“If Michael Jordan Can’t Beat You, He’s Not Gonna Play”: $350M Worth Will Smith Once Described the Bulls Legend’s Competitive Nature

Much like his superstardom, competitiveness in Michael Jordan is one of a kind. The Bulls legend played in the NBA for 15 years and made the world his fan, including top celebrities.

The Academy award-winning actor Will Smith is among those who have had the privilege of not just watching some Bulls game courtside but also hangout with His Airness while he was writing history.

Also read: “Black Who? Imma Call Him Michael Jordan, That’s His F*****g Name”: 17-year-old Kobe Bryant Wasn’t Ready to Call Mike The ‘Black Jesus’

Michael Jordan once asked Will Smith to a race for who finishes water first

In his appearance on the late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live, one of the biggest Hollywood celebrities of all time, talked about MJ’s competitiveness when Jimmy asked him about how it feels to hang out with the GOAT.

“We’re friendly. We’ve hung out a few times,” started the Pursuit of Happiness actor.

Smith went on, “It’s like just like a competition. Let me tell you, Mike [Jordan] and Tiger [Woods] are the two most competitive people I’ve ever met on Earth. Mike will compete with anything, though. Like we’re drinking water, Mike will be like, ‘I’ll race you.’ You can’t beat Mike at anything… If he can’t beat you, he’s not gonna play.”

Nobody is going to be surprised by that story. There are enough stories about Jordan’s relentless competitive spirit which even came off as a severe problem to not just his opponents but his multiple teammates.

MJ’s competitive nature made him the GOAT on and off the court

One cannot be a 10x Scoring Champ and a 9x All-Defensive First Team member, both of which are NBA records, without having that cutthroat approach towards everything he did.

Jordan didn’t just win all the championship series he played in and won Finals MVP in all (6) of them, the Space Jam actor also made a multi-billion empire after retiring from the game.

He might have pissed some people off because of his nature, but the GOAT won in life and made some of those who do not like him, a champion as well.

Also read: 6ft 10’ Kevin Durant Equals Michael Jordan For Most 25-point Games to Start an NBA season, Still 64 Games Behind Another Legend

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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