The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the biggest teams in sports. And, with it being based in Los Angeles, California, it has garnered quite the support, especially from Hollywood superstars. Prime amongst the Lakers’ celebrity fandom in Denzel Washington. But, despite being a die-hard Laker fan, even he had to bow down to the greatness of Michael Jordan.
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Despite being born in New York, Denzel Washington has always been a big fan of the Lakers. After all, his rise to stardom saw him act in some of Hollywood’s renowned films like A Soldier’s Story, Hard Lessons, and Power. All around the era of the Showtime Lakers.
So, in 1991, when the Purple and Gold faced off against a Bulls team led by His Airness, Denzel needed to act. He was and still is good friends with Jordan. And as he explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he attempted to wine and dine him before a crucial Game 3 matchup in LA.
Denzel Washington attempted to get Michael Jordan drunk before Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals
In 2018, Hollywood megastar, Denzel Washington appeared on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Washington discussed his love for the city of LA, the Lakers, and even commented on the team’s latest recruit, LeBron James.
The King was into his first season in LA, and as with most things surrounding him, it led to a discussion about the GOAT. And, you cannot have a GOAT conversation without Michael Jordan. It was here that Washington shared an interesting story from the 1991 NBA Finals.
To set the scene, this was Jordan’s first Finals appearance. He had fallen short time and time again up until this point and was determined to win his first ring. And, after a Game 2 win in Chicago, things weren’t looking good for Game 3. So Washington who happened to be in attendance tried to give LA an added advantage by getting MJ drunk. Spoiler alert, he failed.
“The next game, they were coming to LA to play. And, I was trying to get him drunk…trying to get him off his game. It didn’t work!”
Denzel just wasn’t able to get His Airness inebriated. And, as history shows, the Lakers got absolutely destroyed in that series, earning Jordan the first of his six NBA Championships.
Jordan acted like he was drinking, completely fooling Denzel Washington
To be fair, Denzel’s strategy was sound. After all, Game 2 had just finished, and it was only natural that when he and Jordan went out for dinner, the latter would be expected to drink. Fortunately, MJ caught on quickly and only pretended to drink. He just took the glass to his lips and then set it back down.
After that, Washington’s beloved Lakers were completely demolished. Jordan and the Bulls went on to win the next three games, winning the series 4-1. A series, that also happened to be Magic Johnson’s last Finals appearance before his HIV diagnosis.
One can only imagine how things would have ended if Washington’s ploy had succeeded. But, then again, this is Michael Jeffrey Jordan, even the flu wasn’t enough to stop him.
