George Lynch on Winning a Pick-Up Game against Jordan, 'He Still Owes Me Dinner'
With 'The Last Dance' ending this week, Michael Jordan stories have hit every news cycle. Still, the special ones seem to be about his relationship with Carolina and the tradition of making sure every older player impacts the ones entering the fold.
On the podcast, 'The Player and The Fan,' George Lynch discussed his relationship with Jordan during his time at UNC. During the summer, players, past, and present, return to the Dean Dome for pick-up games that are anything but easy. The players who have turned pro often wager with the current roster to size them up and see if they are worthy of wearing Carolina Blue.
Lynch's story relates to just that. He recalls a time of having beating Jordan and each team wagering a little bet. The bet was for whichever team wins has to buy dinner, and let's say a certain billionaire owes someone some steak.
But the best part of Lynch's story? Jordan told a player to take off their Jordan shoes because they didn't play enough minutes, and he wouldn't allow that particular player to play until he changed his shoes.
"Having a chance to play against Michael Jordan, it was great. And he was just as competitive then as you see on that documentary. I tell everybody this story who's asked me that question in the last couple of weeks. During my freshman year, my roommate bought a pair of those Jordans that came out. And he didn't play but probably seven minutes. He was playing behind King Rice. You know how it is, David?"
"You're in front of one of them good upper-classmen. You won't see the floor until your freshman year. Well, he didn't play much. And Michael was like, "Look, you don't play enough minutes to wear my shoes." He made him take them off. He wasn't going to allow him to play any pick-up games until he changed his shoes. We couldn't believe it. And then we had this rule; if the college guys beat the pros in pick up, pros will pay for dinner. We beat Mike the first game; He did not pay for dinner. He was so competitive. So next time I see Mike, I'm going to let him know he still owes me dinner."
It's not often that the college guys beat the pros, let alone with Jordan on the squad. Jordan's teammates couldn't have been giving any effort. Either way, it must feel pretty good to have a win against the King himself, in Chapel Hill no less, under your belt.
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