Michael Jordan was a pretty great player. Whenever the 6-foot-6 guard took stepped on the hardwood, he would go on to cause problems for some of the best defenders in the league. However, as legendary as he was on the floor, Jordan often received criticism for being a shrewd leader. Especially during his time with the Wizards, Michael would openly mock Kwame Brown and belittle him on any given occasion. Including bestowing a name that sounds horrendous.
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From different anecdotes and what was portrayed to us in “The Last Dance”, it became pretty evident that MJ wasn’t the most understanding leader. Not only would the 5-time Most Valuable Player abuse his teammates, he would even go to the extent of hitting them in front of the entire team.
While the 6-time NBA champion wasn’t as bad a mentor during his stint with the Washington Wizards, his antics did get his players to be scared of him.
Kwame Brown was Jordan’s scapegoat
Jordan would burst out on the entire squad, however, no player was subjected to as much fire as Kwame Brown.
The Black Cat was more of a “tormentor than mentor”. While most of the players would be lectured by the veteran, Brown sustained several slurs. The young forward would even have his breakdowns… on more than one instance.
Mark Bechtel of Sports Illustrated further detailed his conversation with the Wizards’ then-assistant coach.
As a leader Jordan proved more tormentor than mentor. Many Washington players got the business end of a Jordan harangue, but he designated second-year forward Kwame Brown as the whipping boy, referring to him, as reported by The Washington Post, as a “flaming fa**ot.” A source told SI that Jordan ritually reduced Brown to tears in front of the team. Brown, whom Jordan took with the first pick in the 2001 draft, showed flashes of brilliance, but his confidence was lacerated by a player who was once his idol. “Michael was tough,” Wizards assistant John Bach tells SI. “But that’s just who he is, attempting to make [his teammates] better.”
Every veteran has their own way of leading their team. While Jordan’s ways were stricter than others, his methods did result in 6 championships for the Chicago Bulls. However, for the Washington-based franchise, it resulted in back-to-back missed playoffs campaigns.
How good was Michael Jordan as a Wizard?
Of course, during his stint as a player for the Wizards, the 10-time scoring champ did lose a lot of his physical prowess. Jordan wasn’t able to run as fast or jump as high as he earlier did.
However, despite being in his late 30s, Jordan did go on a scoring rampage.
Making it to the All-Star team in 2002 as well as 2003, the 11-time All-Star lodged a staggering 21.2/5.9/4.4.
