Ironic for Jordan to enter Hall with Sloan, Stockton

Fate obviously has a sick sense of humor.

Either that or John Stockton and Jerry Sloan just have peculiar (or is it lousy?) timing when it comes to Michael Jordan.

First, he tore their hearts out in back-to-back NBA Finals in the late 1990s. A decade later, His Airness will steal the show in Springfield, Mass., during the 2009 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement festivities.

Kinda ironic that the Jazz's old nemesis is there when two of the franchise's most important members are receiving the greatest honors of their hoops lives, isn't it?

"Yeah," said Sloan when asked about the irony last week. "It's kind of tough to look at him again. It really is."

Sloan was joking.

Mostly.

To Jordan's credit, after the official announcement was made that he'd been named to the Hall's Class of 2009 with Sloan and Stockton, he joked that he wouldn't list his wins over the Jazz among his best memories. It might have helped that he was sitting next to Stockton at the time.

Quips aside, the Jazz coach certainly holds Jordan in high regard.

"What he did for basketball and the stuff that he accomplished as a player puts him right at the very top," Sloan said. "Not very many people can get to where he's been and what he's been able to do and, I think, more important ... (do) what he did for the game."

Sloan still marvels — and shakes his head — at how Jordan could adapt to how a team played him. Double him, and he could find an open guy. Challenge him to play you straight up, and watch him sink a 15-foot dagger deep into the chest over Bryon Russell or take the ball to the hoop for a highlight-reel dunk.

"That's what great players do," Sloan said. "You can talk about all the philosophies in the world, but players like that, they break your philosophy."

Not to mention the damage they do to your hearts.

At least Sloan can laugh about it this week.

On the outside, at least.

e-mail: jody@desnews.com