Michael Jordan developed the reputation of one of the greatest competitors in the history of the NBA. Throughout his career, he had the option to pair his talents alongside other elite players, including Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. His logic behind it is among the main reasons that he is viewed with more reverence than his contemporaries.
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In an interview during a golf event in 2010, Jordan opened up about the possibility ever of joining forces with Magic and Bird, which he immediately shut down.
"I would've NEVER called up Larry, called up Magic and said hey let's get together and play on 1 team. And in all honestly I was trying to beat those guys, I don't know if they would've been on my team." – Michael Jordan 🐐
What do you think MJ thinks of those decisions now? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/O7qaiGk8Vs
— NBA Strife ツ (@strifeomg) September 5, 2024
The question came shortly after LeBron James made his infamous decision to join the Miami Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. LeBron was heavily scrutinized for the move to form one of the biggest superteams ever.
Jordan made it known that he wouldn’t ever succumb to those measures, since competing against the top talent was always a priority. Jordan said,
“I’m a competitive guy and like to play against competitive players and see what happens from there.”
The six-time champion had countless duels throughout his career during his era that were centered around longevity in terms of players staying with teams. The Bulls and the Bad Boy Pistons had many showdowns due to the players on each team staying together.
Although Jordan said he wouldn’t team up with Magic and Bird, there would be a time when the three players joined talents on a competitive stage.
The 1992 Dream Team featured the three superstars as teammates
The 1992 Dream Team marked the first time NBA players could participate in the Olympics and it was quite the spectacle. Jordan, Bird and Magic were able to team up for the first time and proved that the opposition didn’t stand much of a chance against them. Jordan mentioned the lopsided competitive nature as another reason he would never team up with the two legends.
“I mean obviously when you look at the Dream Team, they were on my team and there wasn’t much of a competitive thing,” said Jordan.
During the Dream Team’s dominant run, they breezed through the competition to win by an average margin of victory of nearly 44 points per game. There was never a moment where Team USA even called a timeout.
In an interview with Marvin R. Shanken in 2005, Jordan revealed that he would start Bird at the power forward position in his all-time Dream Team lineup. His starting five consisted of Magic, himself, Scottie Pippen, Bird, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Jordan held his competitors with the utmost regard and respect, which involved taking them down in his journey to become the greatest. Refusing to join forces established a boundary between him and those who are compared to the six-time NBA champion.
