Despite Nine Figure Brand, Petty Michael Jordan Wouldn’t Give Away Free Shoes: Brendon Haywood

There are a lot of words that can be used to describe Michael Jordan. Competitive and vindictive will likely be the first his peers will use. But petty is one adjective that nearly everyone who has met and spent time with him can agree on. Infamous for forging rivalries for the most trivial reasons, Jordan was as petty as they came. However, it wasn’t limited to his opponents. Former Wizards star Brendan Haywood revealed he was petty with his teammates too.

The retired center, who played with Jordan during his time in Washington, reminisced about what it was like to be his teammate on the Run Your Race podcast. When one of the hosts asked him if Jordan gave his teammates free shoes, Haywood laughed, and said,

“That isn’t really how MJ rolled. You gotta earn them. Listen, man. You gotta earn them Jordans for sure.”

By 2002, Nike had released 17 different signature shoes under the Jordan Brand, and it was estimated that his company was closing in on a net worth of a billion dollars. The Bulls icon could afford to give away sneakers without hurting his bank balance.

However, Haywood revealed that in Jordan’s eyes, his teammates and peers had to prove they deserved to wear his shoes and represent his company. He said that to get a pair of free shoes from him, one would have had to earn them.

Haywood’s story is just the tip of the iceberg. Jordan was famously stingy about giving away free pairs of Jordans. One particular incident during a summer basketball camp highlighted this best.

Michael Jordan sinks 3 shots and a hundred fans’ hearts

In what fans online refer to as the “F**k them kids” incident, Jodan was a guest at a summer basketball camp that Chris Paul hosted in 2016. The former Clippers guard challenged Jordan to a shooting contest in front of the hundreds of children gathered there.

The rules of the challenge stated that if he missed three shots, he would have to gift every kid present at the camp a pair of Jordans. Paul expected him to miss, as the opportunity to give kids a free pair of shoes straight from Jordan himself would’ve made him even more loved than he already was. He was in for a shock. Jordan systematically knocked shot after shot.

Paul tried to force the Bulls icon to miss one and put a hand in his face to ensure he couldn’t see the rim on his final attempt. Recalling the incident on the Uninterrupted podcast, the Spurs star said,

“I went down there. I just challenged him, thinking there’s a lot of kids here, ain’t no way. I know MJ is still MJ…”

Jordan does give away shoes to charities. However, his competitive spirit triumphs over his altruism. Paul challenging him to make the shot made it personal for him. He did not give the kids free Jordans but taught them the valuable lesson that it’s best not to test him.