Michael Jordan has one of the most storied careers in NBA history, and any new anecdote related to him still garners the interest of a lot of basketball fans. Recently, former first lady Michelle Obama’s brother Craig Robinson also shared his experience playing with one of the greatest of all time.
A former college basketball player himself, Robinson had the chance to play against Jordan twice in his life. Sitting down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast, he recalls how it all went down.
“Of course, he cooked me. I wasn’t even at your level. I was an ordinary player. My first encounter with playing him was in the Chicago Summer League. Now, I held my own, and we weren’t always guarding each other. And that was five on five. Held my own, it was fine,” Robinson said.
But that would not be the memorable time he played against the Bulls legend. After Jordan called it quits, his team reached out to other players so that he could quietly train and keep up his stamina. That’s where Robinson entered, along with other members of this story.
“He got me, John Rogers, who is the president of Ariel Capital. Arnie Duncan, who was a former Secretary of Education. The three of us would kind of do workouts with him, and that’s when he cooked me, I mean cooked me, and it was so funny because he was very serious about what he was doing,” Robinson added.
Jordan had a reputation for training hard and practicing like you’d play in the real game. Robinson did not realize before going into the workout that you can take Michael Jordan out of professional basketball and he’ll still retain the same intensity.
“You would think that somebody who is the greatest of all time would be taking it easy on some guys who are trying to help him get in shape. It was not like that. And you guys know him, too. I mean, he was working on stuff, and elbow right in the ribs. Oh, okay, let me be prepared next time. Elbow to the neck!” the former college basketball player said.
The hyper-competitive nature that Jordan had has been well documented. Even in the famous docu-series, ‘The Last Dance’, he can be seen getting competitive over a game of quarters with his security personnel.
Despite being in a casual environment, Jordan never let go. He was always at the top of his game, ready to elevate himself and others around him. But even when he faces defeat, he does not let up, as Michelle Obama’s brother quickly found out during the workout.
“And then once, I finally got one on him where he fouled me and I made it and I fell, and he was like, ‘Craig, you okay?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, appreciate it’, he’s like, ‘Then get the f*** up.’ I was like, I see what everyone’s been saying,” concluded Robinson.
The competitive grit and the ability to switch to that extra gear always gave Jordan an edge over his competitors and continue to inspire years after his retirement.
