?My Family Isn?t Starving?: Michael Jordan Broke Radio Silence and Defended His ?Gambling Problem? Right Before 1993 NBA Finals

Hours before the 1993 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns, NBA legend Michael Jordan set up an interview to talk about media speculations about his gambling exploits. It was rare footage at the time after what seemed to be a prolonged period of silence from Jordan’s end.

Jordan was wearing black shades and a grey suit in the interview with Ahmad Rashad. Jordan told him that the criticism of his gambling was unfair. He said he was being considered a “criminal” for taking part in legal activities. Jordan stressed that gambling and betting were legal.

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Jordan admitted to losing a huge bet, but he intended to win, as he did with anything he put his mind to. He said he was responsible to keep his end of the deal by paying off the debt.

Michael Jordan defends his gambling habits ahead of the 1993 Finals

“My family is not starving“, said Jordan. He was emphatic that his wife and family would have told him if he indeed had a gambling problem. Jordan was also aware that if an intervention was necessary, communication was always transparent in his close-knit family. “If I ever had a problem, they never had a problem telling me I had a problem,” Jordan added on his family.

“My wife, she’s chief of finances in my household. She knows what comes in and what leaves, and she never said, ‘Michael, hey you got a problem.'” He wanted to make it clear that the unnecessary attention from the outside world was not the same narrative inside his house.

He also said that if people were to pick apart the player, gambling would be the only come that would come up. Michael Jordan was confident that if gambling was the worst he had done in the public eye, then he would be happy.

From golf, cards, Jumbotron cartoon races, and chunks of cash, Jordan’s gambling habits became infamous over the years. His gambling habits were also further showcased in the docuseries ‘The Last Dance‘.

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In fact, former NBA player Antoine Walker once said they played spades for 36 hours with a $1 million bet.