A day after he took a couple of swipes at the head of one of his players, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan on Thursday explained the strange episode as one meant to teach and show endearment.
Late in Wednesday night's home against Detroit, the Hornets' Jeremy Lamb hit a 22-foot jump shot to give Charlotte a 108-106 lead, leading Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo to rush the court in celebration.
The problem, however, was there was still time -- 0.3 seconds -- left on the clock and officials assessed the Hornets with a one-shot technical foul.
Langston Galloway made the free throw to draw the Pistons to with one, but they could not convert on the final play and Charlotte hung on for a 108-107 win.
After the boneheaded play, Jordan was seen on the sideline, taking a couple of light swipes at Monk's head. Through spokeswoman Estee Portnoy, Jordan reportedly said Thursday in a tweet to The Associated Press, "It was like a big brother and little brother tap. No negative intent. Only love!"
"Big, big, big brother," Monk laughingly told reporters when asked about the incident Thursday. "But it was nothing. He was just playing."
Monk added, "It's Mike, and whatever he does is going to make because nowadays it's all social media and everybody has their phone out there and I wasn't surprised."
According to The AP, the league is not expected to hand down any discipline on Jordan.
--Field Level Media