The legend of Michael Jordan is eternal. The tale of ‘His Airness’ is being chronicled in a ten-part documentary. Ever since its release, ‘The Last Dance’ has garnered millions of views in the USA and even more around the world, thanks to Netflix. But not all the stories can fit into the documentary, which is where we step in.
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Scott Burrell is a lesser-known figure around the world. He may not be as popular as MJ, but he does have a championship ring to his collection. The 6-foot-7 forward joined the Chicago Bulls in 1997, when the team was on the verge of repeating history.
Being teammates with a great player is hard, especially when the guy’s name is Michael Jordan. He will never go easy on you, even if you beg him to. His notorious competitiveness has seen him eclipse several records on his journey to the top of Mount Rushmore of Basketball.
How Michael Jordan asserted his superiority against his teammate
Teams practice hard during the NBA season to keep up against their opponents. And a personality like MJ trains till his body completely drains out. His fighting spirit certainly motivated those around him. A similar instance of it was narrated by author Roland Lazenby to USA Today when asked about his favorite Jordan moment.
“No one ever wanted to play MJ one-on-one. But Scott Burrell kept insisting on it. Steve Kerr just couldn’t believe how stupid that was, that Scott would poke the bear like that. Burrell just kept picking MJ to play one-on-one. Scott got close to him. He got within a point, but Jordan won. Scott wanted to play again. So Jordan said, ‘I’m sure you do want to play again. You want to tell your grandkids that you beat Michael Jordan. What the hell am I going to tell my grandkids? That I beat Scott Burrell?’”
Lazenby, who has written a book about Jordan, perfectly summarizes the incident of the Jumpman shutting down his teammate. Jordan’s interaction with Burrell speaks volumes about his rapport with his teammates. Classic MJ.
Michael Jordan knew he was the very best. He used it against his teammates, not for demotivating them, but to make them work even harder. Of course, some of it was just banter, but you can’t argue with the point he makes. Burrell was a good player, but Jordan was the best.
The wicked jokes MJ makes are very humorous, from what we have seen in ‘The Last Dance’ so far. Episodes seven and eight are due to release this weekend and the anticipation levels are extremely high.
