Former NBA player Brendan Haywood enjoyed being a teammate of Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards, but the great man once left him in a bit of a predicament off the court. Haywood recently appeared on the TFU Podcast, where he recounted the first time he went clubbing with Jordan.
“My first time going out with Michael Jordan to the club wasn’t what I thought it was going to be,” Haywood said. “… We got a big win. Mike normally don’t go out to the club. He normally don’t step out. And I see why right away. He said, ‘Listen, guys, I’m going out with you guys tonight.’ We like, ‘Yes, we going out with Mike.’ I was gonna go home. I’m like, ‘It’s Mike. I’m going.’
“So, we get into the club, and Mike’s there, Charles Oakley’s there, but the wildest part to me is the whole club isn’t partying,” Haywood continued. “Everybody’s just staring at Michael Jordan. I see why he don’t go out because the whole club, it’s like everybody’s just got their phones. They just watching Mike.”
Jordan understandably wasn’t too comfortable with the situation. He and Charles Oakley walked out of the club after about 45 minutes.
“This is one thing about Mike,” Haywood stated. “Mike feels if he comes to a club or if he comes to a restaurant, just him patroning, just him showing up is good enough. So he doesn’t feel like he has to pay the bill. So he feels like, listen, if I show you love and show up, that’s going to be enough patronage, that I don’t really [have to pay]. So Mike just left, and they bring the bill out to me and Jared Jeffries.
“Now I’m a second-year player at this point,” Haywood added. “I’m living on $5,000 a month. The bill was $15,000. I didn’t have it… I was like, ‘Hey, listen. Outside of paying bills, I live on 5,000.’ So I look at Jared, I’m like, ‘Yo, you got it?’ He’s like, ‘Man, I’m not paying $15,000.’ So the promoter is looking at us like, ‘Who’s going to pay this bill?'”
Haywood was the 20th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, while Jeffries was the 11th pick in 2002. They weren’t swimming in cash to the point where they could afford to pay a $15,000 bill. Haywood told the promoter he’d go out and get his credit card, but then fled.
“I told Jared, ‘Follow me,'” Haywood said. “We got outside. I’m 7 foot, he’s 6’11”. We hit the door… We’re running out the club because we don’t have the money for the bill. I don’t have that money. Like I told, I’m living on $5,000. I don’t have $15,000 to pay for some liquor that I didn’t drink.
“So it’s just one of those moments,” Haywood added. “I got a chance to go kick it. I got a chance to party with Michael Jordan, and I end up having to run out of the club because he stiffed us and left us with the bill.”
Haywood learned a valuable lesson that day. If you ever go out with Jordan, make sure you get out of there with him, or else you’ll be left with that bill.
Haywood and Jared Jeffries wouldn’t be around Jordan for too long, though. He had come out of retirement for the second time to play for the Wizards in 2001. He’d play two seasons for the franchise and then retired for the third and final time in 2003.
Now, getting to play with one iconic player like Jordan is incredible enough, but Haywood got to play with two. In his final NBA season, 2014-15, he teamed up with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is one of four players to have had the pleasure of playing with both.
So, who does Haywood think is the GOAT? Well, he picked Jordan over James. Haywood doesn’t believe there is much to debate there.
