National Basketball Association

Cody Zeller tells awkward draft-day story about meeting Michael Jordan

Published Jun. 23, 2016 5:00 p.m. ET

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When Cody Zeller was drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2013, he was understandably excited, nervous, and stressed -- no, I'm not just talking about the prospect of becoming a professional basketball player, but, speaking with the majority owner of the franchise for the first time.

Maybe you've heard of him, his name is Michael Jordan.

Introducing yourself to the owner of your new employment is never easy, but, in a first-person account documented on The Player's Tribune, Zeller, on this draft night in the NBA, told his story of accidentally "one-upping" the greatest basketball player of all time who also happens to be his boss:

Right after I shook hands with David Stern, I was handed a phone. Standard procedure for the draftee to talk to the front office of their new team. The Charlotte PR guy told me three people would come on the line, first Rod Higgins (the president of basketball operations), then Rich Cho (the general manager) and finally Michael Jordan (uh, no intro needed). Suddenly I got really nervous and excited --€” I was going to get a chance to talk to Michael himself. Remember, I didn't know Charlotte would take me, so I hadn't considered the Michael Jordan conversation until that moment. And I'm only 21. This is Michael Jordan.

The next thought was: can we speed through everyone so I can talk to MJ?

So I talked to Rod Higgins for about a minute. I don't remember much, I just remember being a little short with him. I wasn't being rude, but I was just trying to get to #23. "Thanks for the opportunity, I look forward to playing for such a great organization," etc. Rod said, "Alright, I'm going to pass on the phone. Congrats and welcome to the team." Next on the phone was Rich, the GM. Rich was the one that I had talked with the most in the organization up to that point, so I recognized his voice. But again, I just said some pleasantries and raced through it --€” because MJ was next. "Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to playing for the Bobcats," etc. Let's get on with it. I was imagining what I'd say to Michael. I'd tell him he was the best ever. I'd tell him how I watched him my whole life. I'd tell him how I admired his business skills. For the 14-year-old Cody Zeller, it was all a dream.

Then he said “Alright, I’m going to pass the phone on to Rich…”

I froze. That meant it was Michael Jordan on the line. He had gone out of order. I scrambled to say, “Thank you Mr. Jordan” — or maybe I just said, “OK.” I have no idea. I had just rambled on for a minute to the best basketball player ever and I didn’t even know it was him.

Whoops.

Seeing that Zeller is still in a Charlotte uniform, I imagine this blew over pretty quickly and wasn't seen as a big deal by His Airness -- regardless, it's always comforting to see seemingly invincible pro athletes admit that they can make mistakes like us normal humans too.

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