Michael Jordan iPad reaction memes exploded across the internet during the airing of "The Last Dance." We don't expect that trend will slow, even with the docuseries concluded.
This booming laugh from Jordan was provoked by a clip of present-day Gary Payton claiming to have cracked the code of defending him midway through the 1996 NBA Finals — albeit too late. In that series, the Bulls jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead, then squandered two in a row before prevailing in six.
"A lot of people backed down to Mike. I didn't," Payton said in Episode 8 of the documentary. "I made it a point, I said, tire him out. Tire the f**k out of him. You just gotta tire him out. And I kept hitting him and banging him and hitting him and banging him, it took a toll on Mike..."
*cackling commences*
"... And then, the series changed..."
"... And I wish I could have did it earlier. I don't know if the outcome would have been different."
"The Glove," Jordan said as he passed the iPad back to the interviewer (presumably director Jason Hehir). "I had no problem with The Glove."
Now, it appears we have a reaction to the reaction.
NBA
Here's what Gary Payton had to say about Jordan dismissing him on "The Opinionated 7-footers" podcast with Ryan Hollins and Brendan Haywood (via Andrew Joseph of For The Win):
“Oh you know I was hot. I was thinking about calling him at the time. … But you know what, that’s what I expect out of Mike because I would’ve said the same thing. I would’ve said the same thing. You know me, B. I’m not gonna admit to nothing, man. I’m not gonna admit to somebody that D’d me up or did nothing.
I’ll always tell you that any time in my career, nobody gave me problems but one person, and that’s John Stockton to me. That is just the way the game goes. I’m not mad at Mike because Mike didn’t have too many games that nobody D’d him up.”
Despite admitting to being "hot" in the moment, as a fellow Type A NBA great, Payton undoubtedly knows where Jordan's hubris is coming from. If they ever do hop on the phone to discuss the documentary, they can commiserate over that.
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