Michael Jordan was one of the most confident players in the history of the NBA. While Jordan’s talent was otherworldly, it was his confidence and self-belief that helped make him the greatest player in NBA history.
There was no player that Jordan feared, and he walked into any and every situation knowing that he would get what he wanted if he put in the work. But Jordan would also challenge those standing in his way.
Chris Webber shared a story about Michael Jordan confronting him and the Washington Bullets ahead of a game in the 1997 NBA playoffs.
According to Webber, Jordan had parked his Ferrari and sat on it as the Bullets players walked off the bus to enter the United Center. Jordan asked Webber, Juwan Howard, and the rest of the Bullets which of them would guard him on the night. Webber noted that they disappointed Jordan by pointing to Calbert Cheaney.
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1519309162467016707
“We played the Bulls, we’re in the playoffs in Washington. We get off the bus before the game. Juwan and Jordan are cool. Jordan parks his Ferrari, we get off the bus, and he’s smoking a cigar before the game. And he’s like ‘who’s gonna check me?’. We let him down and all pointed at Calbert.”
Jordan proceeded to score 55 points against the Bullets on the night with 22/35 field goals made, 10/10 free throws, and 1/2 three-pointers made, and he also scored 20 of their last 23 points, as Jordan helped the Bulls take a 2-0 lead against them.
Sorry, but that’s not true.🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/S7iGPefdFd
— Rod Strickland (@rod_strickland) April 27, 2022
But there is some suggestion that the story might not be true, as former Bullets star Rod Strickland took to Twitter to deny the story, noting that it never happened. Perhaps Strickland was objecting to the details in the post, which said Jordan entered the Bullets locker room.
There is no way to ascertain which version, if any, of the story is true. But having heard many Jordan stories from the past, it isn’t hard to imagine that he would do something like this.
Jordan was so confident in himself that he once went up to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, two of the greatest players ever, and told them that he was the new sheriff in town and that their time was up. So for him to challenge the Bullets player this way would not be a shock at all.
