$2.1 Billion worth Michael Jordan wouldn’t have won his 6 rings if he didn’t stop trash talking this one teammate

Bulls legend Michael Jordan might have cost himself his entire career if he didn’t stop messing with Bill Cartwright

During his days in the NBA, Michael Jordan was one of the fiercest competitors. The Black Cat was an unstoppable force on the basketball court. He struck fear into the heart of his opponents like no one had ever done.

The 6’6 guard from North Carolina was drafted at the #3 spot by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 draft. He went on to win 6x NBA Championships with the team and go down in the NBA History books as the GOAT.

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When Michael Jordan was drafted, the Bulls were a mediocre team, to say at the best. They were 27-55 the year before MJ was drafted. Since Jordan got drafted, his one goal was to make the Bulls a winning team and win championships. Charles Oakley was drafted by the Bulls in 1985, and MJ was turning the team around with him. However, the Bulls didn’t trust the pairing and traded away Oakley to the Knicks, which pissed off ‘His Airness.’

Michael Jordan bullied Bill Cartwright, gets humbled by the big man

In 1988, Bill Cartwright was traded to the Bulls, sending Charles Oakley to New York. Michael Jordan wasn’t happy about the same and made it known. In the first practice itself, he started bullying the new teammate, calling him ‘old’ and giving him nicknames like ‘Medical Bill.’

This continued for quite some time, and the breaking point came in a game against the Hornets, Cartwright was struggling. This led to MJ claiming that the big didn’t even deserve to be in the NBA. Cartwright pulled MJ aside and told him that he would be “Ground Jordan” because he would “break his fucking legs” if MJ aired him out again after singling him after a bad game.

After that point, MJ started to mend fences and found ways to co-exist with the big. The 7’1, 250 lbs big and MJ went on to three-peat together from 1991-93.

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Things would’ve been much different for MJ, the Bulls, and Cartwright if the Black Cat didn’t stop his harassment in time, and the big would have followed through with his threat.