Michael Jordan is a legend of the game. Of course, fans consider him the GOAT for his achievements on the court. But an even bigger reason for many fans for labeling MJ as the GOAT is his ever-so-famous competitive nature.
It is no secret that Mike was a super competitive athlete. He would find ways to compete with his fellow NBA stars for the smallest of reasons and, more often than not, would end up on the winning side.
During the 1992 NBA Finals, facing off against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers lit a fire under Jordan. This was obviously due to Drexler being compared to MJ. The Chicago Bulls superstar certainly “took it personally” and went on to dominate Drexler throughout the series.
But that’s not where Jordan’s revenge ended. Following the 1992 NBA Finals, the 1992 Dream Team was assembled in hopes of winning the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
It featured the likes of MJ, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and of course, Clyde Drexler was also part of that legendary lineup. During a practice session with the entire 1992 Dream Team, MJ went on to humiliate Clyde.
Via Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made:
“Didn’t I just kick your a**? … Anything here look just a little familiar? … Think you can stop me this time, Clyde? … Better watch out for the threes, Clyde.”
Mike didn’t let Clyde forget about the beating that he gave the Trail Blazers and Drexler in particular prior to the Olympics. Clyde Drexler once avoided another beating from MJ in the greatest ever game that no one ever saw.
It was before the 1992 Olympics began and the Dream Team divided into two teams to play this scrimmage. But John Stockton and Clyde Drexler couldn’t take part in it due to injuries.
Despite that, Clyde doesn’t seem to hate Mike. One thing that he does believe is that Mike is not better than him. He pointed out that Jordan had more points than him because the Bulls legend took more shots than him.
Regardless of what Drexler believes, the reality remains that Jordan did defeat him and got under his skin from time to time.
