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| Photo: Instagram/Jerry Stackhouse |
For years, Jerry Stackhouse was often compared to Michael Jordan. Both were shooting guards from North Carolina who had stellar college and professional careers. However, Stackhouse later expressed regrets about his time playing alongside Jordan with the Washington Wizards.
Stackhouse, like Jordan, attended North Carolina, a top basketball school. Jordan became a college legend by leading the Tar Heels to a national title in 1982 with a game-winning shot. Stackhouse also had a successful college career, leading UNC to a Final Four appearance and being named Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Year.
In the 1995 NBA Draft, Stackhouse was picked third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. By this time, Jordan had returned to the NBA and was leading the Chicago Bulls to another three championships. However, Stackhouse's path diverged when the 76ers chose to focus on Allen Iverson, leading to Stackhouse's trade to the Detroit Pistons in 1997.
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| Photo: Instagram/Jerry Stackhouse |
With the Pistons, Stackhouse flourished, becoming a two-time All-Star and one of the league's top scorers, averaging 29.8 points per game in the 2000-01 season.
In 2001, Jordan came out of retirement to join the Washington Wizards. A year later, Stackhouse was traded to the Wizards during Jordan's final NBA season. That season, Stackhouse averaged 21.5 points per game, slightly higher than Jordan’s 20 points per game, making him the only teammate ever to outscore Jordan in a season.
Despite the promising opportunity, Stackhouse found the experience frustrating. He felt that the team’s offense should have run more through him but was instead focused on Jordan, leading to tension. “I wish I never played in Washington,” Stackhouse said. “I felt like I was a better player, and things were still being run through Michael Jordan.”
Stackhouse added that the season with Jordan tarnished his idol’s image for him. “The kind of picture I had in my mind of Michael Jordan and the reverence I had for him, I lost a little bit of it during the course of that year.”
The Wizards ended that season with a 37-45 record and missed the playoffs. Jordan retired for good after that season, and Stackhouse was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2004.
Stackhouse continued his NBA career until 2013 and has since transitioned into coaching. He has served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies and is currently the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team.
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Source: Talk Sports
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