Terry Francona and Phil Jackson have one very unique thing in common — they both coached Michael Jordan. While Jackson may have far more stories about the greatest NBA player of all time than Francona has, Tito has a few from the time he spent as Jordan’s minor league baseball manager in 1994. He shared one of them on Sunday.
In honor of the premiere of ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” Francona recalled the time he played pickup basketball with Jordan at Francona’s apartment complex in Birmingham, Ala. Jordan played for Double-A Birmingham in 1994 when Francona was the manager, and Tito said a conversation about basketball during a bus ride preceded the pickup game. It was during that game that Francona got a first-hand look at how ruthless Jordan is on the basketball court.
You may not know, but Tito managed Michael Jordan in Double-A.
Of course, Terry has a story or two, like the time he played pickup basketball with MJ.#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/bDUn68irO6
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 20, 2020
Francona said someone who was big and strong was being physical with Jordan, and Jordan “had enough.” Jordan basically called an isolation play for himself, and he told Francona to beat it when Tito went over to set a pick. MJ then dunked all over the guy and bent the rim.
Jordan and Francona appear to have maintained a close relationship, and MJ has given advice to some of Francona’s players over the years. While he only spent a very brief time with Jordan, Francona’s relationship with the six-time NBA champion is certainly a unique one.
