Podcast: Heat announcer John Crotty on battling Jordan, Rodman cheap shots and ’90s NBA
The NBA and Miami Heat remain at a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s the year 2020 and we’re all talking about Michael Jordan.
The first two episodes of “The Last Dance” premiered Sunday on ESPN and two more are coming again Sunday. Was there a Heat connection? Pat Riley was in the first few episodes, but we couldn’t pull him for this episode.
Instead, we’re joined by Miami color commentator John Crotty, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, many of them overlapping with Jordan. On the latest episode of the Heat Check podcast, He joins David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, he Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer, to talk about “The Last Dance,” taking cheap shots from Hall of Fame power forward Dennis Rodman, and battling Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals with Miami.
First, Wilson and Chiang give their thoughts on the documentary series, though, and Chiang explains why he’s actually a little surprised at the way the whole NBA world became enamored with the first few episodes. A few minutes later, he admits he had a life-size Jordan poster taped to the ceiling above his bed.
As for Wilson, he wants to make sure you don’t forget about Jordan’s not-as-bad-as-you-remember days playing for the Washington Wizards. A defense for his track record as an executive, however, could not be mounted.
You’re here for Crotty, though, and he kicks things off with a bang, telling the story of the time he met Jordan in Chapel Hill while the superstar was still playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels. About a decade later, Crotty entered the NBA while Jordan was in the midst of his six-championship run and got taught an important lesson by Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton while he was playing for the Utah Jazz.
Finally, we wrap things up with some Heat talk and how Crotty is handling life without any games to call. No, he won’t provide color commentary on your sex life.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
