When Toni Kukoc Saturday night went to the stage in Springfield, Mass. to begin his acceptance speech for enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Kukoc got a warm hug from his long ago teammate and frequent golfing buddy Michael Jordan. Jordan, who rarely makes the journey for Hall of Fame weekend, wanted to be there for Kukoc and has been telling friends Kukoc deserved to be in the Hall of Fame years ago.
Yet, we hardly knew having watched Jordan's tough love for so long with his Croatian teammate how bonded they were because of the love and influence for their fathers.