‘Old’ Michael Jordan Slapped Kwame Brown And Still Earned His Respect Through His Work Ethic

Coming in as the Wizards’ 1st overall pick, expectations were high for Kwame Brown. During his tenure in Washington, the pressure would pile up, leading to several tense moments between him and team president, Michael Jordan. Two decades later, Brown joined Swish Cultures’ podcast and shared what he witnessed from the 6x NBA champion.

“I got no reason to be a MJ fan. That motherf***er slapped me in the back of my head one day…I got no reason to be a MJ fan,” admitted Kwame Brown. Jordan’s antics are well known. He was not a man who liked to lose and would often use some harsh motivational methods to get his teammates going. But Brown recognized that the person Michael Jordan was hardest on was himself.

“I just saw the work and dedication…This old n**** was getting up at 39 years old. He never cheated the game,” recalled Brown. Even as team president, MJ continued playing for the Wizards until 2003. And Brown was stumped at just how dedicated Jordan remained, even as he approached 40 years of age.

Kwame would add, “The breakfast club was real. I joined the breakfast club cause I couldn’t believe it. I’m like ain’t no way this old n*****, after being up, standing there all night gambling, there’s no way this n**** gonna be here at 6 o’clock. That n**** was already in the weight room, lifting at 5:45!”

For the uninitiated, the breakfast club was an early morning training regime that focused on strength training before the regularly scheduled practices and workouts began. It was an MJ ritual that most of the Bulls players had adopted during their championship run. And Brown, witnessing it firsthand, had nothing but respect for the ‘old’ GOAT. Even if there might be a reason for Brown to feel otherwise.

Did Jordan bring Brown to tears?

During a particularly heated preseason practice, Kwame called for a foul under the basket and it set Jordan off. MJ wanted his big man to be tougher and not complain about a “goddamn little touch foul”. In his memoir, Michael Jordan even shared the story of how he almost brought Brown to tears. When asked about it in a later interview, Kwame once more shared a highly diplomatic answer.

“Michael has never brought me to tears. Did he upset me a lot? Yeah. I mean, he’s a competitor,” the former 1st overall pick explained.

Despite his NBA career never living up to its potential, Kwame Brown’s maturity remains commendable. Brown pointed to the media for floating around such stories without any proof. He said it was “nothing” and he believed that people just wanted to fabricate stories around successful figures like Michael Jordan.