Michael Jordan says he could beat some Hornets Players 1-on-1 but doesn't want to "demolish their confidence"

Michael Jordan is 52 years old. He's been retired for 12 years. He looks about 30 pounds heavier (50 if he's wearing those horrible huge jeans and Steve Harvey jackets) than the last time he laced up his Jordans for a NBA game. He surprised us when he did a regular 1 hand dunk 2 years ago even though he's still 6'6. But for some reason I have a hard time doubting him when he recently told France's L'Equipe that he could beat some of the current players on the Charlotte Hornets.

via CBS Sports

L'Equipe: Do you think you can play against some of your guys right now? Do you sometimes do that or not? Could you win on one-on-ones against them?

Jordan: I'm pretty sure I can, so I don't want to do that and demolish their confidence. So I stay away from them, I let them think they're good...but I'm too old to do that anyway.

Crazy right? Well, maybe I'm a "Jordan homer." Maybe I watched 'Come Fly With Me' too many times and I'm brainwashed by Jordan and the marketing genius of W+K? Or maybe, and yes i'm going to quote Winston from Ghostbusters, since I started watching the NBA "I've seen shit that will turn you white."

I've seen Jordan absolutely destroy players and teams after some of those players said things in the media that pissed him off I've seen Jordan destroy a player because he had a good game against him. My favorite example of this is "The LaBradford Smith Story."

Do you remember Smith? Probably not, but in 1993, he went off for a career-high 37 against Jordan. An upset Jordan was so pissed after the game, which the Bulls won, that he told reporters he was going to score 37 in the first half the next time he played Smith. Jordan came up one point short and "only" scored 36 in the first half. As expected, MJ was still a little disappointed despite dropping 47 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 31 minutes of a 25 point victory against Smith.

One of my favorite quotes ever about Jordan comes from former All-Star and Chicago hoop great Kendall Gill who said,

"Calling out the devil is one thing. Facing him is another.

Never tug on Superman’s cape unless you’re absolutely ready!"

So yeah Jordan looks more like Clark Kent than Superman...actually he looks more like Superman's Dad being played by Marlon Brando now than Superman, but he's still Superman and the last time I checked the Hornets roster nobody was named Kryptonite. Corny right? I know, but is it any cornier than when the man many of us call The GOAT told Reggie Miller "be sure and be careful you never talk to Black Jesus again" after MJ outscored Reggie 40-2 in one half after Reggie pissed off Jordan?

But that story is almost 30 years old, how's a 50 year old Jordan really going to beat a young and athletic 20 something year old in the NBA? Well, ask Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who lost a game of 1-on-1 with a 49 year old Michael Jordan.

"It was hard for me," said Kidd-Gilchrist. "I lost. He's the greatest man that ever played the game.