NBA legend Michael Jordan has finally spoken out about recent claims that he fathered a 16-year old Atlanta teen.

[READ: Is This Michael Jordan’s Secret Son? Paternity Suit Filed in Atlanta Court… (PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane, the judge who recused herself in the Usher Raymond custody battle, has been assigned to the the paternity suit filed by Pamela Y. Smith in Fulton County in early February.

In the suit, Smith, 48, claims Jordan, 50, fathered her teenage son during a fling while Jordan was still married to his first wife, Juanita.

In his response to the court filing, Jordan calls the paternity suit a “shameless, bad faith attempt to abuse the legal system.” He also plans to sue Smith “and others” for the “false claims” made against him.

Details below…

In her paternity suit, Smith requested Jordan take a paternity test and pay child support for her son, Grant Pierce Jay Jordan Reynolds, who also goes by the name “Taj Jordan”.

Jordan countered Smith’s paternity claims in the following statement to the Associated Press:

Public records show that the paternity of the child was established in a prior case in this same court many years ago and that Michael Jordan is not the father. He also filed a counterclaim seeking sanctions for the false claims made against him.

It is unfortunate that well-known figures are the target of these kind of claims. Michael Jordan will vigorously defend himself and his reputation.

But wait… things got even more interesting after Sandra Rose revealed a strange new twist in the details.

Rose reports that while Smith still doesn’t have an attorney, Jordan has hired the attorney who represented Usher Raymond in his controversial custody battle against ex-wife Tameka Raymond last year.

A court date is scheduled for March 12 in Fulton County court. Hearing the case will be the same controversial judge who awarded Usher Raymond primary custody of his two boys with ex-wife Tameka Raymond last year.

Judge Tipton Lane recused herself from the Raymond vs Raymond case after Tameka Raymond’s attorney Lisa West accused the judge of being biased in light of the judge’s close ties with Usher’s attorney John Mayoue.

Coincidentally, Mayoue is also Jordan’s attorney.

They say ‘money talks’ but it could be one of many ways…  could Jordan be using his deep pockets to buy silence or is Smith merely another jump-off seeking dough?

Stay tuned…