyteller. Michael Lived Have Become Will See That with a Young Man Yeah He Was with Became More Comfortable with It.

I Have Been on the Good Hand of Many of Those Stories and Nights of the Stories Were Told They Would You Talk about I Go and Nothing Much, Although Stories I like How People Go to Get a Chance to See Them Start Monday Night Else If They Don't, I'll File It Away and I Will Try to Get Them out, Get Them Out Of You with the after Party at the Resume after Next Year, so Thanks for Spending the Time I It's Good to Hear from You. Thanks for Doing This That You Have Appreciated.He's on Twitter at Real Mike Will Bond the NSA May Hall Of Fame Inductee from Pardon the Interruption in ESPN Mike. Will Bond Joining Us on Today Show That Was a Real Treat