While Michael Jordan may be one of the greatest players of all time, the same cannot be said about him as a teammate. Jordan was a fabulous athlete, one of the best to ever play in the NBA. And his winning mentality was a big part of why he found a lot of success in the league.
But that winning mentality did come at a price. Not just for Jordan, but for his teammates. No. 23 demanded excellence at every stage of the game, not just from himself but from his teammates as well.
Last year, fans got a glimpse into Jordan’s thought process thanks to the ‘Last Dance’ docuseries. During the miniseries, Jordan and his teammates reflected on their time together and spoke about their experiences with each other.
One of the major topics of discussion that came with the series was how Jordan was as a teammate. Many of the Bulls players from that era spoke about their moments with MJ and how harsh he would be during practice.
The story about Jordan and Steve Kerr getting into a fight is perhaps the one that stands out the most. But His Airness did defend himself from these accusations, saying that it was his winning mentality that brought that side.
Anyone who didn’t find great success in life will find Jordan’s methods to be tyrannical and over the top. But Jordan knows that he needed to be that way in order to be as successful as he was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTRZeIm6lsY
“When people see this they are going say, ‘Well he wasn’t really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant. Well, that’s you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win….That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t want to play that way, don’t play that way.”
The pressure to be the best meant he would be harsh on his teammates if he didn’t think he was getting their best. And oftentimes, MJ would end up alienating his teammates.
But in the end, he was able to find incredible success with those teammates, so he won’t be too concerned about how he is perceived.
