Home

NBA

Despite Brutal Fights and Arrogant Trash-Talking with Teammates, Michael Jordan Won Hearts off Court with 1 Virtue

Published 10/10/2022, 4:31 PM EDT

Follow Us

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan had really accomplished it all during his career. He won six NBA championships with the team, won rookie of the year, a defensive player of the year award, five MVPs, and six finals MVPs as well. He could really do it all on the court and there was no denying that.

Jordan was like a scoring machine. A player who had the ability to take on the whole team on his own. But at the end of the day, it is a team game and even Michael needed his teammates to win championships.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Michael Jordan started trusting his teammates

Jordan had a burning rage to win games and also inspire his teammates, always raising the bar in team practices for his teammates. Former teammates of Jordan mentioned how he would come into the locker room and shout at his team for not playing well.

Teammates like Bill Cartwright and Horace Grant often got an earful from Mike during or post games. Many fans know about the fight Jordan had with former teammate Steve Kerr. During practice, Michael ended up punching Steve.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

However, as he went home and cooled off, Jordan felt terrible and called Kerr to apologize telling him how his anger got the best of him. And that was the thing about Mike, he never wanted to hurt anyone.

Former teammate B.J. Armstrong mentioned that after every fight and every argument, he would go up to that person to apologize and make amends. Armstrong said, “He had to do whatever he had to do to make you raise your stakes that much higher.”

Jordan a champion both on and off the court

And this wasn’t just with players. Jordan was awfully courteous with anyone who was around him. And not just courteous, but he was very loyal as well. ESPN’s Stuart Scott once said, “He’s loyal to his friends, to where he comes from, to teammates, people who he thinks have the same kind of spirit and drive he has.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Another ESPN employee Andrea Kremer told a story about how she came back to work after her mother’s passing. And as she saw Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson surrounded by media, she started to walk away. She heard someone call out her name and it was none other than Michael Jordan. Jordan said, “Andrea, I just wanted you to know how sorry I am about your mother.”

Watch This Story – Michael Jordan’s 3 best friends and 3 biggest enemies

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Andrea was shocked. She went on to say, “That told me more about Michael Jordan as a person than any other dealing I had with him in the seven years that I covered him in Chicago.”

As amazing as Jordan was on the floor, he was a gem of a person off the court as well.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Abhishek Dhariwal

1,425Articles

One take at a time

Abhishek Dhariwal is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He earned his bachelor's degree in English Honors from St. Xavier's College and his master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from AAFT School of Mass Communication and Journalism.
Show More>