How Jalen Rejected Jordan

"(Rick) bought a Michael Jordan jersey, a No. 23, brand-new, white jersey," Youngmisuk recalled, regaling "NBA Today" co-stars Malika Andrews and Marc Spears. "Rick Brunson took him into the locker room, (and) introduced him to Patrick Ewing and Patrick Ewing said 'Hey, do you want Michael Jordan to autograph that jersey?' Michael comes over and says 'Do you want me to autograph that jersey?'"

"Jalen Brunson doesn't know who Michael Jordan is and said 'No, you'll ruin the jersey," Youngmisuk concluded, drawing laughter from Andrews and heartbreak from Spears. "Obviously, to this day, (Jalen) still regrets that, but yes, he did turn down the GOAT."

Youngmisuk mentions that Rick was also playing for the Wizards at the time, though the elder Brunson has never been officially listed on any Washington roster. Jalen's age and the prescience of Ewing, however, make it easy to date this story back to the 2002-03 season, when Rick was, ironically enough, repping the Bulls. Ewing, Jordan's longtime friend and on-court rival, served as an assistant coach for that one season in Washington before moving onto Houston's bench after Jordan's final retirement. 

The third of Rick's 17 games in Chicago came against Jordan's Wizards. In what became Jordan's final game at United Center, Rick earned a double-double off the bench (10 points, 10 assists) in a 104-97 Bulls victory. Chicago, of course, hosted Jordan's long-immortalized championship antics, as he earned six in 13 seasons (1991-93, 1996-98). 

Ewing and the Knicks were frequent victims of Jordan's dominance, as Chicago disposed of New York in each of its first four championship runs. The Knicks earned brief revenge with a seven-game win en route to an Eastern title in the 1994 conference semifinals but Jordan had retired to play baseball by that point.  

Rick would later work for Jordan during the 2012-13 NBA season when he was an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats (then a Jordan property) under Mike Dunlap 

Jalen Brunson became an Illinois basketball star in his own right by bursting onto the scene at Stevenson High School before joining the Villanova Wildcats. Two national titles followed before he heard his name called as the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 draft. He'd spent four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks before both he and Rick landed in New York last summer. Rick's well-traveled NBA career also brought him to Manhattan for 69 games between 1997 and 2001.