You’d think everyone would know Michael Jordan’s personality trait is extremely competitive by now. Yet 17 years after experiencing it firsthand, Jermaine Dupri is still reeling from it. It wasn’t even a real NBA event. It was a charity day that involved a mix of athletes and celebrities. He hasn’t been able to recreate that ‘magic’ since MJ’s single appearance left a strong impression. That’s why someone who personally knows the Jordan brand of competitiveness wants to revive it.

Carmelo Anthony hosted Jermaine Dupri on his podcast, 7 PM in Brooklyn this week. He’s known for his music, yes, but in Atlanta, he holds a bit of prominence for his philanthropy as well. Among the few things he was recognizable for in the community was a charity softball event.

Dupri and Ludacris have hosted Ludaday since 2005, a multi-day venture that brought a lot of celebrities together for a good cause. A softball tournament was a part of it. Unfortunately, it hasn’t taken place regularly for almost five years.

In the 2008 edition, Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley were participating. It created an iconic picture of Dupri sharing the frame with MJ in his signature dad jeans era. 7PM brought back that image which left Melo and Rudy Gay in splits. Dupri revealed that Jordan kind of killed the mood then.

“Oh, man. That game he was talking s– the whole game,” Dupri started with the obvious. “You know that like anything that got something to do with any type of playmaking, playing, Jordan is, he trying to… he’s too competitive the whole [time]. He can’t even control the game like softball game, it’s just, you know, it’s ‘his team we going to win,’ ‘we going to win,’ you know what I mean.”

Dupri wasn’t even the one who was playing. He was a GM for a day who put the team together and recruited Jordan to his side. Jordan ain’t the only guy who was known for his fierce competitive spirit. Carmelo Anthony, a Jordan Brand athlete, was also cut from the same cloth. And he wants to bring back those vibes in Ludaday again.

Melo wants to bring the Michael Jordan energy to the charity event

The last known Ludaday was in 2019. It used to be the highlight of the annual celebrity calendar. In 2008, when Michael Jordan was participating, Ludacris met his wife, Eudoxie Bridges, through that event. However, the hype fizzled out.

Melo, though, showed eagerness to bring it back. “Let’s bring it back. You get your team, we get our team. Let’s bring it back because I think that nowadays it should be more about like bringing nostalgia back and like being more collaborative and with culture,” Anthony said, but he had convinced Dupri at the first sentence.

He specifically wants to do the softball match again with an athletes vs artists concept. Melo and his co-hosts know that the athletes will be down for it. Dupri, though, felt that artists need a lot more convincing to clear their schedules. Perhaps Melo would be the big draw for Atlanta’s rappers to join. He’s already taken the initiative. It remains on Dupri and Ludacris to make it happen.