Michael Jordan is undoubtedly one of the best basketball players, if not the best. There is no shortage of accolades for the Bulls legend. He won six NBA Championships, six NBA Finals MVPs, 5 NBA MVPs, and so much more. Along with that, he was also a big part of the globalization of the NBA.
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We’ve all heard stories about MJ’s dedication to the game, relentless pursuit of wins, and killer mentality. Those are the qualities that made him the greatest of all time. However, these very qualities led his teammates to dislike him.
One such teammate is none other than Horace Grant. Drafted to the Bulls at the same time as Scottie Pippen, Grant played seven seasons with the Bulls before jumping ships. During that time, he won three championships, an All-Star selection, and a lot of bullying at the hands of the GOAT.
Shannon Sharpe narrated how Michael Jordan picked on Horace Grant
In 2020, Michael Jordan released his docu-series, The Last Dance, which focused on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. It was the last year of the dynasty, and the whole ordeal was videotaped. When the same was being released, Horace Grant contacted Shannon Sharpe.
At that time, a story had been making rounds about how Michael Jordan refused a stewardess from serving Horace Grant dinner on a flight because he had a bad game. Talking about the same, Grant told Shannon about other things MJ used to do.
“Sharpe, I’m telling you 100% that did happen(the food incident). The flight attendant, they’re serving us, and he[MJ} touched the flight attendant and said, “He doesn’t eat ’cause he played like poop.”
“Ho stood up and said, “F you Mike!” and went back to confront Mike, when a teammate told him it’s not worth it. There have been several times he and MJ came to blows. He[Horace] told me it started from the day he got there… He told me this the way Mike was, “If you did not confront Mike, he would ride you everyday, all day, all the time!”
That does sound like what Michael Jordan do. It was his way of getting the best out of his teammates. While it was unorthodox, it did win his six Championships, so who are we to judge?
Last Dance ruined MJ’s relations with Scottie Pippen as well
Last Dance, while it helped Michael Jordan show a different side of himself to the public, did not really do well for his connections from his past. A lot of former teammates, including Scottie Pippen, weren’t pleased with how His Airness had represented them on the show.
While it was supposed to be a documentary about the ’97-98 Bulls, the key focus was on Jordan, and that was solely MJ’s fault, considering how he’d been given editorial oversight. Pippen, in his memoir, even said, “He Couldn’t Have Been More Condescending If He Tried.”