Michael Jordan wasn’t always the best teammate to have around. His unrelenting drive for perfection and victory led him down a path of no return, often resulting in him pushing his teammates to extremes they didn’t feel like they wanted to reach.
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However, one thing is for certain when it comes to Jordan and that’s that he cared about the team as a whole. He never pushed anybody under the bus during press conferences and almost always took the blame for any shortcomings or stated that the team as a whole underperformed.
Michael, while being one of the greatest players on NBA hardwood, was also one of the best athletes on the mic. He knew how to command an audience and when he spoke, everybody listened. However, there were a few moments during press conferences where Jordan simply didn’t feel like elaborating all too much.
Dennis Rodman on Michael Jordan not wanting to answer questions about his teammates
Dennis Rodman, despite him having he rebellious reputation that he did, was brought onto the Chicago Bulls by Phil Jackson and company. Michael Jordan understood that the Bulls lost to the Magic the year prior because of their lack of defense and rebounding. Bringing in Rodman was a no-brainer.
Dennis’s $2.5 million contract in the 1995-96 season served them well as the Bulls won 72 games, a regular season record at the time. During his 3 years in Chicago, he noticed that his teammate, Michael Jordan, deflected questions pertaining to his other teammates, often feeling conflicted on answering them.
“When the reporters started asking Michael about Scottie Pippen, Michael got perturbed. He got perturbed and said, ‘Why don’t you go ask Scottie?’” said Rodman about MJ.
Jordan clearly didn’t want to put words in his teammates mouths and was smart about this. He knew misquotes could take place and didn’t want to cause an fractures in the locker room.
Dennis Rodman never wore a single pair of Jordans
Dennis Rodman, while on an episode of Sneaker Shopping, revealed that he had never worn a pair of Air Jordans in his life. He had his own shoes with Nike and would rock those but towards the end, Rodman did go on to say that he loved Michael ‘to death’.
