Doc Rivers Reminisces on Friendship With Michael Jordan: "We were Good Friends until I got to the Knicks"

Once upon a time, Doc Rivers considered himself good friends with Michael Jordan. That is, until he became a member of the New York Knicks.

In a recent interview with Karley Marotta of ABC's 27WKOW News, Doc Rivers reminisced on his friendship with Michael Jordan.

"We actually lost our friendship," Rivers said to Marlotta. "We were really good friends, you know we were on the Playboy All-American team in college, and we spent some time together. He came over to my house."

There was one particular moment during the 1988 All-Star game that Doc Rivers will never forget. Michael Jordan had risen to become the most popular player in the NBA, and the All-Star game was in the Bulls' hometown of Chicago. In a rare moment, both Doc Rivers and Michael Jordan were on the same team. The east was up 60-54 against the west going into the half. Once it became halftime, Jordan went into a hyper-competitive mode.

“The best part about that game was, where Michael at least made me feel like an All-Star for a moment, was at half time," Rivers said.

Michael Jordan stood up, and gave an impassioned speech to head coach Mike Fratello. He proclaimed, "I'm not losing this game."

"He said hey coach I’m not losing this game, I don’t lose at home, I’m not losing, play Doc, and he named a couple of other guys that wanted to win," Rivers said.

It's a moment Rivers has remembered with great fondness throughout his NBA career. One where he felt like something bigger, to be listed as a player who was known for a will to win.

"That made me feel good," River said. "He wanted me on the floor during the All-Star game."

The relationship between Doc Rivers and Michael Jordan soured around 1992, when Doc Rivers joined the Knicks. The Knicks and Bulls had numerous heated playoff encounters, and it ultimately took over the relationship between the two friends.

"We had a couple of big run-ins," Rivers said. "One I remember us grabbing each other’s shirts and I mean we almost came to blows. It absolutely affected our friendship for a long time.”

There are certain times in life, and the NBA, where once a line is crossed, it's hard to come back from. It seems like those run-ins between the Knicks and Bulls, crossed those lines for Jordan and Rivers.

"You'd be amazed how long that lasts with players, even after their careers," Rivers said.

Time heals all wounds though, and it definitely seems like these two have an opportunity to repair that friendship.