“I Own the Guy Guarding Me”: Even Before Winning His 2nd MVP, Michael Jordan Believed Opponents Were at His Mercy

Within just three seasons in the NBA, Michael Jordan had proved himself to be an absolutely formidable force in the NBA. Jordan’s relentless drive to push for success earned him individual honors, such as the 1988 MVP title. However, that wasn’t enough to satisfy the competitive nature of the Bulls legend. In fact, even before winning his second MVP title in 1991, Jordan believed that no player matched enough to guard him in the league.

In a 1989 GQ feature article, His Airness revealed how strongly he felt about the opponents being at his mercy. This was indeed true, given the 6x NBA champion used to physically and mentally dominate his opponents on the floor. Jordan was infamous for his trash talks and mind games, which allowed him to break his opponents on the court. Speaking to GQ, Jordan proudly claimed,

“When I’m on my game, I don’t think there’s anybody that can stop me. It’s a strong feeling, and it has strong implications: Once I get the ball, you’re at my mercy. There’s nothing you can say or do about it. I own the ball, I own the game, I own the guy guarding me.” 

Though Jordan believed in toying with his opponents in court, he never applied these same principles in his life off the court. “I don’t do that in life, I don’t do that in society. But in a game—when I’m on—yes,” revealed the Chicago Bulls veteran, further proclaiming his determination and aggressive nature when it comes to winning games in the league.

Much of this attitude of Jordan can be attributed to his ultra-competitive nature that helped the Bulls win their first NBA championship. However, before that, Jordan was already stacking on individual stats sheets, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest.

Perhaps this very nature of His Airness helped the Bulls become the most dominant team in the league through the 90s decade. This feat was something that the Bulls have still failed to replicate, even 24 years after Jordan and the rest of the dynasty players parted from the organization in 1998.

Larry Bird had once proclaimed Michael Jordan as ‘God disguised’

We all might now know of Michael Jordan pushing the boundaries with his decorated accomplishments. However, as a young player, Jordan was yet to prove his prowess to the rest of the league. When talking about the greatest player, the NBA was still not over the greatness of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who used to create the greatest rivalry in the NBA of that time. All of that changed when Jordan played his career’s second playoff game against the Boston Celtics.

In Game 2 of the series, His Airness posted 63 points against the mighty Celts, which still remains the highest-scoring playoff game by a player in NBA history. Jordan had just shown a glimpse of the greatness he had yet to achieve later in his career.

In high praise of the young Bulls star, Larry Bird said,

“I think he’s god disguised as Michael Jordan. He is the most awesome player in the NBA. Today in Boston Garden, on national TV, in the playoffs, he put on one of the greatest shows of all time.” 

Most people tend to overlook this form of Jordan while reflecting on his career. If one only tends to have memories of Jordan from his title-winning years in the ’90s, they have clearly missed out on MJ, hungry to prove his might in the league in the late ’80s. Perhaps this hunger was what later paid off for both Jordan and the Bulls, who enjoyed umpteen success during the veteran legend’s playing years.