Michael Jordan is perhaps one of the most competitive athletes to have graced the sporting realm. His drive and willingness to put everything on the line for even a single game is matched by only the greatest of the greats across multiple sports.
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This ‘killer instinct’ mentality wasn’t something he developed gradually over time as the Chicago Bulls got more and more successful. No. He had this mentality coming in the NBA as a rookie in 1984. A lot of it had to do with the fact that he came from a strict program at Chapel Hill under the legendary Dean Smith.
So, when the Bulls were purposefully losing games in the 1985-86 season to get better odds in the upcoming draft, MJ voiced his disgust. Moreover, the main problem with this season was that Jordan broke a small bone in his left foot in the 3rd game of the season. This is what started the tanking.
Michael Jordan begged to be put back into Bulls games during his rehab
Michael Jordan was itching to get back to NBA play so bad that he secretly played 5-on-5 games while rehabbing at UNC without the knowledge of Bulls management and staff. When he realized that his foot had almost healed and he felt ready to go, Jerry Reinsdorf shut it all down.
Reinsdorf knew that if they missed the Playoffs by resting Jordan, not only will they get a lottery pick, but would also not risk any injury to their Rookie of the Year. MJ however, was not with this plan and would come to blows with Jerry despite earning ‘only’ $630,000 in 1986. Both would use analogies that served their own purpose.
“If I had an opportunity to make an investment in real estate that had an 85 percent chance of showing a profit, I’d take it,” said MJ. The Bulls owner fired back by asking him if he would take a chance on a bottle of pills if 9 cured his headache and the last 1 was laced with cyanide.
Michael Jordan retorted with, “Depends on how bad the headache is.”
Michael Jordan won out against Jerry and the Bulls health staff
Michael Jordan would eventually return to play for the Chicago Bulls that 1985-86 season. He played merely the last 15 games of the season and somehow, someway, the 30-52 Bulls made it to the NBA Playoffs.
They would face off against the Boston Celtics and while they did get swept, it didn’t stop Jordan from putting on one of the greatest postseason performances of all time with his 63 point game in Game 2 (he had 49 in Game 1).
