Michael Jordan, Who Once Punched a Teammate in the Face, Secretly Wanted His Team to Lose: ?People Knew Him Before They Knew Me?

Millions of fans around the world consider NBA all-time great Michael Jordan one of the best players ever. And one of the major reasons behind it, he has never lost an NBA Finals. Over the course of his career, he has played in 6 NBA Finals and won 6 rings. He has also won the Finals MVP on all 6 occasions, leading from the front. The bigger the stage is, the better he played. Fans and his teammates knew Jordan would find a way in crunch time. “Cometh the hour, cometh the man,”?perfectly applies to MJ.

However, things did not always look great. When he was younger, the ‘Air Jordan’ we know of now was nowhere near his best. Basketball fans do not need an introduction to him not making the varsity team during his school days. Jordan had not hit his growth spurt at the time and was not the best at shooting the ball. However, he made up for the things he lacked with his work ethic.

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MJ was one of the most hard-working players on the team. Even during the tryouts, he would do more than he was asked to do. But that did not land him a spot. While Michael Jordan did not make the varsity team, his friend Leroy Smith made the cut.

Michael Jordan was not happy

Even after having a great JV season, he did not make the team. So he was angry. Adding fuel to the fire, MJ was forced to carry another player’s uniform into the gym and sit on the end of the bench handing out towels like a team manager?because he had no ticket. With his parents in the stands who expected him to play, MJ felt humiliated.

His pride was hurt so badly that he secretly rooted for the other team. Talking about Leroy Smith, MJ said, “I was a nobody. And he was better than me. People knew him before they knew me.”

Then Jordan started working on his game with a vengeance in the summer. He wanted to show everyone that he can be a great player. And he did exactly that. With his hard work coupled with his growth spurt, MJ dominated high school basketball. And the University of North Carolina came calling among others. Jordan chose to play for the Tar Heels and led them to the NCAA title in 1982 as he hit the game-winner against Georgetown.

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This gave him confidence and propelled him into a superstar. Before joining the Chicago Bulls, Jordan won the Olympic Gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He always pushed his teammates to be better than they are. As per reports, Jordan once punched teammate Steve Kerr but admitted that he has to change and be more respectful of his teammates.