Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. This is down to several factors, from his physical strength to his skill and ability. However, what set him apart from the rest was his competitiveness. A competitiveness that was not just prevalent during official games, but on the practice court as well. In fact, in the book Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby, it was revealed how he once became furious with a coach who switched him onto the other team mid-game.
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After all, he was on the winning side before the switch, as his team took an 8-0 lead. But, even after switching teams, His Airness was undeterred, as he went on a scoring run and pulled off a comeback.
Michael Jordan once displayed his dominance after a coach tried to cheat him back in 1984
When Michael Jordan first joined the Chicago Bulls back in 1984, team practices were led by Kevin Loughery. The coach had an interesting drill he would make the players do called “10 points or 10 laps”. The drill split the roster into two teams, and the first to ten points would win the game. The loser would have to run 10 laps.
In his first year there, MJ never ran a single lap. He was that dominant and even blew past one of the roadblocks Loughery tried to put in front of him. One day, the coach tried to switch things up on Jordan. Once his team had taken an 8-0 lead, Loughery forced His Airness to move over to the losing side. A decision, that the coach likely thought would humiliate the rookie.
As expected, Jordan was unhappy. But, rather than throw a tantrum, the six-time NBA Champion took it in stride. As Mark Pfeil, a former trainer with the Bulls recalled, Jordan went on to score the first nine points by himself, ultimately pulling off a comeback and taking home the W.
“‘Kevin always had a thing in practice, where he’d divide the roster into two teams, and the first team to 10 won. The team that lost ran 10 laps. Kevin called it 10 points or 10 laps. Michael never ran a lap the whole year. One time Michael’s team was up 8–0, and Kevin switched him to the other team. Michael was furious. He scored the first 9 points by himself, and his team won.'”
This was a perfect example of Jordan’s competitiveness, and more importantly, his relentless work ethic. He was willing to do anything to become the best of the best. And, this includes challenging everyone on the team during practice. All so that he could level up his game and prove himself as the greatest on the court.
MJ showed a similar dominance in practice while with the 1992 Dream Team
It didn’t matter where Michael Jordan was playing, he always wanted to be the best on the court. This was the case during his run with the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Jordan always worked hard in practice and international duty was no different. In fact, his legendary showdown with Magic Johnson explains it.
Magic decided to antagonize His Airness during a practice match after his team took an eight-point lead over the latter’s. This, as expected, did not sit well with Jordan, who proceeded to score every time he ran down the court. He overturned the deficit and won the match, as the Lakers legend wished he never opened his mouth.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan truly is the greatest player of all time. He hates losing, that is for sure, but he enjoys proving the naysayers wrong even more. He is undoubtedly a legend in the game of basketball.
