It is almost always news when Michael Jordan is on a basketball court, even 17 years after his retirement. And when Jordan playfully slaps a player, it is bound to be the headline.

In 2018, towards the end of a match between Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons, Hornets’ Malik Monk ran onto the court from the bench before the game had ended. It was out of excitement in what was a thrilling contest.

Charlotte’s Jeremey Lamb had just made a 22-footer. It put the team in front with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. A young Monk, along with his teammate Bismack Biyombo, thought it was the end of the game and ran out to celebrate their team’s win.

The referee gave a technical against the Hornets for having six men on the court. Their owner, Jordan, was naturally unhappy with what he saw. He smacked Monk on his head for putting his team into trouble.

Although the Pistons converted the free throw resulting from the call of the technical foul, the Hornets managed to hang on and won the game by one point.

It was a playful smack from Michael Jordan

Jordan later clarified that his actions did not have any wrong intentions and it was just a playful smack on Monk’s head. “It was like a big brother and little brother tap,” the Chicago Bulls legend later told the AP. “No negative intent. Only love!”

Even Monk did not seem to be taking it in a wrong manner. After all, it was Michael Jordan, and Monk was only in his second season in the NBA.

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“It was nothing. He was just playing,” Monk said. “It’s Mike, and whatever he does is going to make [news] because nowadays it’s all social media and everybody has their phone out there and I wasn’t surprised.”

Monk is still a part of the Hornets’ side. The basketball world has been celebrating Charlotte Hornets owner, Jordan’s greatness in the last few weeks with the release of his documentary- The Last Dance.

The 10-episode docuseries from ESPN aired its final two episodes last Sunday. At a time when all major sports activities remain suspended, The Last Dance was something for sports fans to relish.