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Jordan was on hand for the mid-season All-Star game, where he was one of several legends being honoured in the special NBA75 presentation commemorating the 75th season of the NBA.

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The 59-year-old, who is now a part owner of the Charlotte Hornets, looked in excellent shape and was in great spirits as he made the rounds at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

There was an incredible moment when Jordan and LeBron James — the two greatest basketballers of all time — embraced on the sidelines and shared a few words.

Speaking after the All-Star game, which was won by Team LeBron, James said he wasn’t going to miss the very rare chance to catch up with his childhood idol and now-rival for GOAT status.

“I did not want to lose the opportunity to shake the man’s hand that inspired me throughout my childhood,” he said.

“I haven’t had much dialogue with him in my 19 years in this business, but a part of me wouldn’t be here without MJ’s inspiration. I always wanted to be like him growing up.

“It’s crazy that the game-winning shot today was a fadeaway. And it was inspired by MJ.

“I didn’t want to waste that opportunity. We’re just not in the same building a lot and we haven’t been in the same building a lot throughout my career. It meant something to me.”

Jordan, who won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, was in a jovial mood as he mingled with former and current stars of the game.

He gave rising star Luka Doncic a friendly bear hug and even engaged in some old fashioned trash talking while waiting backstage for the NBA75 presentation.

Spotting LA Lakers legend Magic Johnson, Jordan half-jokingly challenged the five-time NBA champion to a game of basketball.

“That’s an old dog right there,” he said

“Where ya shoes at? We can go play 1-on-1. Me and you, right now.”

As the players judged the 75 best in NBA history made their way onto the stage, the biggest cheer came when Jordan was introduced to the crowd.

Fans lost their minds at the rare sighting of Jordan, who completely stole the show.

SB Nation’s Brady Klopfer tweeted: “I can’t think of a bigger testament to Michael Jordan’s importance that we’re all freaking out about the fact that he showed up for 10 seconds at an event that most of us are watching on TV.”

Jordan was in element among basketball royalty and shared a nice moment on the stage with former Chicago teammate Dennis Rodman, who opted to wear a hoodie under his NBA75 blazer instead of the crisp turtlenecks many of the other legends were rocking.

But Scottie Pippen, their other teammate who was part of the all-conquering Bulls, was conspicuously absent.

The relationship between Pippen and Jordan appears beyond repair after Pippen slammed his star teammate for how he was portrayed in the documentary The Last Dance.

Four years and 309 games in Philadelphia, The Process involving the Aussie is over as the 76ers traded for James Harden in a bid to end nearly 40 years in the wilderness.

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The deal sees Harden go for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.

While the Simmons and Joel Embiid partnership showed signed of melding at times, it never truly clicked.

But while Embiid is an MVP candidate and Simmons a defensive player of the year candidate and elite passer, they never seemed to be what the other needed.

Simmons elite defence and vision meant he got the benefit of the doubt from fans most of the time when it came to his three-point shooting.

After sitting out the entire season and now exiting the city that blamed him for a game 7 flame out last year, there is no doubt left, Philly is happy to see the back of the Aussie.

While the reaction was swift, including Embiid’s savage “I stopped by one of my biggest hater’s funeral today just to make sure they were dead” meme post, NBC Philadelphia has delivered a brutal sledge of their own.

The brutal “lol” on his three point stats is because he shoots at 13.8 per cent from outside the arc, with five three pointers from 36 shots in his 309 games.

Harden’s stats are the worst for his career but Harden has been unhappy in Brooklyn as Kevin Durant was injured and Kyrie Irving was not allowed to play due to the vaccine mandate in New York.

While the post was called “extremely unprofessional” and “childish” other comments made it clear that Philly fans were glad to finally see the back of Simmons.

As for Simmons, fellow Aussie and now Nets teammate Patty Mills is happy to have him in Brooklyn.

“He’s in a really good place right now,” Mills told media today. “Speaking to him a fair bit lately, seeing what he’s been up to in terms of staying ready and getting his body right and getting game ready I guess.

“So it was good and pleasing to me to see and feel where he’s at. From that standpoint you’re getting a really hungry person who is looking forward to playing basketball again and especially with our group.

“(He’s a) tenacious defender. He’s physical, strong – hangs his hat on that side of the floor I think. And then his freakish ability to be able to be a point guard and make plays. Unbelievable passer, and (can) push the pace.

“He’s someone that, from a basketball standpoint, I’m very excited to play with and I have been for a long time … We’re very getting a very talented, exciting basketball player.”

US reacts to monster trade

But the news wasn’t received too well by some as ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith said the Nets won big as the 32-year-old Harden wanted out.

“This could potentially go down as the worst day in the career of (76ers general manager) Daryl Morey. You gave up a shooter in Seth Curry, the bottom line is he’s one of the premier shooters in the game. He’s gone,” Smith told NBA today.

“You gave up two first-round picks. How do you go from asking for first-round picks to giving up two of them? That makes no sense to me whatsoever.

“When you think about Ben Simmons and how he compliments KD (Durant) and Kyrie, what he brings to the table in terms of his playmaking ability, ball-handling skills, basketball IQ, and most importantly, defensive prowess.

“There’s no question, along with Ande Drummond, a big body Brooklyn desperately needed because we know they’re a bit thin on their front line.

“You take all these things into consideration, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Brooklyn benefits from this trade.”

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said the situation worked perfectly for Simmons the long drawn out saga.

“This is the best thing possible for Ben Simmons though. It’s just so funny that it worked out for him, when he handled it horribly since last June,” Bill Simmons said.

“We’re going to find out once and for all if Ben Simmons likes playing basketball. I know that’s a harsh thing to say but I stand by it. We saw in LSU he barely wanted to finish that season. We’ve seen some pretty bizarre behaviour with the Sixers and somebody who’s willing to throw away a year of his career as he was entering his prime when he was still trying to get better as a basketball player. And set $20 million on fire that he’s not getting back.

“And now he’s in a really good situation. He gets to play with Durant, who if he’s healthy, the road still goes throw him. It’s either him or Giannis, it’s 1A and 1B and we could argue about that until the cows come home.”

On NBA on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal said it’s a great place for Simmons because when he doesn’t want to shoot, “throw it to Kyrie to KD”.

And Charles Barkley believed that the Nets now won’t fear anybody going on throughout the rest of the season.

“They’ve just got to hang in there. Because I don’t care who you are, other than the Milwaukee Bucks — because they’ve got the confidence of winning the championship — there’s nobody else if they get healthy that they’re going to fear,” he said.

“If they got a healthy Kyrie, the caveat is the home and away thing… it doesn’t matter where they finish, because if they get healthy, they’re scary for everybody.”

What was supposed to be a triumphant return from the league’s health and safety protocols quickly became a disaster for Ingles, who had committed two technical fouls by midway through the second quarter of the Utah Jazz’s clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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He was first tech-fouled for losing his cool at Cavs big man Jarrett Allen in the first quarter. In the second, when Jazz teammate Bojan Bogdanović was denied what he believed was a foul, Ingles once again flew into a rage – this time at the match officials.

The referees responded by ejecting the Aussie, whose seven tech fouls for the season put him just shy of league leaders Joel Embiid, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony (nine).

“It’s a big loss for the Jazz,” said Jazz legend Thurl Bailey in commentary.

“You’ve got to embrace that these officials are going to miss stuff.

“Joe’s not standing for it, but neither are the officials.”

Jazz play-by-play commentator Craig Bolerjack questioned whether the referees had overreacted, though.

“I’m not sure that warrants a toss. I don’t know what was said, though,” he said.

Ingles’ blunder put more pressure on the undermanned Jazz, whose ranks have already been depleted by a Covid-19 outbreak in the new year.

After Ingles was ejected from the contest, there were only eight Jazz players available for the remainder of the game.

“It’s just a shame that Joe wasn’t smarter in that situation,” said Jazz broadcast analyst Holly Rowe.

“He knew he already had a technical foul, he didn’t need to go in and step in on that.”

A sluggish third quarter, in which the Cavs outscored the Jazz 30-16, was largely to blame for Utah’s eventual 111-91 loss.

It wasn’t the first time this season that match officials had tired of Ingles’ antics.

In November, he was ejected from the Jazz’s clash with the Indiana Pacers for shoving a referee during a melee.

He was also shown the door against the Sacramento Kings in October after he committed a flagrant foul on Kings rookie Davion Mitchell.

Elsewhere, the best efforts of Aussie young gun Josh Green couldn’t stop the New York Knicks from halting the Dallas Mavericks’ six-game winning streak, 108-85.

After struggling for minutes earlier in the season, Green has begun earning more time on the floor but was less effective on Thursday and managed only one point, two rebounds and one steal from his 11 minutes.

Aussie big man Jock Landale returned from a back injury for the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, but the Houston Rockets had his side’s measure, winning by four points.

Unlike his countrymen, Boomers captain Patty Mills got a win on Thursday.

Mills landed six three-pointers to help his Brooklyn Nets to a 138-112 win over the Chicago Bulls, who lead the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

NBA player Simmons popped the question over Christmas, but the pair had kept the news quiet, only telling close family and friends.

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Maya, 27, began dating Aussie Simmons, 25, in May and fell in love with the 6ft 11in hunk during trips to the US.

She spent Christmas with the Philadelphia 76ers star at his $6.8 million mansion in Moorestown, New Jersey.

And now, with unsettled Simmons’ future with the Sixers unclear, Maya, from Bristol, is ready to make a permanent move to the US to be with him in a new city.

It is thought they could move to Los Angeles, as Simmons bought a $27 million home there in July.

Confirming the engagement, a source close to the couple told The Sun: “Ben adores Maya and has fallen head over heels for her. He picked up the ring on Jewellers’ Row in the diamond district of Philadelphia the day before he proposed.

“He chose the ring himself and felt he knew exactly what she would want. Maya said yes and they’re both thrilled.”

The source said Simmons had been nervous about popping the question because Maya had said no to a previous ex when he proposed.

They added: “He and Maya have been together for much less time but, thankfully, she said yes. Ben was so excited, but they’ve decided to keep the news low-key and tell only those closest to them.

“Maya flew to New Jersey to spend Christmas with him and is still there now.

“They had a small family gathering last weekend and announced their engagement.”

Simmons, who once dated Kendall Jenner, 26, and Maya, who dated rapper Stormzy, 28, have since had matching tattoos to mark their love.

And the tattoo artist who did the work let slip that Simmons had a fiancée in an Instagram post.

In the post, which was swiftly deleted, Philly Joe, who has a studio in Pennsylvania, wrote: “Honored and humbled to have gotten this opportunity to tattoo my boy @bensimmons and his fiancée.”

The source added: “News is going to get out eventually, but they’re keen to keep it under wraps until the new year. Ben fell for Maya almost immediately and was absolutely taken by her sheer beauty.

“He tells friends he loves the fact that she has her own career and he’s smitten by her British accent.”

Jama has had plenty of different roles on British TV and is currently appearing on ITV talent show Walk The Line. She also been a host of reality show Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star as well as being a celebrity guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. She also has a fashion line and range of skincare masks.

Simmons and Jama went public with their relationship at Wimbledon in July and weren’t shy of showing some public displays of affection in the stands.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.

The 19-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder guard, known for his incisive passing game, finished the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday afternoon (AEDT) with ten rebounds and ten assists to his name — but did not score a single point.

It was the first time in 50 years that a player had recorded a double-double without scoring.

Three-time NBA All-Star Norm Van Lier did the same playing for the Chicago Bulls in 1971.

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Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said he could tell Giddey was “frustrated” with his inability to score.

“If you’re playing 82 games (in a season), long minutes, night after night, there are going to be lots of ups and downs,” he said post-match.

“There are going to be times when you’re in rhythm, there are going to be times when you body’s sore, there are going to be times when you feel like your shooting is effortless.

“You’ve got to be able to find some consistency and tap into the things that you can rely on every night and that you can control every night. To his credit, I thought for a lot of the game he controlled a lot of what he could control.

“I think he was frustrated by the shooting and who can blame him?”

Daigneault said he hoped Giddey would be stronger for the experience.

“At some point you’ve just got to move past it and lose yourself in the game,” he said.

“I think it was a good lesson for him, to be able to play through that. It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows.”

The Thunder managed to hold on to record a five-point win over the Pelicans even without Giddey’s name on the score sheet.

In the sides’ last meeting, Pelicans guard Devonte’ Graham landed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from 61 feet away to break the Thunder’s hearts and steal a three-point win.

Giddey played an entire quarter for the first time in his young NBA career in that game.

Jock has landed

Jock Landale has outdone himself.

The towering Aussie turned in the most damaging performance of his young NBA career on Monday afternoon (AEDT), helping his San Antonio Spurs to a huge win over the Detroit Pistons 144-109.

The NBL’s 2020/21 grand final MVP caught the eye of Spurs and Team USA coach Gregg Popovich during the Boomers’ bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Games but initially struggled for consistent minutes on joining the Spurs this season.

He was promoted to back-up centre for the match against the Sacramento Kings earlier this month and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Landale came nailbitingly close to recording his first NBA double-double in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Eve (AEDT) but was even more devastating against the struggling Pistons three days later.

The 211cm-tall Aussie landed seven of his nine attempts from the field for a career-high total of 18 points in less than 17 minutes of game time.

He also equalled his personal best haul of assists (three) to go with five rebounds and a block.

Depleted by the league’s Covid-19 protocols and languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference ladder, the Pistons had no answer for Landale and co.

The Spurs registered their highest total of the season in the shellacking and have now won each of their last three games by at least 20 points.

At full-time, coach Popovich praised Landale’s basketball smarts.

“He’s an intuitive player. He knows how to play the game,” he said.

“He understands what’s going on, he’s good with the ball, good passer. Makes good decisions. Doesn’t try to do things he’s not capable of doing. He plays a wise game.”

The praise for Landale didn’t end there. Landale’s Spurs teammate Tre Jones said the Aussie was “playing amazing” basketball in his first NBA season.

“I am really happy for him. He is a competitor and very versatile on offence and can stretch the floor. He is always competing,” Jones said.

Landale is set to come up against Boomers teammate Joe Ingles for the second time this season when the Spurs meet the Utah Jazz on Tuesday afternoon (AEDT).

It’s unclear exactly what the root cause for the brief melee was, but whatever occurred, Ingles was visibly riled up at Layman.

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Once the brouhaha had reached its conclusion, neither Ingles or Layman would get off scot-free as the officials dished out presents in the form of fouls.

Layman received a common foul while Ingles copped a technical foul, the more severe punishment of the two.

In typical Australian fashion, Ingles wouldn’t let Layman have the last word after the melee, draining a three-pointer directly in his adversary’s face, giving him plenty of verbal reminders immediately after.

The fisticuffs between Ingles and Layman had the NBA community bemused as to why neither man appeared to be in the Christmas spirit as well as why those two of all players were the ones to engage in a physical stoush.

In the end, it was Ingles who had the last laugh with the result as the Jazz beat the Timberwolves 128-116 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

Ingles himself had a solid game, scoring 16 points, nabbing four rebounds and contributing five assists throughout his 23-minute spell on the floor.

The brief stoush with Layman wasn’t Ingles’ only moment of visible aggression this season, either.

Ingles was one of four Jazz players ejected from its match against the Indiana Pacers in November after he shoved a referee while leaping to his teammate’s defence.

Jazz star Rudy Gobert was involved in a tussle with the Pacers’ Myles Turner and a number of Gobert’s peers ran over to insert themselves into the mess.

Along with Ingles, both Gobert, Turner and Utah superstar Donovan Mitchell were given their marching orders from the court for their respective actions.

Giddey was forced to watch the Thunder’s 73-point defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies from the sidelines due to illness.

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Since the thrashing, the Thunder has won five of its last seven games, including a 108-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets in which Giddey scored 14 points – the sixth time in eight games that Giddey has broken double figures.

Although the Thunder was on the wrong side of history due to the defeat, Giddey maintained the team was so much more than that.

“After that Memphis loss … we took that personally and wanted to come out and prove that’s not who we are,” Giddey said.

“We didn’t want to be remembered for that.”

Giddey has played a major role in the Thunder’s recent run of wins, averaging 14.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his last four games.

However, the rookie did not play the leading role for the Thunder against the Nuggets.

Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put the team on his shoulders and showed Giddey how it’s done, earning his second career triple-double after scoring 27 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists.

With both himself and Gilgeous-Alexander hitting their straps in recent matches, Giddey believes it’s only going to help the youthful Thunder squad improve.

“It’s a big confidence booster,” Giddey said.

“Three in a row … sending that message when you come into our building that it’s never going to be easy.”

The win over Denver was the Thunder’s sixth at the Paycom Centre in Oklahoma City, but Mark Daigneault’s team have a tough assignment on the quick backup against Western Conference leaders the Phoenix Suns on Friday (AEDT).

In the rookie’s last outing, he was just two points shy of his first triple-double and there was a similar story against the Memphis Grizzlies, the team that handed the Thunder the heaviest loss in NBA history earlier in December.

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However, Giddey and fellow Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were absent from the thrashing, but their inclusion helped avenge the result as Oklahoma City won 102-99 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Giddey went into halftime with 14 points under his belt, including three shots from outside the arc.

However, the scoring slowed in the second half as the 19-year-old finished with 19 points, equalling his highest total in his fledgling NBA career.

It was also the 11th time in 14 games Giddey has ended with double figures.

While Giddey’s rich vein of shooting form continued, his passing game once again proved his case as to why the Aussie will be a serious contender for the rookie of the year award.

Giddey oozed class early in the first quarter with the ball in hand as the Thunder sprung to life on a breakaway.

The Grizzlies expected Giddey to kick the ball out to Gilgeous-Alexander for an open three-pointer at the top of the arc, but he slipped a scrumptious bounce pass through the Memphis defence to an untraced Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who scored the easiest layup he’ll have all season.

The assist was one of 11 for Giddey as he earned the fifth double-double in his rookie season.

But he mustered just five rebounds in his quest for that elusive triple-double.

The narrow victory helps the Thunder to its second win on the bounce but it failed to move from the bottom of the Western Conference.

For the Grizzlies, the loss drops them to a 19-12 record but they are still sitting pretty in fourth spot in the same conference.

The third-quarter incident in the Pistons-Lakers game came after James appeared to elbow Stewart in the face from a contested rebound after a free throw attempt, leaving the Pistons star fuming and bleeding from the eye.

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Stewart went to ground then charged at James, sparking an all-in melee as players from both sides tried to get between the pair.

A seething Stewart was escorted away by security and teammates, but broke free of their clutches and made a second charge at James before he was again stopped short of reaching the Lakers star.

Ultimately both men were thrown out of the game — LeBron for just the second time in his career — while LA’s Russell Westbrook also copped a technical foul for his role in the melee.

On Tuesday (Australian time), the NBA handed down suspensions, giving James a one-match suspension without pay and Stewart two games. It’s the first time James has been suspended in an NBA career that’s lasted nearly 20 years.

It means both men will be back for the next match between the teams, scheduled to take place next Monday (AU).

‘Pack your s***’: Ex-NBA star fires up

Retired three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas had zero doubt what should happen, throwing all the blame at the feet of Stewart and suggesting Detroit would trade the 20-year-old.

“Pack all S***, pack yo winter jackets and boots becuz yo a** is about to be traded to (Budapest) somewhere,” Arenas wrote in a lengthy message on social media.

Arenas added “BUT u can’t charge at the #KING like that on tv”, adding Stewart would be drug tested “just to make sure that rage ain’t drug related”.

He said James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were all untouchable when it comes to starting scraps in the NBA and finished by saying “this was worst than the gun in the locker room situation. Some can say this was #attemptedmurder”.

The “gun in the locker” was Arenas’ own incident, where he was suspended for the remainder of the 2009-10 season for bringing unloaded firearms into the locker room after an argument with then teammate Jarvis Crittenden.

While the NBA has yet to make a decision on what, if any, suspensions will be handed out for the fracas, fans are calling for James to be banned.

But others believed James could get off only copping a fine, after it was revealed the 37-year-old tried to get in contact with Stewart after the game.

“I’m told LeBron James did try to track down Isaiah Stewart’s number post-game to apologise again and let him know it was an inadvertent hit,” The Athletic’s Sham Charania said.

Fox Sports host Chris Broussard argued it wasn’t in James’ game to be dirty and expected only a fine.

“I can see why someone would say the elbow was intentional, but LeBron, in 19 years, has never been viewed as a dirty player,” he said.

LeBron accused of ‘dirty’ play

US sportscaster Skip Bayless unloaded on James for his “dirty” play.

“LeBron James closed his fist! And he looked at that man right in the face before leading with his elbow and then cold-cocking Isaiah with his forearm and the back of his fist! LeBron should be suspended,” Bayless said on Undisputed.

“If it’s not dirty, why did the refs take one quick look at it and throw LeBron out with a flagrant 2 (foul)? How can a flagrant 2 NOT be dirty.

“I still don’t get how that’s not dirty because it is dirty. The referees confirmed quickly, dirty play.”

Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, broadcaster Dan Patrick said while James did show remorse in the immediate aftermath, “he still did it”.

He said James’ swinging arm was intentional to push Stewart off, but didn’t believe a suspension was necessary. Patrick instead pinned Stewart with plenty of blame.

“The person I would come down on harder is Isaiah Stewart,” he said. “LeBron, if you want to suspend him then suspend him. But Stewart, what he did, he tried to escalate this and he went at LeBron a couple times and then tried to go behind in the bowels of the stadium to get to LeBron and get to the Lakers.

“I’d sit him down for at least three games because you can’t have that. This is not the 70s NBA. This is multi-billion dollar companies. You can’t have that.

“And I would make sure Stewart knows while you did get bloody, we will punish LeBron, but you can’t do what you did and therefore I’d put him down for at least three games, if not five games.”

Similarly, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said James started the biff, but Stewart took it way too far.

“He’s gotta be suspended,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take on Monday. “I totally agree with (Lakers star) Anthony Davis from the standpoint, he does not have a reputation as a dirty player, that’s not who LeBron James is. But that doesn’t mean that the play wasn’t dirty. You swung your elbow. And because you swung your elbow and it caused that kind of damage, that’s what sparked the incident.

“I don’t know much about Isaiah Stewart, respect his talent. When he initially went up to LeBron James, he didn’t go up like that. But how he acted thereafter, I think he deserves to be suspended for multiple games.

“You cannot, you cannot act like that. He ran over numerous players, numerous coaches. I’m not talking about having to restrain him. He bulldozed over several dudes, including coaches who are obviously older men.

“He could have done harm to his teammates. We know he didn’t intend to do that. But because of the Malice at the Palace, look at what that caused. You had the league more stringent with rules and regulations. Rules have been extremely excessive to prevent anything close to that from happening.

“He looked completely out of control. And then after that he storms into the locker room.”

However, Smith’s co-host Jay Williams argued James’ act was worse.

“LeBron James should be suspended two games for that,” he said. “When you box out, you always get low, the fact that his elbow was high and he raked down with a closed fist, that’s a suspension in my opinion.

“I’m OK with Isaiah being suspended, but he can’t be suspended the same amount of games LeBron James is suspended. The fact that it caused a scene, it was initiated by LeBron in that moment and created the whole scenario for that to occur.”