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Chuck Burton / Associated Press
Murderous instinct.
Unrivaled unit.
He will do anything to win.
The biggest competitor the sport has ever seen, or perhaps any sport.
Given the way Michael Jordan is described so frequently, it should come as no surprise that his legendary competitiveness has caused tension and even fights with his peers during practice. The last Dance the documentary already touched that tension in the episodes of May 3 when he discussed the book by Sam Smith, Jordan’s rules, which provided a behind-the-scenes look at how demanding he was with his teammates.
According to the book, he used them, yelled at them, and even hit Will Perdue during practice.
Perdue joined CBS Sports HQ and said He wasn’t the only one Jordan hit during practice:
“He did, and I wasn’t the only one. That’s how competitive our practices were. That wasn’t the only fight, it was one of the numerous. But because it involved Michael Jordan and it leaked, it became a great thing. And what Curious was that, in that practice that happened, we basically separated, regrouped and continued practicing, it was not as if it was the end of practice. Things like that were common, because that is how competitive our practices were. “
Horace Grant, whom Jordan blamed for being the primary source for Smith’s book, provided further details in a interview with Hot 97 in 2016 (h / t Scott Gleeson of USA Nowadays):
“It will establish an illegal choice. MJ said, ‘Will, don’t do it again.’ ” What are you talking about? ‘ That’s Will. MJ says, “Okay.” Phil says, “Run it again.” So naturally we ran it twice more. Illegal selection. MJ approaches Will-boom. He turned it on. Will – you’re not going to hurt MJ … So the next day, Will gets on the plane with a great shine. “
While a direct hit may have been somewhat unusual, the fact that Perdue said the team simply continued to practice suggested that it was not so out of the ordinary.
Jalen Rose revealed that practices were simply more physical in the 1990s on ESPN’s Jalen and Jacoby, noting that it was partially a by-product of differences in the way the game is played. Today’s game is much more focused on three-point shooting and rhythm and space, while the one in the 1990s was more physical with players in the paint and protecting the rim.
Jordan’s anger did not stop with Perdue.
In a preview of the Sunday episodes of The last DanceThe Golden State Warriors’ head coach and Jordan’s former teammate Steve Kerr discussed a fight he had with No. 23 that resulted in Su Airness being kicked out of practice.
Jordan said he was frustrated that head coach Phil Jackson fouled him when he was protecting Kerr and unleashed a particularly strong one as his frustration increased.
“I have a lot of patience as a human being, but I tend to break down at some point,” Kerr said. “Because I’m also extremely competitive. It’s just not good enough to generally endorse it.”
Kerr hit Jordan in the chest and MJ responded by hitting the shooter right in the eye. Jackson had seen enough and left his star player out of practice.
Jordan’s legendary competitiveness was not limited to his time in the Bulls. Jack McCallum of Illustrated Sports He described what he called “the best game anyone has ever seen,” which was intra-squad scrimmage among Dream Team members before the 1992 Olympics.
Jordan’s team featured Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, and Patrick Ewing, while the Magic Johnson team featured Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Chris Mullin, and Christian Laettner. Jordan and Johnson sang to each other during scrimmage, which surely woke up the first after the Los Angeles Lakers legend jumped to a quick lead.
Johnson, who called Jordan’s teammates “the Jordanaires,” joked that “we are no longer at the Chicago stadium” when his opponent did not receive a call and then said “all they did was move the stadium of the Bulls right here “when the whistle blew it started to spin
While Jordan exchanged jokes and noted that it was the 1990s and now his era for Johnson, it was after he led his team to a comeback victory that was particularly scathing.
He started pacing down the side and singing the jingle of Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” commercial that was so popular at the time. He also sang the song on the bus back to the hotel, and the proverbial torch for the world’s best player was officially approved.
“Let me tell you something: It would have been worse for everyone if I lost,” Johnson said. “Because he could let something happen after a while. But Michael? He would never let it happen. He never let anything happen.”
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