How can one best describe Michael Jordan? Well, over the years, Scottie Pippen has been the flag bearer and has shared different shades to talk about his Bulls teammate. Previously, Pip called MJ “horrible,” but later changed the stance to “best”. Ever since the Netflix documentary series Last Dance aired, the change in emotions was visible. In fact, that series also shared one incident of His Airness punching Steve Kerr. So did that change their relationship dynamic?

Yes, it did. Recently, the Warriors’ Head coach was in London for a live episode of London of The Leadership Playbook. He was not alone on stage as the soccer club Arsenal’s men’s team, Mikel Arteta, was the other guest. It was an hour-long, enthralling conversation, and Kerr explained how different a player MJ really was. “Yeah, I mean he was the most emotionally dominant athlete I’ve ever seen in my life, and it’s not close.” He even described his former teammate as incredible and the greatest player of all time, but double-backed on his first statement.

“But there was an emotional dominance that was hard to quantify. But when you were on his team, you knew you were going to win, the other team knew he was going to win, the officials knew he was going to win, and the fans knew he was going to win!” A splendid record of 6-0 in the NBA finals, and not requiring a game 7 in those Finals, is a testament to what Kerr is saying. The emotional domination is not something one can see in every athlete. That’s why the 59-year-old stated Tim Duncan and Stephen Curry, some leaders with whom he enjoyed spending time.

“And but as a teammate, that was not easy because he drove, drove us at such a high standard every single day. And frankly, I had teammates who I enjoyed a lot more. Tim Duncan, you know, was very different leader. Tim was much more like Steph Curry, very compassionate, empathetic, collaborative.” However, this was not a dig towards Michael Jordan. But it highlighted what he brought out of teammates by being that extra demanding. That’s why Kerr called it wasn’t easy dealing with MJ at the time.

“Michael just drove us. He drove us and he was effective, but it was a very different form of leadership. And you know, playing with him changed my whole career, and I owe him, you know my whole career really. But it was not easy.” How can it be easy when you throw hands at each other?

Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr’s response after the fight might shock you

Let’s set the context first about the season when it took place. The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 Eastern Conference finals. Because of this, Jordan increased his intensity during the 1995-96 training camp. Before the opponents could face the wrath, teammates faced it in the scrimmage. During one such session, after a lot of trash talking, MJ committed a hard foul on Kerr. Also, remember, it was Kerr’s first time being teammates with MJ, so prior to this, they had no relationship.

After the hard foul, Kerr had had enough and pushed Michael Jordan hard. In return, His Airness clocked Kerr in the face. Then, the coach, Jackson, threw Jordan out of practice immediately. The regret was immediately felt by MJ, which we saw in The Last Dance. “I’m in the shower and I’m saying, ‘I just beat up the littlest guy on the f—— court.’ And I felt about this small.” Even Kerr admitted, “From that point on, our relationship dramatically improved and our trust in each other, everything. It was like, ‘All right, we got that out of the way. We’re going to war together.”

So in an odd instance, fighting in scrimmage brought the teammates even closer. They would three-peat, and they played 299 games together with an impressive 80.6% win rate. That’s why, as a teammate, understanding Jordan was not everyone’s cup of tea. It took an altercation for Kerr to understand it. But it only proves the undying drive that MJ had for the game.