Utah Jazz Legend Antoine Carr Still Wonders 'What If' Against the Bulls Dynasty, Recalls Shaq-Ostertag Scuffle, Rodman’s Antics, Stockton’s ‘Tough’ Short Shorts, and Names LeBron His Main Man Today

“Oh all the time, you know?” Carr admitted when asked if he ever wonders what could have changed the outcome of those Finals series. The self-reflection quickly turns inward, however, focusing not on coaching or teammates, but on his own performance.

“You always go back to the same thing: What could YOU have done? And, I tried all I could do and we came up short against the Black Cat.”

Carr believes the Jazz were a more than formidable foe and bristled at the idea that the Bulls were invincible. “I don’t think at that time the Chicago Bulls were the be all, you know?” he stated, adding with a laugh, “They were a very good team and they got ‘lucky’ beating us.”

When pressed on the “luck” factor, Carr playfully pointed to a few questionable calls. “I ain’t gonna say somebody ‘pushed off’ but… I would say that there was a little bit of a push off there and then there was a couple of shots—we hit a nice three-pointer and they discontinued it… and they counted [another] after the buzzer. So if it hadn’t been for the referees, we would’ve won this,” he joked.

The Mental Warfare: Rodman, Jordan, and Pippen

More than just physicality, the Bulls were masters of mental warfare, a tactic Carr remembers vividly, especially when discussing the rivalry between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman.

“That’s one of the things Rodman does. He tries to get in your head and if he’s able to do that, then it’s going to cause more havoc for your team,” Carr explained. Rodman’s eccentricity wasn’t limited to the court, as Carr recalled the time the eccentric forward called him up to announce, “I’m marrying MYSELF!”

And then there was Michael Jordan.

“Mike would just give you that look,” Carr described. “I call it the ‘Get You Look,’ and then he does that little walk-off, you KNOW you’re in trouble.” Jordan, along with Scottie Pippen, mastered the art of trash talk designed to cause doubt. Carr remembered the now-famous line Pippen directed at Malone at the free-throw line: “You don’t deliver on Sundays…”

“Michael was definitely over there egging things on,” Carr said. “They’re trying to get in your head so they can win; and they were able to get in some of our people’s heads and that’s what caused us to lose.”

The Beast and the Big Man: Shaq and the Jazz

While those Finals were defined by the Bulls, Carr also reflected on the fierce competition in the Western Conference, including a memorable, violent encounter with a young, pre-championship Shaquille O’Neal.

Carr recounted a confrontation between Shaq and Jazz center Greg Ostertag in the hallway after a practice. “You don’t mess with the Big Beast like that and he [Shaq] didn’t like it and he ‘kind of’ backhanded him.”

The incident highlighted the dominant mentality Shaq instilled in opponents. “You got to understand that if you let Shaq punk you, that’s it! From there on for the rest of your career, he’s gonna punk you,” Carr said.

Guarding the superstar came at a physical cost for Carr himself. “He actually knocked one of my shoulders out when I was guarding him,” Carr revealed. Ever the tough guy, he didn’t head to the bench. “I went behind the backboard and slammed it back in and was like, ‘Okay! Let’s get down!’”

Stockton’s Toughness and Short Shorts

The interview also touched on the core players of those Jazz teams, John Stockton and Karl Malone. Carr strongly pushed back on any dismissive comments about Stockton. “I definitely think that they gave him stuff because he was white but what they didn’t understand is that he was TOUGH… I mean, if you think I’m kidding, just ask any of the big men that he set picks on across that lane.” Carr added, “He was a GREAT player! I will ALWAYS look at him as a great player.”

When asked if the players teased Stockton and Malone about their famously short shorts, Carr laughed. “No because we had a pair too! We’d mess with ‘em every now and then but so many of us had those shorts before… we’d be like, ‘Yeah these are kinda tight…!'”

Carr joked about the return of the short shorts trend in today’s NBA: “Well they just want to look as sexy as we did back then! You know… you gotta have some fun baby!”

Looking Forward

Looking at today’s NBA, Carr lamented the trend of big men settling for three-pointers. “I want them to be able to shoot some threes; not too many… We need to go back to the REAL ball playing—guys pounding dunks on people going hard.”

He did, however, express admiration for a few current stars: “My main man would be LeBron and then I’m going to have to go with a little bit of [Luka] Dončić and of course the big man from Denver, [Nikola] Jokić the Joker but he’s NO joke.”Carr views Jokić as a unique talent, emphasizing his passing above all else: “To me his game is more on a passing type level… But what makes him so tough is that he’s also able to get his team going and when you can do that, it’s an easy win.”