Jerry Krause vs Michael Jordan: 3 Times the Bulls’ Ring of Honor Legends Hung Their Dirty Laundry in Public

Published 01/14/2024, 10:09 AM EST

The Last Dance clearly depicted the relationship between Michael Jordan and former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause. While the team was looking to win its sixth championship, Krause had made it clear that Phil Jackson would not be returning as head coach after the 1997–98 season. However, this is not where the bad blood between Jordan and Krause started.

Following years of resentment and bad blood, the Chicago Bulls legend was not kind to the former executive during his Hall of Fame enshrinement either, as Jordan said, “I don’t know who invited him (Jerry Krause). I didn’t.“

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Krause was not present at Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame enshrinement. He might have thought that his presence would just further agitate the fans and Jordan, who is notorious for poking fun at the executive any chance he gets.

In the show, The Last Dance, Jordan can be seen repeatedly making jokes about Jerry Krause’s stature. Jordan was relentless. He used any chance he got to sneak a diss at his general manager.

During an interview in 1998, Michael Jordan fired more shots at Krause. Previously Krause had compared Jordan to be a mix of talents between Earl Monore and Elgin Baylor. Krause prided himself on finding Earl Monroe in the draft. But Jordan demolished everything Krause had built as he said, “What pick did you take him for the Bullets? No. 2, right? You don’t think someone would have found him at No. 3 or 4? Doesn’t sound like you found damn Earl Monroe.”

Michael Jordan also said during his Hall of Fame speech, “I hope he understands it goes a long way. He was a very competitive person. I was a very competitive person. He (Jerry Krause) said organizations win championships. I said, ‘I didn’t see organizations playing with a flu‘.” This was in response to Krause’s statement to the team that the players were just pieces for the organization, and that it was the organization that made everything possible rather than the players.

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This received a round of applause from the fans in attendance, as people did not like Krause at all for what he had done with the organization. Although it has been years since then, the fans still have not forgiven Krause, as even after his passing, the fans recently booed the former executive during the Bulls ring of honor.

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Michael Jordan has been unhappy with Krause since 1985

Jerry Krause became the general manager of the Bulls a year after Michael Jordan was drafted. However, in Krause’s first season with the team, he decided to do something that would lead to a snowball effect in the future. This was revealed in the book Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby.

In 1985, Jordan’s best friend on the team was Rod Higgins. One of Krause’s first moves was to trade Higgins away from the team. Krause has revealed that Jordan was upset about finding out about the news of his friend getting traded from the team. Michael Jordan has not had a good relationship with Krause since then. However, his brilliance cannot be overlooked as Krause built around Jordan and helped the organization to win 6 championships.

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What do you think of Michael Jordan dissing Jerry Krause during his Hall of Fame speech? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Written by:

I did not follow the traditional route to become a journalist, but my love for basketball and writing has brought me here. Seeing LeBron James? Cleveland Cavaliers make the iconic comeback from a 1-3 deficit in 2016 changed everything for a young engineering aspirant within me. Rather than simply looking at the game, I love to analyze how each player contributes to a team using BPM (Box Plus Minus) and other advanced metrics.

Edited by:

Caroline Joseph

Jerry Krause vs Michael Jordan: 3 Times the Bulls’ Ring of Honor Legends Hung Their Dirty Laundry in Public

Michael Jordan has been unhappy with Krause since 1985

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