There was a time when Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, and others dominated the Eastern Conference. To make his name in the NBA, a skinny kid with big ears from Riverside, California, entered the league in 1987. Reggie Miller then would go on to represent only one franchise, the Indiana Pacers, for 18 years. Thus, he formed a love-hate relationship facing the Bulls and His Airness, and on his social media, he described those moments.

On Instagram, Reggie Miller wrote, “No Lies Told!! We had a prickly relationship, respected the hell out of MJ, but also couldn’t stand him. The reason I say that, wanted to beat him and his Bulls so badly, only won a few battles but he eventually won all the wars.” They faced each other 56 times, including the playoffs, and Michael Jordan had the upper hand with a win percentage of 64%. The Pacers legend uploaded a video that was a remix of his Hall of Fame speech and his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2015.

The First part starts with the HOF speech, “Why didn’t you ever talk to Michael Jordan? I was like do you want that tongue coming out at you? But I know MJ will not remember this story.” Reggie Miller spoke about his rookie year meetings against MJ, which happened during the preseason. It was in 1987, and by that time, MJ had yet to win a ring but truly established himself as a force to be reckoned with.

So, naturally, the 6x NBA Champion wasn’t interested in an exhibition game, but Miller was, since he was a rookie. He scored 10 points in the game and MJ had 4 at halftime, and Chuck Person, the 1986 ROTY and Pacers teammate, wanted to trash-talk Michael Jordan. So Miller responded, “You’re Michael Jordan? The guy who walks on water?”

That was a severe mistake, as Michael Jordan scored a total of 44 and Miller could only take his tally to 12. “That’s when I knew, I better step up my game.” That’s why the 5x All-Star ended up with an average of 18.9 points against the Bulls legend, forming a relationship of its own kind.

Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller had a mutual love-hate relationship

Despite the success of the Chicago franchise, the Pacers legend was once asked if he would ever swap teams. The player-turned-analyst spoke to ESPN in 2011 and made it clear with a Michael Jordan example. “And if Michael Jordan ever would have called me and tried to sway me to come to Chicago, I would have told him to go f–k himself… I’ll be down to see you. I never came close to going anywhere else.”

Similarly, for MJ he once recalled his battles with Miller and called it like “chicken-fighting with a woman.” According to him, the Pacers legend would end up flopping around, and would always have his hands on the opponents all the time. Further elaborated on the feeling of a woman holding your waist.

“I don’t really dislike anybody in the league, but playing Reggie Miller drives me nuts.” Despite zero championships, Miller earned respect from his peers. And despite losing to the Bulls and Michael Jordan, His Airness appreciated the 59-year-old’s contribution to the game.