It’s difficult to forget Michael Jordan’s teammates.
Jordan became a global cultural icon in the 1990s, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.
His Bulls teams are widely considered among the greatest in NBA history, boasting all sorts of famous players including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr.
Netflix’s hit documentary The Last Dance introduced many of these — and lesser known — teammates to casual and hardcore audiences.
However, one player it failed to give any airtime too was Joe Kleine.
Kleine is a forgotten ’90s era NBA big man who won at every level.
The near-7 foot tall center from Slater, Missouri, played at the University of Arkansas and was named the Southwest Conference Newcomer of the Year in 1983.
During his junior season, he helped the Razorbacks to a record of 25-7 and was part of the team that upset the No.1 ranked North Carolina Tarheels, led by Michael Jordan.
During his career at Arkansas, Kleine’s most memorable games were against future NBA legend and fellow center Hakeem Olajuwon and the University of Houston.
Olajuwon was nicknamed ‘The Dream’ while Kleine was known as ‘The Nightmare’.
Kleine later had the honor of playing on the 1984 US Olympic team alongside Jordan and eventual New York Knicks superstar Patrick Ewing.
That star-studded team won the gold medal and is often considered the greatest amateur basketball squad ever assembled.
Kleine went on to be selected sixth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1985 NBA Draft.
The towering journeyman enjoyed a 16-year NBA career that included stints with the Celtics, Suns, Lakers, Nets, Bulls and Trail Blazers.
Kleine played with some of the biggest stars of the ’80s and ’90s, including NBA Hall-of-Famers Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
The gritty big man is best remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls.
Kleine won the 1998 world championship alongside Jordan, Pippen and Rodman.
Chicago beat the Karl Malone-led Utah Jazz 4-2 to secure their sixth title of the ’90s and second three-peat of the Jordan era.
Kleine retired in 2000 having averaged 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 965 regular-season games.
During his professional career he scored 4,666 points, had 3,991 total rebounds, and made 849 free throws out of 1,069 attempts.
Years later, no-nonsense Detroit Pistons enforcer Rasheed Wallace reflected on the fear Kleine instilled in him when he first entered the league as a Washington Bullet.
Kleine was even responsible for issuing Sheed with his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment.
“Yeah, I know y’all remember him. Joe Kleine,” Wallace said, who won a championship with the Pistons in 2004.
“You know me,” he added. “Back then I gotta dunk. Boom! I’m running down the court.
“[Kleine said] ‘Hey you little [expletive]. If you do that again, I’m gon’ wipe you out.’
“‘Man, whatever dog. You ain’t going to do nothing to me.’” Wallace allegedly replied.
“Two, three plays later we ran the same play, just a little different option and I’m trying to go to the rim,” Wallace went on. “I got the ball in my hand, and next thing I know, I’m grabbing for hands gettin’ up off the floor.”
“He [Kleine] said ‘I told you! Don’t bring that [expletive] down here with me!’”
After his professional career ended, Kleine became a coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The 62-year-old also became a restaurant proprietor, owning a number of successful Corky’s Ribs & BBQ restaurants.
One of Kleine’s favorite dishes is fried shrimp seasoned with cajun spices and homemade cocktail sauce.
Another favourite is Corky’s half chicken, which comes in BBQ and rotisserie forms.
“It’s cooked for two-to-three hours on hickory smoke, it’s flavored with BBQ sauce and rub. I love eating this, but get a lot of napkins cause it’s messy,” he says.
