There are thousands of stories about Michael Jordan floating around. Tales of his competitiveness, his trash talk, and his ruthless will to win. But stories where he actually lost, especially in a one-on-one? Now that’s a rare one. One of those rare tales has now come from former NBA player Troy Bell.
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Bell was the 16th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics but only ended up playing six games in the league, all with the Memphis Grizzlies. While his NBA career might not be up to the mark, Bell had a great run at Boston College.
During a recent conversation on Scorer’s Society, Bell claimed that he once beat MJ in a 1v1. And not just that, he says MJ cheated him out of $10,000. Jordan loved testing himself and others in 1v1 games. Most of the time, it ended the way you’d expect, with MJ walking off as the winner. But Bell says that wasn’t the case here.
He claims Jordan initiated the challenge shortly after his time with the Wizards came to an end. They bet $10,000 on the game. According to Bell, game one wasn’t even close. He said he beat MJ 11-5. Confident and feeling locked in, Bell said he jumped to a 10-4 lead in game two. That’s when, as per Bell, things got sketchy.
“I was up 10-4, and it just got to the point where if he missed a shot, it was always a foul. I don’t think I called a foul for the entire either game,” Bell claimed. He believed he was about to “smoke” MJ for the second time when Jordan started getting absurd calls. And just like that, the $10,000 vanished with the final result in MJ’s favor. Bell walked away with the win in game one, but not the cash.
Michael Jordan once beat the Charlotte Bobcats players
After Jordan’s playing career came to an end, he transitioned into the business side of basketball. In 2010, he bought a minor stake in the Hornets, his hometown team (then known as the Bobcats).
During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Stephen Jackson, who was on the Bobcats at the time, said that MJ played pick-up games with the Bobcats players twice. Jordan liked playing one-on-one with the active players. But it wasn’t about having fun all the time.
Jackson said, “He actually came out there and played one-on-one with some guys, but one day, he really tore into my butt…Came to practice and wanted to make a statement to the team, cuz we was kind of feeling ourselves.”
In Jackson’s words, Jordan “destroyed” them. And he wasn’t too flashy about it. MJ just came in to practice, wearing Jordan shorts, shoes, and the second team jersey, and humiliated the players on the team he owned.
