“I Can’t Be This Guy’s Friend”: Close Friend Admits He Was Afraid Michael Jordan Would “Eat Him to Death”

Michael Jordan was a ferocious animal on the NBA court. When it was time to dial in, his killer instinct would just take over. Even the littlest bit of motivation could have His Airness lurking for revenge. A former NBA player understood this aura as he stayed close to him. While attending his camp, he expressed how he had to switch his mentality after getting into the NBA.

As a friend, MJ is one of the nicest people to be around. He is always helping out his mates and making sure they get what they want. However, as soon as he stepped onto the hardwood, Jordan was a different being altogether. His aura was felt by everybody in the arena as he went in for his prey. Former Lakers man, Rick Fox went through the whole experience of seeing both sides of MJ.

He spoke about how he had to go from living with him to denying him as a mentor.

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The Michael Jordan experience

Fox was one of the most skillful role players in the NBA. He is best known for his stint with the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Lakers. He played a major role in the Lakers’ three-peat, which remains to be the last organization to achieve the feat. However, before getting to the NBA, Fox was under the best.

He was a regular at Jordan’s camps and even hung out with him, driving his cars and staying with him. Hence, he really understood how Jordan was.

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He warned Fox that as soon as he gets to the NBA, his kindness would go away. Fox said he got to witness the greatness of Jordan up close. For two whole summers, he got to drive his cars, and even stay with him. However, with Jordan’s reputation of being a ferocious killer, Fox quickly understood he couldn’t have him as a mentor when he gets to the big stage.

Fox said: “And then, as I became a pro, I shifted to ‘I can’t be this guy’s friend.’ He can’t be my mentor no more. I’ve got to find in myself a way to compete against this animal. I can’t look up to him anymore because he’ll eat me to death.”

It isn’t surprising to hear Jordan being harsh, even on his own teammates. But his ultimate goal was to always win and bring the best out of his teammates in the process. This mentality translated to him being responsible for 2 three-peats and winning 6 regular season MVPs.

In addition, his animal inside made him one of the greatest scorers with 10 scoring titles under his belt. Since stepping on the court, Jordan changed the game forever. And to this day, it all seems too much.