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Before Giving Controversial Take on LeBron James, Charles Barkley’s Trainer Detailed Michael Jordan’s ‘Problem’ in 2021: “Had a Winning Problem”

Rishabh Bhatnagar
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Before Giving Controversial Take on LeBron James, Charles Barkley's Trainer Detailed Michael Jordan's 'Problem' in 2021: "Had a Winning Problem"

Now 58, Tim Grover had an illustrious career as a physical trainer and worked with some of the best NBA athletes of all time. This includes Charles Barkley and the great Michael Jordan, who he recently called the GOAT due to a unique, sneaker-related reason, according to ClutchPoints. Regardless, in 2021, around 2 years before giving his take on the LeBron James-MJ debate, he spoke about his former client’s weaknesses. Speaking to Tom Bilyeu, Grover talked about how he helped Jordan overcome his doubts regarding his weaknesses. Just by telling him to focus just as much on his strengths.

Grover has experience working with some of the best athletes from the previous generation. He is considered a true maverick in the field of physical fitness and has also published multiple books. His 2021 release, “Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness,” is aimed at helping younger athletes around the world maximize their physical potential and fitness.

Tim Grover talked about Michael Jordan’s flaw years before proclaiming him GOAT

During the interview, Grover spoke about a range of topics related to Jordan. He claimed that while he was the greatest NBA athlete, Jordan also had a few weaknesses. Jordan himself was well aware of it and wanted to work towards making it a strength:

“In the last dance, Michael said he had a competitive problem. I have a competition problem. Right, everything is a competition. Well, for most people, they will be like, ‘/that’s his flaw.’ He has always got to compete. He is always intense. He is always wound up. But everyone tells him unwind. You cant tell individuals like yourself, like me, to unwind, coz we are the most uncomfortable when we decide to unwind. When we decide to unwind, it is because we want to unwind, and not because someone told us to.”

However, Grover later argued that sometimes the best way to forget a weakness is focussing on one’s strength. He explained the two types of weaknesses, claiming that while some can be vanquished, others need to be accepted:

“He had a weakness, not a flaw, he had a weakness. A lot of individuals will take their weakness and turn it to their strength. But they stop working on their strengths, and they don’t advance. That is a key component. Recognize your weakness, a lot of weakness you can work on and make yourself better, but some are just weaknesses.”

Time Grover called Michael Jordan the GOAT using a unique example

There is little doubt that Grover’s time with Michael Jordan resulted in the trainer considering him the GOAT. However, despite the experience, it was a shoe-related question that he used to prove his point.

Speaking on the GOAT debate, Grover said that people told stories of their Air Jordans getting stolen all the time. However, as far as James’ signature shoes are concerned, such stories never crop up.

Grover claimed that MJ’s popularity and the fact that people around the world want his shoes prove that he is the NBA GOAT. Needless to say, that is a unique way of looking at the debate.

About the author

Rishabh Bhatnagar

Rishabh Bhatnagar

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Rishabh Bhatnagar is a Senior NBA Writer at The SportsRush. A lifelong NBA fan, Rishabh has been working as an NBA journalist since 2017. Before joining The SportsRush, he covered the NBA for another popular media platform. Rishabh is a bona fide NBA Historian specializing in uncovering stories from the league's past. He also likes covering trade rumors and player contracts. Rishabh has written almost 800 articles for The SportsRush and is always on the lookout for intriguing NBA stories. He is also a published novelist and an ardent Lakers fan.

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