Michael Jordan was as competitive as anyone else has ever been in the NBA’s history. And it was never just about winning on the court, he needed to win against everyone all the time.
Michael Jordan‘s obsession led the Chicago Bulls to six championships, and his teammates will always appreciate him for it. But he wasn’t always the best teammate, and this story about him essentially conning his peers shows that.
“Back before NBA teams had grasped the rejuvenating power of chartered airplanes, the Bulls were waiting for their luggage in Portland when Jordan slapped a hunny on the conveyor belt: I bet you my bags come out first,” Bill Simmons wrote for ESPN.
“Jumping on the incredibly favorable odds, nine teammates happily accepted the wager. Sure enough, Jordan’s bags led the rollout. He cackled with delight as he collected everyone’s money.
“What none of the suckers knew, and what MJ presumably never told them, was that he had bribed a baggage handler to help him out. He didn’t pocket much (a few hundred bucks), and considering his net worth hovered around nine figures at the time, it’s safe to say he didn’t need the extra cash. But that didn’t matter. There was a chance at an easy score, and he took it.”
Michael Jordan would do whatever it took to win, as he once told John Paxson, what mattered to him was knowing that he had beaten someone. And this wasn’t even the only time he bet against a teammate already knowing what the outcome would be.
Michael Jordan Tricked Scottie Pippen By Betting $100 On Races He Already Knew The Results For
Scottie Pippen was Michael Jordan’s most important teammate, but the GOAT didn’t even spare him. As the story goes, Jordan would trick Pippen by getting him to bet $100 on races where he already knew who would win.
“Per ESPN’s Amin Elhassan, Jordan found out one day that the animated Bulls races played on the jumbotron were prerecorded, and it was information that Pippen was oblivious to. He would ask the Bulls operations personnel about which colored Bull would win, and later trick Pippen into a bet costing him $100 per race.”
Stories like this show two things. One is that Michael Jordan had his flaws, just like anyone else. And the other is that to be the GOAT, one needs to have the sort of obsession that could lead to normal people thinking they’re crazy. Michael Jordan is truly one of a kind.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
