• Michael Jordan struggled to get past the Boston Celtics early in his career
• After being swept by the Celtics, Jordan was still smiling and playing cards with his Bulls teammates
• Jordan would soon realize that winning an NBA Championship is everything
Michael Jordan is one of the most competitive athletes we have ever seen, but that streak took a while to develop. Jordan was on a bad Bulls team for the first few years of his career, getting swept by the Celtics in 1986 and 1987. A video shows that Jordan was happily playing cards with his Bulls’ teammates after one of the losses, gleaming because he was at least winning at cards.
“This is fun! We just lost to the Boston Celtics, but I’m winning!”
"This is fun!.. We just lost to the Boston Celtics, but I'm winning!"
Imagine the social media era running with this after you been swept outta the playoffs back-to-back years by the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/W9TmhkTthv
— NBAStatGuy (@NBAStatGuy_) September 12, 2023
It’s almost unimaginable to think of Jordan acting like that in the ’90s when the expectation was championship or bust every season. He clearly had to develop the killer mentality he’s known for now. He won six championships and was never swept after the Celtics, which shows how lethal he would end up becoming.
Michael Jordan Played Cards Until 5 AM With Magic Johnson Before A Finals Game
Michael Jordan loved basketball, but he loved playing cards a lot as well. There are many stories about Jordan incessantly playing cards or golf, always looking to satiate the competitive urge in his heart. Magic Johnson once revealed that he and Jordan’s father were beating Michael at cards until 5 A.M., which prompted Jordan to have a historic performance against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“The night before he hit all them 3s against Portland we’re playing [cards] at his house… his dad and I, we tore him up… I’m calling the game… Michael is so competitive when he loses, he don’t want you to leave… I say no, I’m going home to the hotel… Remember he shot and he made 4 or 5 in a row. When he made that last one he turned to the scorer’s table, he was turning to me. He was so hot that night. He owes me a lot. I’m the one that he was mad at, that’s why he took it out on Clyde Drexler.”
This was the game where Jordan did his infamous shrug, as the Bulls took home a Game 1 win in the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan hit six three-pointers in the game and ended the night with 39 points in one of his greatest Finals performances.
Michael Jordan Played 36 Holes Of Golf Before Scoring 52 Points Against The Cavaliers
One of the most insane Michael Jordan stories comes from golfer Jeremy Roenick, who played 36 holes of golf and drank ten beers with Jordan before the Bulls’ star went and dropped 52 points on the Cavaliers.
“I meet him at Sunset Ridge… we played a round, beat him for a couple thousand, and I’m getting ready to leave. Now, the Bulls are playing that night. They play Cleveland, that night. So I’m thinking he’s leaving, it’s 10:00, he’s like ‘no, let’s go play again.’ So we fill up a bag full of ice and Coors Light and we walk again. We roll around another 18 and I take him for another couple. We’ve been drinking all afternoon. Now he’s going from Sunset Ridge to the stadium to play a game. And I’m like messing around, I’m like ‘I’m going to call my bookie, all the money you just lost to me I’m putting on Cleveland tonight.’ He goes ‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll bet you that we win by 20 points and I have more than 40.’ I’m like ‘done.’ Son of a gun goes out, scores 52 and they win by 26 or something… after [36] holes of golf and having maybe 10 Bud Lights. The man, to me, is the best athlete that I’ve ever seen.”
https://twitter.com/RandleRant/status/1192848947120951297
Beating Jordan at any non-basketball thing meant he was going to take his revenge on whoever was put in front of him on the court that night.
Once it was Clyde Drexler’s Blazers and the other time it was Mark Price’s Cavaliers. Either way, Jordan demolished both of them to win on the court where no one could challenge him.
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