Michael Jordan is considered the greatest basketball player to have ever played in the NBA by several fans and players alike. Behind all the accolades and individual brilliance, one thing underlines his case to be considered the GOAT. MJ was the ultimate winner, someone that did whatever it took to get the job done. His record in the NBA Finals, 6-0 without ever having to play in a Game 7 is a testament to how truly dominant Jordan was during his prime.
This level of dominance isn’t something that comes easily for any player. Considering the expectations that Jordan was burdened with during his career, it is perhaps easier to understand why he was so obsessed with being the best and ensuring that his team was also the best. MJ wasn’t the most well-liked teammate during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, something that the man himself attributed to the ‘price of winning’ during his documentary series, ‘The Last Dance’.
“Winning has a price,” he said. “And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates came after me. They didn’t endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game and I wasn’t going to take anything less.”
The standard that Michael Jordan held his teammates to sometimes led the legend to step over the line. There are famous stories told of his reactions to teammates not performing well, like the time he punched Steve Kerr in the face or his repeated digs at Scott Burrell during his later years with the Chicago Bulls as shown in ‘The Last Dance’. No one can say it didn’t yield results though, his team was as good as any dynasties any sport has ever seen and Jordan himself has achieved godlike status in the world of sports, not just basketball.
