Gene Siskel asks Michael Jordan about his hands (1996) 

You could tell he genuinely found this question interesting and refreshing. He loves his hands. I wish more reporters would ask players questions outside the box.

there's an article which said his parents were short (5'9/5'5). he grew up to be 6'6 with relatively small feet (sz 13) for his height which meant he had greater potential for quickness. usually small feet=small hands but he defied the odds again with exceptionally big hands. it's like all the stars aligned to create a basketball god

Who else looked at their hand to see if they had the M

He seems so much more intelligent than athletes nowadays. He had everything going for him which made him the greatest athlete ever. Intelligence, drive, huge gripping hands, and of course top athleticism

highest vertical, biggest hands and just so happens to be the most talented and most relentless. it will never happen again

How many of ya'll are looking at their thumb to hand ratio right now? 😂 😂👌

People don't realize how much his hands helped him all over the court. Not only around the rim but especially with passing - he could make bullet passes from any trajectory, with velocity and accuracy.

Add the fact Mj has small feet (13) for his size makes him very nimble. Easier to move and run, truly the ideal basketball specimen.

Man, this guy is so cool. Most distinguished athlete of all-time.

I just love the way he speaks So much composure

From this interview it isn't just the hands, but Jordan's understanding of their value that really helped him be great.

I just read that, proportionally, MJ has the hands of a man standing 7'9".

Don't forget MJs spring. The only human that stayed in the air for one second. (while doing his artistry) Just amazing.

An underrated skill of Jordan. A very important reason why he becomes the best among the other competitors in the game. He just could do things mixing his hands size and strenght with his skills, that no other player even today can do. Kawhi and Antetokounmpo have the tools (big hands) but not yet the grace and abilities Jordan possesed. I have the Rare Air book from him, which features his actual hand size in two pages. Crazy how huge they're. Thanks for sharing this rare content!!

This dude had frickin baseball mitts for hands!

Literally was built for basketball in every physical aspect.

I studied MJ for like 3 months straight this past year and mann the things i learned about his mentality and work ethic influenced me greatly.

Look at how well spoken, clean cut, polished and sharp the old school nba was. Nowadays its tattoos, dreads and womans clothes.

never realized how well spoken he is

Michael Jordan (freshman) walked by me in the Greensboro Coliseum and I noticed his huge hands ! (Jimi Hendrix hands) Georgia 57 vs. North Carolina 66 F (Sunday February 14, 1982) North Carolina would win the 1981-1982 NCAA title

That’s the weirdest yet most interesting interview ever

Which is just more proof that he was the most perfect basketball specimen.

He was quite charming there....good question

R.I.P. Gene Siskel bretheren die hard Bulls fan.

To have all of MJ’s physical attributes along with his intangibles is one in million but then to add in those huge hands, forget about it! They’ll never be another. 🐐

Hes body, hands, high Head ,jump . He born to be a legend. MJ THE BEST ..

This one of the differences between him and Kobe, was those big hands. Gave him more options.

God made MJ to be a basketball player for sure. So many of his talents just God-given.

Before Mike got that one crooked ass finger.

Big hands , long wing spans are vital for basketball. Makes the games so much easier .

Charisma charisma charisma....... the guy is just a natural at speaking. Intelligent human being. So calm and composed. Men played back then. Mentally and physically strong.

One of the many reasons why he's better than Kobe, and in fact, a major reason pointed out by Phil Jackson.

Jordan has Hands Tailored made for Basketball.

Phil Jackson always compliments Jordan's mitts

It's his brain that's the main component

RIP Gene,he must have had a ball in the 1990s seeing his beloved Bulls have such great success and he lived to see MJ win his 6th title in 1998...

He’s an amazing legend and a fantastic ambassador for the sport 🏀

As Kobe being my favorite Athlete of all time I truly understand where he gets his influence from.... Respect to Jordan

He got the genetic sweet spot. Legend. 🫡💪

If you purchase or own the book Rare Air the opening pages have full size scale image of both his hands spread open for you to compare.

They said he had some of the biggest hands in the NBA

He's such a beautiful man!

nice upload! besides his overall superior abilities in just about any aspect of the game the big hands really set him apart from the rest. these hands enable him to do so many things that most player cant. personally i think his hand size was overlooked even though it is a well known thing among nba fans.

This was one of the most critical tools of Michael's game. So many athletes have similar hops and dunking power and shooting range, but MJ has one of the largest fucking mitts, ever. Especially for his size. We all want to talk about his shoes and jumping and killer will, but... The size of his hands separates him from almost every other basketball player ever, and gave him an advantage rarely ever seen.

Damn, we he said the things about the M's in his hands, then showed them and it was bizarrely obvious, blew my mind

both hands got M is cool AF

wtf! his hands are way bigger than his face.. thats eerie

I don't wanna play ball against a guy who was born with his initial on his hand IJS! #GOAT #MJ

Kobe doesn't have the hands and 48 inch leap. That's the diff.

Amazing upload bro.

This is a fascinating and insightful clip.

Michael is so well spoken.

Even Kobe recognized MJ's advantage over him with regards to the latter having larger hands which allow MJ to do a lot of things in the air with the ball.

Great Story, Thanks For Sharing.

That lil fun fact at the end 😂🥰 very cool

Amazing video 📼.

Michael Jordan is like what I envisioned the perfect basketball player to ever look like physically. He's black, he's got the perfect height(6ft6) which is exactly in the middle, he has the perfect hands for optimal basketball dexterity and coordination, he's perfectly toned and buffed to a tea and most importantly hes bald for optimal aerodynamics. crazy #GOAT

Great line of questioning and relevant to his skill set

Truly genetically designed for basketball. Unbelievable.

God knew he would be so epic he literally engraved the letter M into both hands.

great insight and explanation.

mj is a once in a lifetime player..he is physically gifted..natural born ability..he got big hands and he is quicker than any 6'6 player and he got a 48" vertical leap..those 3 natural born ability truly separates him from kobe..

Kinda crazy how you can see the M in his hands clear as day.

It's so fucking fascinating to me that when I play ball and try to get better and run drills I become se aware of everything that's wrong with the form, shooting, pulling up, the pressure on the ball for shooting etc and how not a lot of athletes are asked those questions by really anyone in the media. Even former players don't go that deep into the mechanics of their games.

Did Gene really say wow when MJ showed him the “M” on his hand 😅

Hes just born to play basketball I would always dream to palm the ball like MJ.

He would not have been the player he was with out those mits. He could manipulate the ball like no other player. Only Wilt, the Dr and Connie Hawkins could grab the ball like Jordan and do something with it

Very Humble MAN!

Greatest to EVER do it. PERIOD

Prime example last night watching Lebron. He lost the ball going up for a reverse dunk and also later in the game when a teammate inbounded the ball to Lebron and he let it roll until it almost stopped and he tried palming it to pick it up and couldn’t. MJ 🐐

The way Micheal speaks, articulates and explains things just shows his mind is all about learning and improving. He understands how to improve from a mental and emotional point of view and he knows better then anyone else that playing sports competetively and getting your body to do what your mind wants is mostly mental. That's what makes him the greatest. He always found a way to win, weather it was by performing consistantly himself or by leading his teammates. The Bull's team was more than just a team of great athletes. It was a team of brilliant minds, all different, but together they formed the perfect harmony. Phil understood this better than anyone and that's why Micheal wouldn't work with anyone but Phil. What they accomplished was as mush a spiritual effort as it was a physical one and that's why the story is so perfect and why it became a cultural phenomenon. To me Micheal Jordan is the greatest athlete of all time.

He is the master !

I've never noticed until now, but he has absolutely no webbing between his thumb and pointer finger.

Beautiful

Wow, the video is under two minutes yet that might be the most interesting segment on Michael Jordan I've seen.

Literally born with hands for basketball. Skill, luck, and talent aside, some people just came out of the womb with it.

Nice analogy

John stockton also has wide hands...this is why he is the all time assist leader.... Stockton is the greatest ever at being able to pass with pin point accuracy off the dribble with one hand with either hand....one of the hardest skills in basketball to master that never gets talked about.... When you have to put two hands on the ball it takes a split second away from a window that opens up to make a pass Stockton sent you had access to more windows throughout his career than any other player because of the skill which is why he amassed so many more assists then even Magic Johnson ....go watch some prime Stockton then ask yourself how good was he really??.

Without those hands he would probably hace ended up with a lot less career points. I mean, how many times did he score b/c he can palm a basketball like the rest of us average Joe's palm a softball?

The "M" in the hands moment had me out loud go "SHIIIIIIIIIT!" Dude, he's a cyborg created by some company, with those M hands. The "M" model basketball player.

where's rhe complete interview? nice post

Wow that area between thumb and fingers is long. Never seen that or noticed before

Mr. Mj you are always amazing sir!

Gene would have loved interviewing michael he was a huge sports fan and huge bulls fan of course

I see potential in this guy.

"Wow!"

😍👐💪THE GREATEST EVERRRRR

That's true, i have a wide separation of my thumb to my pointer finger, I can grip the ball though Im only 5'3, My fingers on my right hand are strong to hold it.

The key point is the span between the thumb and index finger..huge advantage in basketball and other sports

jordan's hands is proportionally perfect. it's huge yet doesn't look like extraterrestrial like giannis or kawhi's hands. that huge palm is the reason why he can grip the ball so easily. when you hoop your palm gets sticky. and when it does that the ball sticks like a glue.

I been telling folks for years that Mike's hands relative to his body is what separates him from everybody, even Kobe and LeBron. You just can't do the stuff he does--the palming fakes, the aerial switches, very efficient ballhandling, picking pockets--without enormous hands. Kawhi is a perfect example of a guy using his giant hands to do everything with a basketball on offense and defense. I mean, look at that inhumanly large palm!

Funny but my name is Michael also and I also got those M's. 😂😂😂

So that's why that uncontested fadeaway is so efficient he master control over the ball even finesse shots

Gene Siskel died 3 years after this interview. RIP

Michael actually had the biggest hands in NBA history at one time

His 🖐 alone makes him the greatest

Man Michael is just different, from any one else.

I've seen you all the great players dr. J and Michael Jordan are by far the two greatest players at finishing around the basket off the dribble over multiple Defenders with either hand nobody else even comes close..... The hands are exactly the reason why ... They just have more control.....

The goat is what he sees bro

Got some huge palms like me and 6'4