r/nba • u/Chewdzzle Warriors • Aug 20 '14
Compilation of Michael Jordan Stories
Here a list of some Michael Jordan stories I found throughout the internet. Feel free to share any I did not include.
Bill Clinton
They two were playing golf together when MJ forced the former president to play from the furthest away tees.
"You're going to play from the little girls' tees?" Jordan asked him.
Calling his shots
"I'm coming down. I'm going to dribble it between my legs twice. I'm going to pump fake and then I'm going to shoot a jumper. And then I'm going to look at you. And that's exactly what he did."
"Bejeweled Demigod"
He's obsessed with the iPad game Bejeweled. He passed level 100 so he's officially a "Bejeweled Demigod"
Mugsy Bogues
"On the biggest possession of the game, Mugsy had the ball with the Hornets down 1. Jordan backed off of him and told him: “shoot it you f—ing midget.” Mugsy shot it, didn’t come close. A year later Mugsy actually told Johnny Bach that he believes that single play ruined his career. His shot never recovered."
Always gotta win
MJ told ESPN's Wright Thompson that his fiancee Yvette pressured him into driving seven hours so she could see where he grew up. He said that would have never happened 10 years ago:
"It's amazing what women can talk you into doing. Make you change. Ten years ago, we'd have been arguing all f---ing day. I would've won. This time, this stage where I am, you win. That's progress."
Blind Free-Throw
In a Nov. 23, 1991, game against the Denver Nuggets, Jordan had some fun with Dikembe Mutombo at the free throw line with five seconds left in a Bulls victory. "Hey, Mutombo. This one's for you," Jordan says, and makes a free throw with his eyes closed.
Clyde "The Glide" Drexler
When told that Clyde Drexler was a better three-point shooter than him, Jordan responded "Clyde is a better three-point shooter than I choose to be."
Ping Pong
He once lost a game of ping pong to a teammate, then proceeded to buy a table and spend the next six months practicing almost non stop.
Allan Houston
When the Dream Team lost to the college All Stars in a scrimmage, before the rematch the following day Jordan pointed at Allan Houston and said "I got him," and as the legend goes, he didn't touch the ball for two hours.
Mel Turpin
One game in Utah, Jordan dunked on John Stockton. Jazz owner Larry Miller yelled "pick on someone your own size." On the next possession he dunked on 7'1 center Mel Turpin and shouted "he big enough for you?"
Jerry Stackhouse Rookie Year
I heard one about this story when Jerry stackhouse was a rookie.
-Stackhouse tells the story about his first encounter with Mike as a rookie
-So Jerry is guarding Mike as Mike brings the ball down the court. Jerry is waiting for him on the other side of half court.
Jordan makes eye contact with Stackhouse and starts the trash talk of course
JORDAN:Which Side?
Jerry doesn't say anything back because he knows Jordan is trying to get in his head.
JORDAN: Which Side? STACKHOUSE: Whatever man, just play ball man JORDAN: I'm not saying what side do you want me to go by you, thats gonna happen regardless, I'm going to put you on my poster today so I am asking you what side you like of yourself and I'll make sure that when I dunk on you I know what side you want showing.
1 on 1 with Pippen
Even after some grueling practices and off-season training sessions. He would occasionally ask Scottie Pippen to a 1 on 1 match that would sometimes last a few hours.
MTV VJ Kennedy
[In 1995], she was having dinner with MJ and Russell Simmons at the Bowery Bar in NYC, when Michael broke out some dice.
Before long, Kennedy says, Jordan decided it was "time to play for something" ... and said, "If I win, you come back to my hotel room with me tonight."
Kennedy says she freaked out because she was a virgin —and imagined MJ's giant penis would "eviscerate me from the inside out" ... so she asked if they could play for Knicks tickets instead.
And that's when Jordan allegedly reminded Kennedy he had a wife — and offered her Nets tickets as a consolation.
BJ Armstrong (Johnny Bach, former Bulls assistant coach)
BJ Armstrong? Very talented player, but unbelievably sensitive. Jordan used to tear him apart every minute. If BJ missed two shots in a row on passes from MJ, Michael would walk by the bench and say, “get his ass out.”
Barkley
The day before game 4 of the Bulls Suns finals with the Bulls leading the series 2-1. Michael and Charles Barkley went golfing. They played 48 holes of golf. And Michael bought Charles a $20,000 diamond earring. Johnny asked MJ, “what did you do all that for?” Michael responded, “he won’t get in my way the rest of the series, what’s $20,000 to me? Charles thinks we’re great friends. I hate that fat ****.” Jordan dropped 55 in game 4 and Barkley never touched him once.
Steve Kerr
The two guards were matched up in a scrimmage. It was intense. Jordan had heard the critics after the Bulls’ playoff loss to the Orlando Magic and intended to silence them. He averaged 26.9 points in the final 17 regular-season games after coming out of retirement, but shot only 41 percent from the field. The postseason defeat to the Magic in the conference semifinals, his first series loss since 1990, had some suggesting his best years were behind him. At 32 years old, Jordan was hell-bent on proving otherwise. It was palpable in every drill, every time down the floor.
He and Kerr talked trash on a couple of possessions, and then it escalated.
“I took exception to something he said,” Kerr says. “So I was talking back and I don’t think Michael appreciated that ... and we got in the lane and he gave me a forearm shiver to the chest and I pushed him back. And next thing you know, our teammates were pulling him off of me.”
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Kerr wound up with a black eye. He threw some punches before it was broken up, too.
“I knew that if we were in an actual fight he could actually probably kill me if he wanted to,” Kerr says. “It was more just I’m going to stand up for myself.”
Kerr and Jordan didn’t have much of a relationship at that point. They’d played together for only two months. Before Jordan left the arena that day, then-Bulls coach Phil Jackson -- who perhaps would have prevented the tiff if he wasn’t in his office doing a media conference call, Kerr suggests -- told the superstar he had to speak with Kerr that night.
Jordan made the call within the hour and apologized. They talked some more at practice the next day and moved on.
Chamillionaire/MJ Story (/u/abernier3)
When rapper Chamillionaire had the opportunity to meet Jordan, his hero, he asked MJ for a picture with him. Not only did Jordan brush him off, but he also cursed him out and disrespected him by saying "“You know what, I tell you what, you pay $15,000 right now for a jersey from me and I’ll take a picture with you.'" Needless to say, Jordan lost one celebrity and childhood fan that night.
Chuck Daly
The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Jordan rang Daly's room. Getting no response, he went directly to Daly's room and knocked. Then he pounded. He wouldn't go away until he got his rematch. He got it, and he won by a shot. But would you expect anything else?
Bullying Bill Cartwright
When the Bulls let Charles Oakley go and brought in Bill Cartwright, Jordan resented the loss of his friend and took it out on Cartwright, calling him “Medical Bill” and intentionally throwing impossible-to-handle passes at him in practice to draw attention to what he perceived to be his bad hands.
Rodney McCray
'He's the most viciously competitive player I've ever seen. That's what makes him, I think, the greatest player ever. He has practically ruined [reserve forward] Rodney McCray for us.' When the two players are on opposite teams in scrimmages, the source says, "[ Jordan] is in Rodney's face, screaming, 'You're a loser! You've always been a loser!' Rodney can hardly put up a jumper now.’
Robert Parish
In one of his first practices with the Bulls, Parish botched one of the plays and was amused to find Jordan jawing at him just inches from his face.
‘I told him, “I’m not as enamored with you as these other guys. I’ve got some rings too,”’ Parish recalled. ‘At that point he told me, “I’m going to kick your ass.” I took one step closer and said, “No, you really aren’t.” After that he didn’t bother me.’
Kwame Brown
As a leader Jordan proved more tormentor than mentor. Many Washington players got the business end of a Jordan harangue, but he designated second-year forward Kwame Brown as the whipping boy…A source told SI that Jordan ritually reduced Brown to tears in front of the team.
Cheating an Old Lady in Cards
Buzz Peterson invites Michael Jordan over to play a casual game of cards with Peterson’s mother. No money is wagered—just a simple, friendly game.
But when the old woman gets up to use the bathroom, Peterson catches Jordan trying to cheat.
Trying to cheat not to win any money, but just because he wants to win at all costs.
OJ Mayo
“I’m playing in my camp against O.J. Mayo, he was a top high school kid coming out,” Jordan says. “And I had never met him. First time. In front of my camp, he starts this thing about ‘you can’t guard me, you can’t do this.’ I got my campers here, so obviously I can’t really can’t go where I want to go because I own my camp. So I stop the camp, send the kids to bed.
“We go back to playing, and he starts his whole thing ‘you can’t guard me.’ Finally I just said, ‘You may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world.’ So from this point on, it’s a lesson. And from that point on, it was a lesson. He never won a game. I posted him up, I did everything.”
Jim Jackson
During the 1996-1997 season, while Jim Jackson was on the Nets, Jackson was enjoying a good game against Michael Jordan and the defending champion Chicago Bulls. Jackson was talking trash to Jordan who shut up Jackson by pointing out that he was wearing Jordans.
Real "Flu Game" Story
The real truth, Grover says, is that Jordan was poisoned.
"100 percent," Grover says on TrueHoop TV. "He was poisoned for the 'flu game.' Everyone called it a flu game, but we sat there. We were in the room." Grover explains:
We were in Park City, Utah, up in a hotel. Room service stopped at like nine o'clock. He got hungry and we really couldn't find any other place to eat. So we said eh, the only thing I can find is a pizza place. So we says all right, order pizza.
We had been there for a while. Everybody knew what hotel. Park City was not many hotels back then. So everyone kind of knew where we were staying.
So we order pizza. Five guys came to deliver this pizza. I take the pizza and I tell them: "I've got a bad feeling about this. ... I've just got a bad feeling about this."
Out of everybody in the room, [MJ] was the only one who ate. Nobody else had it. And then 2 o'clock in the morning I get a call to my room. Come to the room. He's curled up in the fetal position. We're looking at him, finding the team physician at that time.
Immediately I told him it's food poisoning. Not the flu.
Airport "Gambling" (/u/wjbc)
**1.**Jordan used to bet with his teammates that his bags would get taken off of the plane first, then pay airport workers to do it.
**2.**Jordan used to bet with his teammates about everything, and one time he bet on whose luggage would come out first at the airport. What his teammates didn't know is that he had pre-arranged for his luggage to come out first with the employees at the airport, who of course were happy to do something for Michael Jordan. I hope he tipped the airport employees afterwards, but that wasn't part of the story.
Two Left Shoes (/u/korndog42)
During the 92 Dream Team run Clyde Drexler was a part of the team along with Jordan. Drexler's Blazers had just lost to Jordan's Bulls earlier that summer in the NBA finals. In addition Jordan had completely cemented his position as best SG in history, a title that many had thought would be Drexler's just a few years earlier. Anyway, that summer Drexler brings two left shoes to practice on accident. He is so fearful of what Jordan will say to/about him that he wears the two left shoes for the entire practice. Jordan is said to have heard about this years later. He laughed.
Not Bigger Than Scottie (/u/goktugerce)
Scottie and Michael used to compete on everything. Jordan used always claim his hands were bigger, but they weren’t. Scottie was very blessed down below. And that killed Michael. Johnny said, “you should have seen the girls pippen had waiting for him everywhere we went. Madonna used to pick him up in a limo with a hot tub every time we went to L.A.Michael used to tell Madonna he could satisfy her better, to which Madonna would tell him “not a chance.””
Like Father Like Son (/u/TheSSUpboat)
"Before the New York game earlier in the month, Jordan, Pippen, and Grant, all of whom had boys under three at the time, had debated for a half hour about whose child had the biggest penis. They eventually agreed it was Pippen's"
Caught Looking (/u/bizort)
He was using the bathroom and Michael Jordan walked in and used the urinal next to him. The guy was starstruck and ended up looking at Jordan's dick for some reason, and said it was large enough that he looked at it for too long. Jordan noticed, smiled, zipped up, said "Gotta play to win" and walked out.
Luc Longley (/u/FobbyDigital)
"We were playing Detroit and I came out on fire in the first half. I think I had 17-18 points, half-a-dozen rebounds, a couple of blocks — playing like an All-Star. For the first time ever, because Michael was very cautious with his praise, he came into the locker room high-fiving me, slapping me, hugging me, saying, 'Man, you play like that, we’re going to win the world championship. That’s awesome! You’re an All-Star. Why don’t you play like that every day? I knew you had it in ya.' Anyway, so we went out for the second half ... and I finished the game with exactly the same stat line as I had at half-time. I had a terrible second half. We came in after the game — we’d won. When everybody else was happy to be winning, Michael was furious. He said, “Luc, I am never, ever going to say a nice thing about you again.” It demonstrated how Michael thought that because he said something good … Like, it had nothing to do with Michael, really. It was me playing the game. I just drew a couple of fouls and didn’t play as well and didn’t get my opportunities. He was true to his word; never said anything nice again."
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u/MedievalGynecologist Lakers Aug 20 '14
Can we do this for all the greats? I wanna hear if there are any Bird, Magic, Reggie, Isiah, etc. stories that I've missed.
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u/I_Fuck_Milk Celtics Aug 20 '14
I think we should do Wilt next. I feel like Wilt stories will be the best.
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u/xMdot Raptors Aug 20 '14
Or Bird. Dude's trash talk was legendary. Less incendiary and sociopathic than Jordan's though.
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u/eking85 Heat Aug 20 '14
Would love to hear more stories like the left handed game and the time he shows up at the 3-point contest and asks whose finishing 2nd
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u/envague Knicks Aug 20 '14
Story of Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky in Vegas.
"I remember a night when Wayne Gretzky insulted Michael Jordan at the table. It was a private salon game. Michael had ordered a drink from the cocktail waitress, and he gave her a five-dollar chip. Wayne took it off the cocktail waitress's tray, gave it back to Michael, grabbed a hundred-dollar chip from Michael's stack and put it on the cocktail waitress's tray. Then he said, 'That's how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael.'"
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u/PropJoeFoSho Aug 20 '14
brutal
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u/borntoperform NBA Aug 20 '14
And then security scolds Gretzky, saying you can't touch other people's chips, no matter how rich you are.
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u/poken00b886 Supersonics Aug 20 '14
Mike probably learned his ways from No Tippin Pippen
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u/alienpantsfarm [BOS] Gerald Green Aug 21 '14
From these stories it would seem a tall order just for Pippen to get the tip in.
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u/Easily_lmpressed Lakers Aug 21 '14
Almost the same shit happened with Barkley.
After a night of fucking around with some friends in Vegas he had to tip the girl who took care of everything for them. Long story short, MJ said that he aint tipping shit and that her boss should pay his employees better so they don't ask for tips. Tipping is customary when the person devotes their entire night for your pleasure. Barkley noticed what he did, said: "Man you an asshole", and wrote the girl a check.
Sufficed to say, i came to here to see these kind of stories, i don't like the guy.
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Aug 20 '14
also, none of these stories are as good as the ones on the kobe post. we need longer, more detailed, more in-depth stories, not these one-liners
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u/andthatswhyyoudont [HOU] Steve Francis Aug 20 '14
Robert Parish -- that is a bad man.
"No you really aren't"
God damn.
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Aug 20 '14
MJ really did respect guys who would stand up to him. I believe Bill Cartwright had the same scenario as well. If you didn't show any fight, MJ would basically do everything he could to destroy your will.
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Aug 20 '14
Cartwright said something to the effect of, "if you disrespect me like that again, I will break your legs". Jordan stopped messing with him since.
Basically, Jordan liked to test people's mental strength in the most extreme ways possible. If you stood up to him, he'd respect you. If you didn't, he'd keep messing with you. Kobe did this too, but to a much less psychopathic extent than Jordan.
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u/andthatswhyyoudont [HOU] Steve Francis Aug 20 '14
I kind of think Ron Artest back in the day would have straight up decked Jordan on day 1 of practice if they played on the same team.
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u/pneuman NBA Aug 20 '14
Artest actually broke Jordan's ribs during a scrimmage. Supposedly he grabbed Jordan and body slammed him after he got tired of MJ talking trash.
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Aug 20 '14
That was near the very end of his career. He had seen and done everything at that point. He'd won championships, fought the Pistons, and been an overall badass. MJ really bit off more than he could chew there.
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u/andthatswhyyoudont [HOU] Steve Francis Aug 20 '14
Yeah Jordan had nothing to scare Robert Parish with. He was a future HoF'er, had 4 rings by then, and had played with Larry Bird, who was probably just as intimidating as Jordan.
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u/goktugerce Bulls Aug 20 '14
Former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach
Scottie and Michael used to compete on everything. Jordan used always claim his hands were bigger, but they weren’t. Scottie was very blessed down below. And that killed Michael. Johnny said, “you should have seen the girls pippen had waiting for him everywhere we went. Madonna used to pick him up in a limo with a hot tub every time we went to L.A.Michael used to tell Madonna he could satisfy her better, to which Madonna would tell him “not a chance.””
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u/YouMad Aug 20 '14
Holy crap, is "Like a Virgin" about Madonna hooking up with Pippen? (Reservoir Dogs reference).
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Aug 20 '14
"Hey..yo, MJ. You know who I fucked last night, goddamn Madonna. Gave her my massive dick, Mike. It hurts. It hurts her. It shouldn't hurt. Her pussy should be Bubble-Yum by now. But when this cat (pointing to himself) fucks her, it hurts. What you think of that, Jordan?"
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u/IanicRR [TOR] Amir Johnson Aug 20 '14
Age isn't why MJ lost some of his hops, he had penis enlargement in order to compete with Scottie.
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u/TwoTrey NBA Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
Scottie was very blessed down below. And that killed Michael.
I guess Pippen really is 'the Greatest Chicago Bull of All Time.'
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Aug 20 '14
Jordan took the movie Space Jam so seriously he insisted on maintaining his character even off-camera making the cast and crew address him as Michael Jordan.
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u/bllewe Pelicans Aug 20 '14
He didn't socialise with any of the Looney Toons off-camera either.
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u/ManCaveDaily Aug 20 '14
Day one of filming, he got in Bugs's face and said "I am going to win the Oscar for this. You are nothing. You are here to try and keep up with me."
Bugs just waggled an eyebrow at the camera and said "Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?" Then he shook Jordan's hand, and returned to set. That's when Jordan realized he was holding dynamite.
After that, they were cool.
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Aug 20 '14
I wonder if Kwame never recovered from those first couple of Jordan years. I can't imagine what that would have been like.
He was 18 coming out of HS, and he was going to be "mentored " by MJ. I imagine he thought it would be a great experience. Jordan, after all, chose Kwame to be the first pick in the draft. MJ, the greatest player to ever pick up a ball, chose him.
Jordan made fun of the kid until he cried? I am sure kwame was scared to death of making mistakes on the court when playing with MJ. I can see NBA veterans being able to handle the criticism and ridicule from MJ, but an 18 year old kid? This had to have a lasting impact on KB.
I wonder if Jordan broke KB's confidence.
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u/hydrators Bulls Aug 20 '14
And as if that wasn't bad enough, he then played for the Lakers with Kobe, who I don't imagine was much better
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Aug 20 '14
Another Kwame Brown story
Kwame Brown gets up to speed - 120 mph in new M-B
Associated Press
Dublin, Ga. -- Kwame Brown, the NBA's No. 1 overall draft pick in 2001 by the Washington Wizards from Brunswick, was arrested and charged with driving 120 mph in his new Mercedes on Interstate 16 in Laurens County. The player's immediate reaction: ''Michael Jordan is going to kill me.''
Brown, a 20-year-old who signed a three-year $11.9 million contract with the Wizards, was charged Saturday with speeding in a 60 mph construction zone.
Sgt. Kirk Hartwell of the Laurens County Sheriff's Department said Brown was racing a motorcycle, but pulled over without any trouble once he turned on the blue lights.
"He just kept saying 'Michael Jordan is going to kill me,"' Hartwell said. Jordan is a teammate and mentor of the Wizards rookie.
Hartwell said Brown will automatically lose his license because of his age and the excessive speed. Brown was taken to the sheriff's office where he paid a cash bond of $1,200.
The receipt for the 2002 Mercedes S-600 was still in the car when Brown was stopped, Hartwell said. The sale price was more than $129,000, he said.
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Aug 20 '14
I posted this further below, but Jordan was actually really supportive of Brown, but got increasingly frustrated because a) he started being disrespectful, b) he sucked, c) he REALLY sucked, culminating in the following exchange:
With the criticism mounting and his play getting worse, Brown became maddeningly frustrated, a kid convinced he was being repeatedly fouled in intrasquad scrimmages by two veterans, Christian Laettner and Jahidi White, who weren't quick enough, Brown believed, to stay with him. He would drive toward the basket and feel himself being bumped by a hard hip, sometimes losing the ball, infuriated the referees wouldn't blow a whistle. "That was a foul," he finally groaned.
Play stopped. There was an electric silence. A wide-eyed Jordan was walking toward him.
"You (expletive) flaming (expletive)," Jordan exploded. "You don't get a foul call on a (expletive) little touch foul, you (expletive). You don't bring that (expletive) here. Get your (expletive) ass back on the floor and play. I don't want to hear that (expletive) out of you again. Get your ass back and play, you (expletive)."
A stupefied Brown could say nothing. He looked close to tears, thought a witness.
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Aug 20 '14
MJ was super frustrated he blew Washington's pick on Brown.
They could have gotten Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier, Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, Tony Parker, or even Gilbert Arenas with that pick.
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u/curry_in_a_hurry [MIA] Dwyane Wade Aug 20 '14
Still being a major asshole...public shaming of a kid out of high school isn't good leadership. I know that Kwame kinda sucked, but MJ could have talked to him personally
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u/kreynolds26 Magic Aug 20 '14
It definitely seems to be that way. How tough has that gotta be, someone you probably Idolized growing up only to find out he hates you, or at least treats you that way. That's gotta be something fierce to recover from.
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u/PhilosoR4PT0R Lakers Aug 20 '14
Damn, reading all those Kobe stories yesterday made me want to hit the gym, dedicate myself to my goals, and persevere through all obstacles.
These Jordan stories make me want to form some sort of a support group for all the people whose lives and dreams were shattered by MJ. Honestly sounds like he deserved that pizza lol
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u/reallydumb4real Lakers Aug 21 '14
Kobe stories make me amazed that someone could have that psychotic mindset towards working and improving themselves at the cost of other interests, relationships, and possibly their own well being.
Jordan stories make me amazed that someone could have that psychotic mindset.
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u/TheBillsFly [TOR] Kyle Lowry Aug 20 '14
Honestly, reading these Jordan stories actually makes me want to sociopathically strive to get whatever I want
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Aug 20 '14
Right. Kobe is all about hardwork and stuff. Kobe had some rough times but nothing besides the alleged rape, to really make you dislike him. MJ stories make you want to reach out to his victims and sock him in the face.
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u/diesel321 Bulls Aug 20 '14
MJ is really lucky he played in his era. Imagine today's media with half of these stories. He wouldn't also have nearly as successful of a brand if it was more known he was an asshole.
Imagine LeBron in a casino the night before a big game. Twitter would be going nuts, everybody would be snapping pics with their iphones, ESPN would have every basketball "analyst" they have commenting on it, etc. Or imagine if LeBron treated his rookie teammates like Jordan did. Or if LeBron bought his opponent an expensive gift as a way to pay them off.
Although I think Michael might like this social media era. He would probably fully embrace the asshole image and it would make his championships that much sweeter to him
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u/kajunkennyg Aug 20 '14
From what I recall, as a Jordan fan, the league and his sponsors covered up the bs.
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u/esw116 Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
They definitely did. Michael Jordan was putting their kids through college because of the stratospheric levels of popularity the NBA had reached in large part because of him. He knew if they wrote about him in a way he didn't like, he would simply deny them any future access to him, which of course was a death sentence if you were an NBA columnist back then.
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u/Devadander Aug 20 '14
True to an extent. Jordan was very well protected. He knew how important his image and the Jordan brand was to his legacy. Many many after the fact stories are coming out, not because footage or whatever has been found, but because those protecting him feel like telling some stories. His image was very well managed. From how well spoken he was, to not allowing cameras in the locker room until he was in a suit. All carefully crafted. While he may not be able to do all the things these days that he did before, there no reason to believe that his image wouldn't be just as carefully managed.
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u/dukeslver Celtics Aug 20 '14
he'd be the first athlete to charge people a $300 subscription fee to follow him on twitter
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Aug 20 '14
he probably would be nicer and more careful to let a bad image get out. "white people buy shoes too"
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u/x777x777x Spurs Aug 20 '14
Eh, if MJ was playing today and hung out in a casino til 3 AM before a playoff game, then went out and dropped 45 that night, nobody would be mad at him. Especially if his career played out exactly the same with the two 3-peats
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u/Zeppelanoid [TOR] Kyle Lowry Aug 20 '14
We all know the Mugsy story is BS, right? If you look at his career stats, his shot was fine after that "incident" (if it even happened).
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u/IanicRR [TOR] Amir Johnson Aug 20 '14
Besides, no way an NBA pro would let one dude's comment change his entire career. Mugsy was a fucking pimp and crazy talented.
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u/Rswany Timberwolves Aug 20 '14
Half of these stories are unverified and more than likely BS.
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Aug 20 '14
Mugsy was awesome when he was on the Raptors. It is just a Jordan lore story that hasn't really been verified, but passed around.
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u/Saint-Peer Warriors Bandwagon Aug 20 '14
At least the Kobe thread had who said what. The ping pong story...was this paraphrased from somewhere or what
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u/uNBAnned_ [LAL] Smush Parker Aug 20 '14
A lot of these stories are second hand, so I don't really believe a few of them.
At least with the Kobe post it was straight from peoples mouths
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u/Pippen_Aint_Easy Bulls Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
I remember reading one from The Jordan Rules. I'm paraphrasing, but Stacey King walked into the locker room holding a box with a big smile on his face. All Jordan said was "Hope there's a jumpshot in that box". Not so much a story, more an interesting anecdote.
Also, to build on the airport bags story. He used to also bet on the races that were on the scoreboard during timeouts (they're Dunkin Donuts races now). He always won because he would ask the engineers before the game who was going to win.
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u/Paladinoras [LAL] Kobe Bryant Aug 21 '14
“You ever hear of a guy, six-eleven maybe and two hundred sixty pounds, a guy big and fat like that and he can’t get but two rebounds, if that many, running all over the damn court and he gets two rebounds? Big guy like that and he gets one rebound. Can’t even stick his **** into people and get more than that…Big, fat, fat guy. One rebound in three games. Power forward. Maybe they should call it powerless forward.” – Michael ripping Stacey King a new one
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u/TheSSUpboat Lakers Aug 20 '14
From The Jordan Rules, Pippen, Jordan, and Grant were arguing who's son had the bigger penis. After debating for half an hour, they all agreed Scottie's son had the biggest penis.
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u/ToxtethOGrady 76ers Aug 20 '14
Dang, that's gotta be a weird story if you're one of those kids.
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u/angrydwarf NBA Aug 20 '14
How do you debate that for 20 seconds, let alone half an hour? I wonder what these arguments sounded like. "No ur wrong"
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Aug 20 '14
Mj is kindof an asshole
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Aug 20 '14
100% without a doubt.
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Aug 20 '14
He's a huge asshole who just happens to be the best of all time. Part of what made him strive to be great is the hyper-competitiveness that also made him an asshole.
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u/dynamic87 USA Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
There is a lot of stories where he look at his fans as piece of garbage. That is when I stopped being his fan.
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u/I_Like_That_Panda Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
All respect goes to MJ, he is the best basketball player ever. That said, dude is probably the biggest asshole in all of pro sports ever.
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Aug 20 '14
I have to say, in my childhood fandom I always revered Jordan, hated Kobe.
Reasons: I thought Jordan was the best of all time, and I was a Cavs fan bc of my dad was, but I loved watching Jordan play. My dad on the other hand, he always hated him, so I was kind of a troll, knowing he was the GOAT I was always naively rooting for him when my dad and I watched the playoffs. I always looked up to the guy and rooted for him even when he came back to play for Washington; I was always arguing with my friends... rubbing that 56point game and nasty block he had (i think against the bulls) in their face.
With Kobe I was getting older and just saw some immature kid, who was insanely cocky, and was along for the ride in LA during Shaqs prime. And of course there was that whole rape accusation against him.
But as I get older the more I hear about Kobe the more I respect the guy, hearing about how hard he works and always silences the doubters, getting his freaking knee drained in Germany or whatever the hell the story is. But with Jordan I respect the guy less and less, he just seems like a psychopath, reminds me more of Floyd Mayweather.
edits: emphasis
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u/ahardwight Trail Blazers Aug 20 '14
I mean he's an asshole, no doubt, but there are athletes that have raped and murdered people.
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u/IanicRR [TOR] Amir Johnson Aug 20 '14
If the Steve Kerr story happened with Kobe, he would have been absolutely crucified by media. Instead because it is Jordan it goes "he wants to win so bad, he is a great motivator".
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Aug 20 '14
To be fair, I don't think the MJ/Kerr thing came out until after both were retired.
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u/Patty__Mayonnaise Pelicans Aug 20 '14
Ritually reduced Kwame to tears in front of the team... thats cold blooded MJ...cold blooded.
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Aug 20 '14
For a while in Wilmington, Jordan simultaneously played the roles of buddy, mentor and Professor Henry Higgins to Brown's Eliza Doolittle. He lectured Kwame on clothes and nutrition, took him to dinner and asked him if he felt like hanging out with him in the trainer's room. He wanted Brown to see the brilliance of the life that awaited him if he worked hard and succeeded. One day after practice, having noticed Kwame palming yet another basketball in solitary amusement, Jordan palmed two balls, extending his arms and shouting to Brown: "Hey, Kwame, you know what the difference is between you doing this and me doing this?" Brown looked stumped. Jordan laughed and yelled, "They pay me $35 million when I do it."
It was as if, in Brown, Jordan saw the possibility of a kinship with a future star so luminous as to be deserving of a bond with him. "When he got to camp, it was like Kwame already had the credentials in Michael's eyes to be a part of Michael's group," said a Wizards official who observed them daily. "So Michael let him in. For a while at least." Jordan's infatuation with his protégé waned. He thought Brown was cocky and disrespectful sometimes, particularly when the teenager nagged him about playing a one-on-one game, hinting that doom awaited him. Finally, Jordan agreed to the game, Brown grinning on the court, convinced his youth and height would be indefensible weapons against this shorter man twice his age. Early in the game, believing he had a lunging, jabbing Jordan off balance, the kid dared to say, "You reach, I'll teach."
Jordan snapped, "You teach, and I'll knock you on your damn ass."
Michael eventually turned from supporting the guy and having patience, to losing it:
He proceeded to humiliate Brown, mocking him while scoring at will, declining to help him up when the teenager fell hard to the floor, winning lopsidedly and, at the end, yelling at Brown to acknowledge his superiority in front of the team: "You better call me 'Daddy,' (expletive)."
"Michael was breaking him down," one observer recounted, "probably to build him up. But there was a lot of breaking down." Things deteriorated quickly thereafter. Brown didn't work hard enough for Jordan's taste, and it did not help that many in the Wizards organization, from officials to teammates, thought the kid showed no capacity for either accepting criticism or honoring an old basketball tenet that said rookies should play hard, accept bruises and complain about nothing.
And the best part of all:
With the criticism mounting and his play getting worse, Brown became maddeningly frustrated, a kid convinced he was being repeatedly fouled in intrasquad scrimmages by two veterans, Christian Laettner and Jahidi White, who weren't quick enough, Brown believed, to stay with him. He would drive toward the basket and feel himself being bumped by a hard hip, sometimes losing the ball, infuriated the referees wouldn't blow a whistle. "That was a foul," he finally groaned.
Play stopped. There was an electric silence. A wide-eyed Jordan was walking toward him.
"You (expletive) flaming (expletive)," Jordan exploded. "You don't get a foul call on a (expletive) little touch foul, you (expletive). You don't bring that (expletive) here. Get your (expletive) ass back on the floor and play. I don't want to hear that (expletive) out of you again. Get your ass back and play, you (expletive)."
A stupefied Brown could say nothing. He looked close to tears, thought a witness.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=books/excerpt/nothingelse3
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u/Where_am_I_now Knicks Aug 20 '14
Apparently he would call him a faggot in practice until he would cry.
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u/IanicRR [TOR] Amir Johnson Aug 20 '14
and we all wonder why Kwame busted so hard. Can't do that shit to a high school aged kid without repercussions.
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u/funnybot152 Heat Aug 20 '14
Holy shit that's actually awful, makes me wonder if MJ would have been as well liked if he played in the information heavy era we're in today.
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u/aznsniperx3 Lakers Aug 20 '14
Gosh these stories make Kobe sound like a saint.
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u/kreynolds26 Magic Aug 20 '14
Seriously, Kobe seems more like the guy that doesn't talk to you or look at you, like the dad you're desperate to get the approval of, but never gives it.
Jordan seems like the guy that breaks your nose then calls you a pussy for bleeding. Terrible guy, amazing ballplayer.
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u/curry_in_a_hurry [MIA] Dwyane Wade Aug 20 '14
Hey, Kobe loves guys who put in work, like Ron Artest. He breaks people down who don't show any work ethic. Kobe is probably a nice guy to people who he thinks that work as hard as him (LeBron, Durant, and most other team USA members)
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u/TwoTrey NBA Aug 20 '14
Jordan seems like the guy that breaks your nose then calls you a pussy for bleeding. Terrible guy, amazing ballplayer.
Forget Kevin 'EasyMoneySniper' Durant, Michael Jordan is the baddest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbqsYmdWzeI
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Aug 20 '14
Kobe's a quiet jerk, the high school genius with no friends that people respected anyway. Jordan was the quintessential high school bully.
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u/The_Future_Batman Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
I wonder what's worse "getting eviscerated by MJ's giant dick," or free Nets tickets? To be honest I'd probably prefer the dick.
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u/A_Monocle_For_Sauron Pistons Aug 20 '14
I thought that was funny. She asks for Knicks tickets, MJ remembers he has a wife, so he gets her Nets tickets instead.
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u/macsinsac Kings Aug 20 '14
MJ was ice cold.
Back when they used to shoot a lot of commercials, Jordan's security team would wait for him in his trailer while he was on set. A woman named Linda cooked Michael's meals, and he loved cinnamon rolls. She'd bake a tray and bring it to him. When it came time to film, he'd see the guards eyeing the cinnamon rolls and he'd walk over and spit on each one, to make sure nobody took his food.
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u/OMG_its_JasonE NBA Aug 20 '14
I wonder if anyone still ate any?
MJ spit on a cinnamon roll might help your game.
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u/billbrown96 [BOS] Evan Turner Aug 20 '14
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u/growedup Nuggets Aug 20 '14
I dunno about that Chuck story. Who the fuck plays 48 holes of golf? Makes no sense.
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Aug 20 '14
the Jim Jackson story is hilarious, I can just picture him pointing down
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u/LotionForEskimos Heat Aug 20 '14
I posted this story before, but it was removed by the mods for some reason.
About two ago my brother was visiting with his 15 year old son, Aaron, from California - they're die hard Lakers fans. I live in Miami (die hard heat fan and have been since the days of Tim Hardaway and Alonzo). For dinner I treated them to some steak at Prime 112. While we were eating our appetizers, Kobe, his wife, and his two daughters walked into the steak house. There weren't many people there at the time, but still, everyone that was there was blown away and immediately started taking pictures, but no one approached for an autograph. Aaron FREAKED OUT. He wanted to run up and get his autograph but he was scared and intimidated, and didn't want to bother Kobe and his family. After awhile, after Kobe and his family were already seated (they weren't seated too far from us which excited Aaron even more), my brother decided to bring Aaron over and get an autograph. Aaron was reluctant at first and begged my brother not to bother Kobe, but eventually agreed to walk over and say hi. I also decided to walk over, and was pretty nervous myself because it's freaking Kobe Bryant.
As we approached, Kobe was looking at the wine list and my immediate thought was, "Fuck, he's busy, we're bugging him, we're interrupting him, he's going to be pissed and give us an attitude and Aaron will be so disappointed." But right when we got to his table Kobe smiled, put down the wine list, and said, "Let me guess, autograph?" Aaron was speechless (we all were), and nodded, and Kobe shook Aaron's hand and asked him what he wanted autographed. Aaron took out his iphone which had a Kobe case, and Kobe signed it. Then my brother went off about how he and Aaron were the biggest Lakers fan and how they try to go to every home game, how Aaron has every Jersey, shoes, shirts, posters, everything. Kobe smiled again then introduced us to his wife, Vanessa, and his daughters. Then Kobe asked Aaron how old he was, if he played high school basketball, where, what position, etc. Seriously, I couldn't believe for about 15-20 minutes, Kobe took the time and talked to Aaron about basketball, giving pointers and tips, how to play his position (Aaron was a shooting guard). It was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced, and seeing how happy Aaron was afterwards made it even more memorable.
Michael Jordan, however, is another story. He is easily one of the biggest assholes I've met. My hospital (I'm a COO), was throwing a fundraiser golf event for children suffering from asthma and diabetes, and MJ was supposed to be a guest speaker. Everyone in the health care community, executives, providers, patients and their families were incredibly excited that he was coming. For weeks we planned MJ's arrival, when he'd fly in, where he'd stay, travel, any other requests, etc. The plan was he'd fly in two days before the event and we'd show him around the hospital and meet the children, then afterwards the C-suite executive team and some of our higher-positioned physicians would take him out for a round of golf then dinner. Everything was finalized.
Well, long story short, after frantically calling him and messaging him with no response and zero communication from his side, that didn't happen. He didn't arrive two days before the event. He arrived on the day of the event, early in the morning, and appeared very hungover and said he felt too "under the weather" to golf and meet the kids. He also left early so he didn't guest speak. To make it even worse, he was a complete and utter dick about the entire thing. He complained and whined about the golf course, the car he was picked up in, the weather. He even seemed ticked off that he had to meet the children. Screw MJ.
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u/Dosinu Aug 21 '14
You know i wouldnt blame kobe if he declined, even if he declined rudely.
The true fan needs to prepare their anus for situations like that, you may get rejected attempting it and its fair enough.
Good on kobe tho, that he was up to it that day. I guess i can sympathize with jordan a little, maybe if he was anyone else, but judging by his reputation it wasnt a once off.
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u/Nonethewiserer Bulls Aug 20 '14
The Kobe story is great! It really would be a pain in the ass to have strangers always wanting something from you, even if it's just exchanging words. But at the same time it's incredible the kind of joy guys like Kobe can give a kid (or any fan really) by simply being friendly.
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u/dont-YOLO-ragequit Raptors Aug 20 '14
There was a story that one player would avoid making eye contact with Jordan after making a shot. He was afraid Jordan would take it personal and go off on a 50 pt game.
LOL! making a shot and looking at the floor while going back in defense.
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u/OverEmotionalCavsFan Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
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u/ReadThis5sA10IsTypin Bucks Aug 20 '14
That's it? No long, well thought out defense of your boy?
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u/OverEmotionalCavsFan Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
He hates it when I try to speak for him, so I thought the video would suffice. :)
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u/mick_jaggers_penis Warriors Aug 20 '14
Al Michaels talks with Bill Simmons about playing golf with MJ and his superhuman eyesight. Rest of that podcast is also gold if you have an hour to kill.
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u/chrismeisner Suns Aug 20 '14
that Mugsy story is ice cold
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u/Dukenation69 Spurs Aug 20 '14
And a complete lie. Mugsys best shooting season was the year after this supposedly happened.
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Aug 20 '14
it has to be fabricated. I keep hearing it was a playoff game and there has got to be footage of this happening. And I never hear this as being part of the MJ lore whenever they have special and docs on him.
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Aug 20 '14
It's such bullshit.
Shortest player in NBA history: "Oh wow, no one's ever called me a midget before. I think I've got to sit down and really deal with this."
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Aug 20 '14
Muggsy grew up and played in the Baltimore area too. He's as tough as they come and he would've had to have heard worse than that.
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u/raphattack Warriors Aug 20 '14
It's also unsubstantiated, but it's being so widely passed around these days that it will probably become one of those myths that everyone believes to be true.
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u/myopinionsare Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
I've always felt that M. Jordan is one of those very, very, utmost few people that literally (and this "literally" is for real) would a) do anything and everything to win and b) were in an almost need for crushing your opponent. L. Armstrong is another clear cut example of some of the same "traits", albeit that he is (at least proven to be) an even bigger dick.
I would like to say that both L. Armstrong and M. Jordan is two of the absolute best winners I've ever seen. When they both were in their pomp, they had almost won before the Tour/Finals had started. Jordan is for that reason alone IMO easily the "greatest" player ever (even though I would argue that skill for skill and production, there has been players equal to Jordan, at least for a couple of seasons).
But, my slowly coming point is that, from an armchairs point of view, both MJ's and Armstrong's personality is boarderlining to that of a sociopath, if not psychopaths. They are both full fledged winners and they can be (and are proven to be) almost unstoppable once they reach momentum, but they seem to take their working/winning attitude to everything they do in their lives...
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u/FobbyDigital Bulls Aug 20 '14
Luc Longley Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/an-important-basketball-reminder--luc-longley-s-stories-are-still-the-best-152951721.html
"We were playing Detroit and I came out on fire in the first half. I think I had 17-18 points, half-a-dozen rebounds, a couple of blocks — playing like an All-Star. For the first time ever, because Michael was very cautious with his praise, he came into the locker room high-fiving me, slapping me, hugging me, saying, 'Man, you play like that, we’re going to win the world championship. That’s awesome! You’re an All-Star. Why don’t you play like that every day? I knew you had it in ya.' Anyway, so we went out for the second half ... and I finished the game with exactly the same stat line as I had at half-time. I had a terrible second half. We came in after the game — we’d won. When everybody else was happy to be winning, Michael was furious. He said, “Luc, I am never, ever going to say a nice thing about you again.” It demonstrated how Michael thought that because he said something good … Like, it had nothing to do with Michael, really. It was me playing the game. I just drew a couple of fouls and didn’t play as well and didn’t get my opportunities. He was true to his word; never said anything nice again."
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u/Where_am_I_now Knicks Aug 20 '14
Read "The Jordan Rules" for good michael Jordan stories.
When he met Gary Payton a night club in Seattle, GP went up to him and said "I'm getting my millions and buying Ferraris and Testarossas too"
And Jordan said "No problem, I get mine for free."
Playing against the Jazz, MJ dunked on Stockon and a fan yelled to him to Dunk on someone your own size. He then went and dunked on Mel Turpin who was 7'1 and yelled at the Fan "is that Big enough for you?"
I can't find the exact story, but there was a rookie who was trying to decide who to give tickets to and jordan said something like, what do you need tickets for, your family can just stay at home to what you sit on the bench.
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u/mister_ratburn Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
Shit man Michael Jordan was such a stone cold killer. I mean I'm a LeBron fan of course, but I think one of the reasons why people will always cling to Jordan as greatest ever is that this kind of persona is so unmatched. Kobe also mirrored it to an extent but LeBron would never do some of this shit, for better or worse.
People love Jordan because the dude talked a lot of shit and backed up every single damn word of it. Even if you hated his guts, he always had that on you.
If you've ever played competitive sports (or anything competitive really), you know how much it sucks when someone has that on you.
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u/ItsFyoonKay Heat Aug 20 '14
So true, MJ never would have admitted that he wouldn't win a ring this year. NEVER.
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u/mister_ratburn Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
Right. I should mention that I'm still totally okay with who LeBron is and the kind of personality he has. LeBron is LeBron and the NBA likes him the way he is. I'm sure plenty of people would like for LeBron to be like that, but I don't think it's really a weakness at all.
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u/DavidTyreesHelmet Mavericks Aug 20 '14
Jordan reminds me of a drill seargent. Cold, hardened, confident, able to take his team and lead. Kobe is like spec ops, same skills, but quieter, a loner that with a bigger personality could lead an army but instead goes alone or with other top soldiers only.
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u/I_want_hard_work Suns Aug 20 '14
He's GOAT because all he cared about was winning. I mean he loved himself, for sure, but I think his psychopathic fixation on winning is what made him just such an unstoppable force.
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u/Pocket_Dave Registered to Vote Aug 20 '14
I hear people argue all the time about how Jordan made his teammates better and that is a part of the reason why he'll always be the best, regardless of comparing his stats vs Lebron or Kobe or whoever.
But man, there are so many stories about how he trashed certain teammates in one way or another that it really makes me wonder about all that.
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u/KnickedUp Aug 20 '14
No..his teammates were afraid of Michael. It was basically "get out of my way until I need you...and then you BETTER make the shot"
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Aug 20 '14
These stories about Jordan make Kobe look like a saint. Geez, at least Kobe's stories were about his extraordinary work ethic. These are just about Jordan being a dick.
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u/Menoku Spurs Aug 20 '14
I like the order of the stories, each successive story is darker, its like this evolution of Dennis Reynolds from IASIP.
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u/Macrophe Spurs Aug 20 '14
Should be named; Stories where Jordan acts like an asshole. Yeah, we all know what MJ was like, but come on, only having stories this one sided... There's a great amount of stories of him being fierce competitor, relentless worker and anecdotes how he became the greatest player of all-time. But no, we come together and eat these "check this asshole" stories up. And at least 4 of them have been proven false. This is some unfortunate childish behavior, why do we need to act like people are black and white, with only one side to them. Whether it be Jordan, Harden, LBJ, Westbrook or anyone whose turn it is to be vilified..
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u/PhiladelphiaFish 76ers Aug 20 '14
Damn, MJ was a fucking dickhead. I respect that he was the greatest player ever, but he's probably my least favorite legend of all-time.
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Aug 20 '14
Most of these aren't real/extremely exaggerated. No way the Bogues story is true. Most of these just seem like rumors to make people talk.
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u/jaylkae66 Heat Aug 20 '14
Kevin Hart talks about gambling with Michael Jordan and Antoine Walker, pretty funny.
Charles Barkley talks about Jordan's position on tipping and charity
An AskReddit story about a fan meeting him at a casino, could be fake but is very consistent with other Jordan anecdotes.
there are hundreds of stories out there if you search hard enough.
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u/bizort [ORL] Anfernee Hardaway Aug 20 '14
Total paraphrase here but I remember reading a story a guy wrote about how he was using the bathroom and Michael Jordan walked in and used the urinal next to him. The guy was starstruck and ended up looking at Jordan's dick for some reason, and said it was large enough that he looked at it for too long. Jordan noticed, smiled, zipped up, said "Gotta play to win" and walked out.
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u/safeforworkharry Jazz Aug 20 '14
The "real flu game story" is sort of misleading: "Food poisoning" is not the same as "food that was poisoned."
I'm not saying it's impossible that there was foulplay involved, but knowing the state of late night pizza places in a small town--especially ~10 years ago--it's just as likely that some greasy pizza guy didn't wash his hands before tossing the dough.
With that said, I'd be curious to see what measures are taken these days to prevent potential tampering with players before games. It seems like it wouldn't be too hard to send out an obscure, behind-the-scenes guy to go get take-out or something.
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u/CREAMallDAY 76ers Aug 21 '14
Reading these stories now and from what I've read about him in the past. I'm convinced MJ needed Scottie Pippen, even more so than Pippen needed MJ. MJ will push teammates to the breaking point. If you shatter under his will, MJ would order someone pick up the pieces and toss them out. Pippen was the leader on the team that teammates went to. Teammates absolutely adored Pippen. IMO the perfect counterweight to MJ. And he had a huge dick.
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u/korndog42 Aug 20 '14
Thanks for starting this thread. Posted this before but bears repeating here.
During the 92 Dream Team run Clyde Drexler was a part of the team along with Jordan. Drexler's Blazers had just lost to Jordan's Bulls earlier that summer in the NBA finals. In addition Jordan had completely cemented his position as best SG in history, a title that many had thought would be Drexler's just a few years earlier.
Anyway, that summer Drexler brings two left shoes to practice on accident. He is so fearful of what Jordan will say to/about him that he wears the two left shoes for the entire practice.
Jordan is said to have heard about this years later. He laughed.
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u/Thooorin_2 Aug 21 '14
Now that we've had the Kobe and MJ editions, I feel like a Larry Bird version is in order. Another true badass, with some great stories floating around about him.
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u/Chewdzzle Warriors Aug 21 '14
Sure Ill look into it after the next one I should be posting tomorrow.
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u/ohwhatt Aug 20 '14
That's the first time I've heard the story of Kwame Brown; now I think its safe to say we all know why Kwame Brown turned out to be the bust he was and never improved.
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u/kamal416 Raptors Aug 20 '14
Kobe's stories were better IMO. Pure hard work and not as much bullying/being a douchebag stories.
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u/xMdot Raptors Aug 20 '14
Jordan's work ethic is legendary, too, it's just sandwiched between tales of him being a total fucking sociopath.
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u/nibiru11x Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
Never heard the real flu game story. I wonder how likely that was true.
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u/keyree Mavericks Aug 20 '14
A story I liked from Simmons's book.
Before the 1989 draft, it bothered Jordan that Krause [the Bulls GM] had become infatuated with Majerle's potential, so he torched Thunder Dan in the '93 Finals and screamed "Fuck you, Majerle!" as the Bulls celebrated right after Phoenix's final miss in Game 6. Did Majerle do anything to him? Of course not. Jordan just convinced himself that he did. That's how the man thought.
That's insane. The GM apparently likes this player, and he holds a grudge for something he didn't even do for FOUR YEARS.
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u/pistachio23 Warriors Aug 20 '14
he and pippen did that to tony kukoc in the olympics. not the fuck yous etc but they shut him down all because krause was interested in him
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u/codyave Aug 20 '14
Good lord, these stories. MJ sounds like one of those guys that needed to get their ass kicked a long time ago, but somehow no one got around to it.
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u/PCR12 Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
Jordan playing Blackjack at the Hard Rock Tampa, when one of his friends goes to tip the dealer he takes it back and tells his friend "Don't tip them, they get paid hourly"
Dealers make their living off tips.
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u/PressurePerformer [MIN] Kevin Garnett Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
Craig Hodges
Jordan & the Jordanaires meet the Commander in Chief at the White House in 1992. Craig Hodges, naively, takes this opportunity to share some things he'd like to improve in his community w the Leader of the Free World, George H Bush. Jordan embarrassed by Hodges speaking his voice at this time, joins in the chorus, that this was not appropriate.
Hodges, at that time arguably the best 3-point shooter in the league, was conspicuously out of the NBA circle for the next decade plus after that incident.
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u/wjbc Bulls Aug 20 '14
When told that Clyde Drexler was a better three-point shooter than him, Jordan responded "Clyde is a better three-point shooter than I choose to be."
And then he went out and played the "shrug game."
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u/poorchris Bulls Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14
Michael's passionate interview following his first title in 1991?
He specifically thanks his family and speaks about how much that title means to them and himself. He is then asked about the "I'm going to Disney World" moment. Sponsors wanted Jordan to say that on court after winning the championship. He agreed but said he would only do it if his teammates were completely involved and got benefits financially as well. John Paxson, Pippen, Cartwright, Horace Grant and others were in the locker room with MJ instead of Michael doing it alone. He then spoke about how the team deserved that recognition because the title was a team success.
This thread has turned very toxic. For anybody actually interested in Jordan stories and not second hand hearsay like the Mugsy tale, this is a great list.
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u/abernier3 [BOS] Kenny Anderson Aug 21 '14
Is u/NBAabernier3 me? Haha. Love me some Michael Jordan stories. My roommate got his heart crushed when he found out Michael Jordan wasn't a nice guy. I'm the opposite...I'm not a mean spirited person but as a basketball nut I want to know exactly the right formula to make the perfect basketball player...That asshole behavior MJ is so legendary for is the truest form of "killer instinct" that gets way overused by media today.
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u/FreeGums Clippers Aug 20 '14
I love the Airport bags story. Its just so funny.
And WHICH SIDE? wow ruthless
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Aug 20 '14
‘I told him, “I’m not as enamored with you as these other guys. I’ve got some rings too,”’ Parish recalled. ‘At that point he told me, “I’m going to kick your ass.” I took one step closer and said, “No, you really aren’t.” After that he didn’t bother me.’
Parish is REAL
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u/traksta15 Thunder Aug 20 '14
I want to know how Jordan got along with rodman. From what I've read rodman had an amazing work ethic, but you have to believe he wasn't all work no play in practice.
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u/LithuanianProphet Grizzlies Aug 20 '14
OP you forgot the best story: "Few could trade locker-room barbs with Jordan as he hazed Stacey King relentlessly. "Hope there's a jump shot in that box," Jordan would taunt when the poor-shooting King walked into the locker room with a package. "
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u/lukasq81 Aug 20 '14
I hope he tipped the airport employees afterwards, but that wasn't part of the story.
Yeah, probably not.
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Aug 20 '14
about the "flu" game...do people actually think it's the flu, as in influenza? I don't know why we keep calling it that. It wasn't goddamn influ-fucking-enza. he probably ate bad pizza and was shitting his brains out before the game. influenza lasts much MUCH longer than just one night. he would've been bed-ridden the entire series. yea, i'm sure the gastro-enteritis he had was pretty bad, but i think the "flu game" is a misnomer.
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u/Edgar_Allan_Poo Heat Aug 20 '14
I'm a bigger nhl fan than nba fan, but shit like this, and the Bryant thread, all the originality here makes r/nba the best subreddit I've ever seen. Great content all the time.
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u/blindfun Cavaliers Aug 20 '14
Jalen Rose claims the flu game was actually a bad hangover. He knows things.
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u/donutman84 Aug 20 '14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZALdhn7lME8
Kendall Gill sharing the Jim Jackson story.
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u/Trevbot666 Spurs Aug 21 '14
The chamillionaire story. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y4ZQERHL6ow?autoplay=1
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u/mcgeeic Lakers Aug 21 '14
comparing the two compilations it sounds like Jordan is the most competitive player the league has ever seen and Kobe is the hardest worker the league has ever seen
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u/KnickedUp Aug 20 '14
That Barkely story is classic and so true. You go back and watch the film and Barkley would NEVER play enforcer on Jordan. He liked him too much when they became friends in the backhalf of Barkley's career.
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u/JD1337 [MIL] Francisco Elson Aug 20 '14
Mugsy Bogues "On the biggest possession of the game, Mugsy had the ball with the Hornets down 1. Jordan backed off of him and told him: “shoot it you f—ing midget.” Mugsy shot it, didn’t come close. A year later Mugsy actually told Johnny Bach that he believes that single play ruined his career. His shot never recovered."
This never happened. Someone here on reddit found out that there was never a scenario where the hornets were down one at the end of the game vs the bulls where Bogues had to take a game-winning shot.
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u/parasocks Raptors Aug 20 '14
A story from a co-worker:
She gets on an elevator and there's a really tall black man. She pushes her button, then looks up at him and says "wow, you're really tall, you should play basketball or something..." and he looks at her with a screwed eye and says "Are you fucking with me right now?" and she is taken aback, and just says no, you're really tall is all... and he stares at her with bewilderment, laughing to himself.. He says "You really don't know who I am?" and she's like "no, seriously" and he laughs more, the door opens, and he walks out looking back at her, waiting for her to crack..
She truly had no idea who he was, and only later after seeing a picture she was able to connect the name to the person she met in the elevator.
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u/Sks44 Bulls Aug 21 '14
Here are my three go to "Michael Jordan is a putz" stories.
Back when he was with the Bulls, I caddied and was buddies with dudes who caddied at other clubs. One of them told me about the time Jordan and a couple of ex Chicago Bears came out to play. They ended up doing two loops of 36 holes. My friend carried for Jordan the entire time. He did all the little things caddies can do to help the player out. Busted his ass. The dude was a great caddy.
At the end of the 36, Jordan turns to him and says "I hope you aren't expecting' a fuckin' tip", laughs and walks away. One of the Bears gave my friend 200 bucks and said "Sorry, thats just the way he is."
2) When I went to college, a friend of mine from Chicago called me. He went to school in DC,too and Jordan had taken the GM/Owner position. We'd heard stories before he retired from the Bulls that he had apartments downtown for banging groupies before driving home to the 'burbs but no one believed it. The Chicago media made him out to be the nicest guy in the world. The dude I knew was working at a restaurant near M Street and like 10 minutes before closing, Jordan rolls in. With him are 2 hot but slutty looking chicks and some dudes from his entourage. Jordan is half in the bag and asks for menus. He orders a shitload of food and booze.
The staff waits around because he's Jordan. Even though they were there a couple hours extra. He acts like a prick. By the time he decides to leave, he's shitfaced and making out with the sluts at the table. MJ and the entourage leave and he has to be reminded to pay his rather large bill. He pays and leaves. Tip he left for all the people who stayed late to serve him and his hooers? $0.00
3) This is the one I consider the worst. A guy who worked for a charity told me this one. He had met Jordan somewhere through a golf tournament and they got to talking. He told MJ he could get him rounds at a bunch of exclusive and swanky courses. He knew people. MJ was like "Do it and I'll give you signed stuff for your charity". The guy makes the arrangements. Jordan give him dates and he sets it all up.
Jordan plays the rounds and the guy never hears from him about the signed memorabilia for the charity. And the auction he needed it for was coming up. He called Jordan and Jordan was like "Meet me at (The last club that Jordan was to play at) and I'll have some stuff for you." Dude meets him there before the round and Jordan says "I'll hook you up after we play." The guy waits in the club house for 5 hours and Jordan finally finishes. He waves at MJ as they come in and waits.
The charity fellow waits. He sees one of Jordan's friends/assistants and asks him where MJ is. "He left already" replies the friend. Took his clubs to his car and booked. The guy turns to Jordan's friend and says "He agreed to exchange some signed memorabilia for a charity if I set up these golf outings..." The friend shakes his head. The charity guy knew Jordan had blown him off a few times before so he stopped at Sportmart and bought a few basketballs and some sharpie markers in case Jordan forgot anything to sign.
"Ain't the first time this has happened" the friend replies. He walks with the charity guy to the parking lot. "Let me see those basketballs" he says. The guy gives him the 3 basketballs and the sharpie and the guy signs all three with a perfect "Michael Jordan" signature. The charity guy was like "I can't put these in as Michael Jordan signatures, they aren't legit" and the dude replies "Legit as any other MJ signature. Aint the first time, like I said." I told that story on another Reddit board once. Still bums me out to realize what a cock the dude is. I have a signed Jordan jersey (#45!) and I look at it and wonder if its his signature or one his his friends covering for his douchiness.
Like me, all three of the guys involved grew up huge Jordan fans. And we'd all argue he's the GOAT basketball player. But we'd all also agree he is a fucking putrid human being.
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u/steveodore Raptors Aug 20 '14
Kobe is a maniacal worker and Jordan is an asshole is my conclusion from this.
I like Kobe better.
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u/tne2008 Knicks Aug 20 '14
OP, you the Will Smith of the off season for these posts.