The name Michael Jordan is synonymous with basketball. The former NBA legend is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. While MJ is known for his exploits on the court, he became a well-known gambler due to his desire to compete. However, he once taught fellow NBA legend Charles Barkley a valuable lesson about money.

Barkley was known to speak his mind about everything. While he was a very physical and dominating player on the court, Barkley never hesitated to help those in need. Jordan, on the other hand, preferred losing his money on gambling rather than just giving it away. MJ was a proper competitor who hated losing more than anything else.

Charles Barkley once told the story about how MJ didn’t let him give money to the homeless. Jordan smacked his hand and said, “If he can say do you have any spare change, he can say welcome to McDonald?s can I help you please“. Meanwhile, Jordan himself lost a lot of money on gambling and golf.

Former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker recalled a story about how he and MJ nearly lost $1 million during a 36-hour gambling spree. He said, “I remember one time we played spades for 36 hours. Me and Michael were partners and we were playing against two other guys. They had us [behind] $900,000.”

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However, they reduced the deficit and brought it down to $20,000. Even then, Jordan didn’t want to lose that much amount to them and continued playing. Eventually, they lost $180,000. Walkers said, “He got too tired. We couldn?t go no more. He was falling asleep at the table.”

Michael Jordan was a notorious gambler

In the interview, Walker also revealed that the 36-hour gambling spree coincided with Michael Jordan‘s announcement about his return to the NBA after almost two years away from the sport. This is just one of the many iconic incidents regarding Jordan’s gambling habits.

The former Chicago Bulls superstar once even irked the President due to his love for golf.

Jordan got into trouble many times, but it never hurt his on-court performances. While he enjoyed gambling and golf, MJ won six NBA championships and he was named the Finals MVP in each triumph.

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It can be said that he wasted a lot of money due to his gambling habits, but he could afford it because he is so wealthy. His net worth is estimated to be over $1.7 billion. He had plenty of money to bet on spades.