Michael Jordan Defends Slapping Hornets Player Who Prematurely Celebrated

Michael Jordan was not happy with Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Malik Monk after he ran out onto the court to celebrate Jeremy Lamb's game-winning shot against the Detroit Pistons. There were still 0.3 seconds left on the clock, and Monk received a technical foul for his premature celebration. 

As Monk came back to the bench, Jordan, who is the owner and chairman of the Hornets, gave him a dismayed look and slapped him on the back of the head. The Pistons would go on to make the free throw to close the deficit to one point. They still needed a miracle with less than one second left and were unable to get a shot off after the inbound pass was stolen, officially securing the Hornets 108-107 victory

On Thursday, the NBA legend told the Associated Press that there was "no negative intent" with the slap.

"It was like a big brother and little brother tap," Jordan said in a text message.

Monk also downplayed the incident when asked about it by reporters. 

"Big, big, big brother," Monk said after being told of Jordan's comment. "But it was nothing. He was just playing."

"It's Mike, and whatever he does is going to make [news] because nowadays it's all social media and everybody has their phone out there and I wasn't surprised."

Photo: Getty Images


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