NBA players are some of the richest athletes in the world. Filthy rich, if they’re superstars. So, one can imagine how loaded the 1992 Dream Team was, with legends like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Magic Johnson on the team. MJ, however, during that year’s Games in Barcelona, put himself up on a pedestal — one that Barkley pulled him down from.
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The ’92 team was so full of talent that there was competitiveness even within the roster. They all wanted to prove that they were the best, and it showed during practices, as Barkley revealed on a recent episode of the Pardon My Take podcast. MJ, however, took it a step too far to show superiority when they were unwinding.
Barkley recalled how he, Jordan, Johnson, and Scottie Pippen were playing cards one night in the Catalan capital when MJ decided to flex by continuously raising the stakes. He forgot, however, that they were all rich.
“Michael tries to buy the pot, he didn’t realize we’re all rich… Like, okay, we all got money dude,” Chuck said. “He always tries to buy the pot. Like, ‘I’mma raise you’… We got money too fool!”
To be fair, MJ was on a better salary and richer than the other four in question. In 1992, he was on his $25 million Chicago Bulls contract. Barkley, on the other hand, had a multi-year deal worth $10-12 million. A huge difference, but in a poker game where they were likely (and hopefully) betting just a few grand, it didn’t really matter.
The fact that MJ, Chuck, and the others were rich made it easy for them to gamble high stakes without sweating too much. Chuck for one, loves to gamble, and even said once, “Kiss my a**! I’m going to gamble. I like to do it. I’m in form right now because my whole weekend is all about gambling on Saturdays and Sundays.”
Spoken like a true gambler, and MJ, the man who was once Chuck’s best friend, would agree.
Jordan’s love for gambling
Jordan’s love for gambling didn’t just revolve around occasional game nights in the Olympics. He was hardcore; borderline obsessed. Sometimes, it even got controversial. For instance, in 1992, after losing to New York in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan was spotted in Atlantic City, gambling.
The six-time NBA champ, however, never saw it as a problem. When asked about it, he defended himself, stating, “I enjoy it, it’s just a hobby. It’s not a problem.” If it were, Jordan continued, he admitted he would’ve sold his house, his watches, and also his championship rings. Fair point, but still, scary that the thought entered his mind.
Gambling issues were a small stain in Jordan’s otherwise legendary career, one that doesn’t really live in infamy. As MJ said in Netflix’s The Last Dance, “I don’t have a gambling problem, I have a competition problem.” It summed up the kind of man MJ was. He didn’t care about the money. He cared about winning, even if it was at cards.
