With the NBA finals nearing the end in 2016 as basketball greats Lebron James and Steph Curry face off, basketball is on a lot of minds nowadays. Jimmy Kimmel and Kevin Hart are no exceptions as talk turned to basketball during Hart's recent visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live. Hart revealed that his favorite NBA player is neither James nor Curry; rather, his all-time favorite is Michael Jordan. He was even lucky enough to once host a charity event for Jordan. According to Hart, however, Michael Jordan might not be too happy with him after some of his comments as host.
So as I'm saying stuff, I lock eyes with Mike. He's in the front row, and I start teasing him. I was like, 'Man, what age do you get to where it's okay to wear your pants that high and nobody addresses it?' I was like, 'Nobody -- y'all telling me I'm the only one to think Mike's past the legal limit for waist?' But it was like fun jokes!
Kevin Hart managed to get the audience laughing as he recounted his story on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but he doesn't seem confident that enough time has passed where Michael Jordan would see the fun in his jokes. Pants are a serious business for some people; Jordan has spent years as the face of Hanes' boxers and briefs. Maybe Jordan is just especially defensive about all things to do with pants. It's a good thing Hart didn't make any jokes about 100% cotton and/or white t-shirts. That would have crossed a line.
Of course, Kevin Hart might have less reason to worry that Michael Jordan still has a problem with him if he had just stopped his teasing of the high-waist pants. As it turns out, there was more about Jordan's appearance at his charity event that had Hart pulling no punches. Even Michael Jordan evidently can't pull off the toothbrush mustache -- which is otherwise universally known as the "Hitler mustache." To see Kevin Hart tell the tale of the Michael Jordan facial hair faux pas, check out the clip of his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live:
My first major impression of Michael Jordan came courtesy of a VHS copy of Space Jam, so I have a hard time imagining him trying to crush Kevin Hart's hand because of a few jokes at his expense. Still, I can see why he might not have been thrilled by Hart's teasing. If the rest of the audience wasn't laughing, the jokes could have felt just a little bit meaner. The rest of the room wasn't laughing at or even with him.
Hopefully, Kevin Hart and Michael Jordan will be able to meet up with no problems at some point in the future. Jordan remains Hart's favorite basketball player, so we can be sure that he wouldn't object to another go at friendship. Hart just probably shouldn't get his hopes up about hosting any more events for the basketball legend.
