“Me b*tching about 50 points is the biggest lie in America”: $1.7 billion worth Michael Jordan was livid at Sam Smith’s ‘Jordan Rules’

$1.7 billion worth Michael Jordan let it be known that he does not care about getting 50 points, opposing Sam Smith’s book. 

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’s rise from being first round fodder for Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics to becoming NBA champions in a 6 year span was one for the ages. Jordan had become synonymous with ‘winning’ and ‘dominance’ while also being marketed as the ‘All-American hero’ the country desperately wanted to prop up. 

Of course, when you receive that much positive publicity, fans want to dig up as much dirt as they can to find some flaw in this seemingly perfect human being. Well, NBA fanatics didn’t have to look all too far as Bulls writer, Sam Smith, released a New York Times bestseller, ‘Jordan Rules’, that chronicled the Bulls’ 1991 championship season. 

In the book, Smith painted Michael Jordan as somewhat of a tyrannical figure in the Chicago Bulls locker room, talking about various stories from practice. Everything from MJ berating his teammates to supposedly telling them that he wouldn’t pass them the ball if they pass to a teammate whose ‘gone cold’ was included in the book. 

With controversy surrounding Jordan’s ways behind the scenes, the eventual $1.7 billion worth Hall-of-Famer tried to set the record straight.

Also read: 6’6″ Michael Jordan’s “Damn, young fella, damn, y’all done?” response to 6’11” Kevin Garnett put the rookie in his place   

Michael Jordan on Sam Smith’s claim of him complaining about less touches. 

In a 1992 interview with Playboy, Michael Jordan was asked by the interviewer what he felt about the previous year’s ‘Jordan Rules’ book. He cleared several of the ‘accusations’ but one stood out. When asked about him being considered a selfish scorer by Bill Cartwright after a game in New Jersey, MJ said: 

“Sam Smith says Cartwright said I was b*tching about not getting 50 points and that everyone could have scored 20 instead. That’s the biggest lie in America. The whole offense is set for Cartwright to score as many points as he can. If he can’t score that’s his damn problem. All I can do is throw the ball. I can’t make him move.” 

This isn’t the only instance of Michael Jordan complaining about Tex Winter’s revolutionary triangle offense. Doug Collins coaching him for 3 years had him accustomed to having the ball in his hands at all times. Phil Jackson, under the tutelage of Tex and immense pressure from Jerry Krause, implemented the triangle. 

This meant everybody on the court got to touch the ball and players could make the right decision on the fly with 50+ permutations of offense. This also meant guys like Will Perdue of Bill Cartwright would have the ball at the end of the shot clock at times, something MJ wasn’t all too alright with.

Also read: 6’6” Michael Jordan’s mysterious NBA ring aided in his father, James’s, murder case