There’s respect all around

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – David Robinson and Michael Jordan had varying degrees of success against John Stockton and the Utah Jazz – Robinson not much, Jordan the ultimate. But both came away from their basketball careers with enormous respect for their rivals.

And in Robinson’s case, something more: a bump on the head.

Joining Stockton and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan as inductees in the 50th class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, Robinson was reminded of the elbow he took from Utah’s Karl Malone in the 1998 regular-season finale – before the Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs for the third time in five seasons.

“I had actually forgot about the night I got knocked out – thanks for reminding me,” laughed the former Spurs center and Dream Team mate of both Stockton and Jordan in the 1992 Olympic Games.

“Utah, wow, that was a great rivalry for us. John was on our (locker room) refrigerator as one of the most disliked guys – John and Karl. But I think the thing we probably disliked the most was that they were so much like us. They were so disciplined and played defense. It was kind of like playing your mirror image. And we knew that when John and Karl walked on the floor, those guys were going to knock your block off.”

Stockton was never afraid to wade into the key and set hard picks on bigger men – and the harder he set them, the more rivals began to complain. Jordan took the opportunity Friday to come to his defense – sort of.

“I wouldn’t say Stockton was the dirtiest player in the league,” he said. “I can name a few other ones.

“You can say dirty. I say he’s a tough, hard-nosed type of guy who played with every inch of his body, physically and mentally.”

Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, of course, beat the Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, both series going six games. That the Jazz were never able to unseat the dynasty of the ’90s is their eternal frustration, though Jordan offered some consolation.

“For us to beat them twice says a lot about our team because they were a great team,” he said. “Now you say, ‘How can you be a great team without winning a championship?’ Well, fortunately, the ball bounced in our favor, but they could easily have beaten us twice. Because of them – Stockton, Malone, Coach Sloan – it was great competition. They were great adversaries, and they raised my level of competition to the highest levels.”