By Pete B
Typically when your boss smacks you upside the head, that’s a pretty bad day at the office. But when you’re an NBA player and Michael Jordan is your boss, it’s probably a little easier to tolerate.
Such was the case for Hornets guard Malik Monk on Wednesday night in Charlotte. Late in the fourth quarter of a tight game against the Detroit Pistons, Jeremy Lamb hit a clutch jumper that put the Hornets up by two points with 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock.
Understandably, Monk and his teammates were ecstatic on the sidelines, but the 20-year-old made the ill-advised decision to run on the court to celebrate when there was still time left on the game clock and the Pistons were attempting to inbound the ball. This led to a technical foul being assessed, sending Detroit to the charity stripe for a free free throw.
As you can imagine, Jordan — Hornets owner and, oh by the way, one of the greatest late-game performers of all-time — was not overly thrilled with the youngster and decided he deserved a smack upside the head.
Jordan even whiffed on his first attempt at the smack before connecting on the second attempt. The two shared an animated discussion following the blunder and, while you can tell that Jordan is clearly baffled and disappointed in Monk’s brain fart, it wasn’t anything serious. Jordan and Monk even shared a smile before going their separate ways, after which M.J. quickly went back to shaking his head.
Ultimately, Monk got quite lucky considering the Hornets, back in action on Friday against the Knicks (7 p.m. ET — watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), managed to hold on for the 108-107 victory over Detroit. And if you’re going to get smacked in the head to be taught a lesson, it may as well be by Michael Jordan.
