Michael Jordan’s competitive nature, which often came out while gambling as well, now serves as a reminder for many people about the importance of staying ruthless in their approach to life.
Bob Starkey, the 66-year-old assistant coach of the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team, recently recalled his favorite story about Michael Jordan, where he apparently swindled $1,000 from some of his own teammates based on a bet he had allegedly rigged.
“Here’s one of my favorite Jordan stories I heard. A charter plane, they land, guys start filling off, Jordan lies back and tells the flight attendant, do you have any control over which bag comes off from the conveyor belt first. She says I’m sure I can arrange something. What do you need?”
“He says we have black bags with big numbers on them. I need bag number 23 to come off the conveyor belt first. And she says I think I can take care of it. Jordan rolls out a few hundred dollars and gives it to her.”
“So you know, when you’re just standing around the conveyor belt, Jordan was just standing there, thinking, and Jordan says, ‘Ah, what the heck, I got a $1,000, my bag comes out first.’ And you know how pro players are, and they all throw a $1,000 in there, boom, here comes 23 off the conveyor belt.”
“So I tell that story because Jordan’s going to find a way to beat you. He’s so competitive that he’s going to find a way to beat you,” concluded Starkey.
Now, whether or not this story is actually true is a controversial question. On one hand, Bill Simmons, who initially reported this story, suggested the betting amount was $100, not $1,000.
Additionally, Scottie Pippen, Jordan’s former teammate on the Bulls, outright refuted that this incident happened the way people claim it did.
“Michael Jordan had his own beautiful bags. At this time, we didn’t have team bags, so when you saw a bag come off and it had a Jumpman on it, I’m sure for the guys working at the airport, that was the first bag they grabbed,” Pippen said in an appearance on the Dan Le Batard show in 2022.
“So he had an advantage, but I don’t think it was something he intentionally did. It was just a knowing thing that he knew people were going to jump on his bag.”
Therefore, the 66-year-old assistant coach may not be recalling the details correctly. However, the message remains the same since we don’t really know if Jordan paid the flight attendant or not.
