Michael Jordan and Adolph Shiver’s friendship goes back a long time. They were both residents of North Carolina, growing up together while attending middle school. Since then, the pair has been inseparable even after Michael Jordan became a global icon due to his popularity in the NBA. However, knowing Jordan’s limitations, Shiver would also never miss an opportunity to humor everyone with the same.
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In the book Michael Jordan: The Life, author Roland Lazenby noted Shiver hilariously describing Jordan’s abilities to mix drinks, saying,
“That boy don’t know how to make drinks. He just be throwing sh*t together.”
Sure, given Shiver knew Jordan before he became the prodigy as a player, the 6x NBA champion would often let that slide. Shiver was incredibly social and jovial, often taking up the role of social director and bartender for all the gatherings and parties for Michael Jordan and Co, in the mid to late 80s. Being the oldest friend of Jordan, Shiver’s presence always brought a sense of comfort and homeliness and used to be the life of the party.
Many people have commented how the Bulls legend created a haven for himself by creating an entourage of only his friends and closed business associates. Bulls psychologist George Mumford, commenting on this attribute of Jordan, said, “The reality of it was that if he hadn’t created that cocoon, he probably wouldn’t have won those six championships.”
In the long run, surrounding himself with friends greatly helped Michael Jordan achieve his career and business goals However, Charles Barkley thought otherwise, when it came to MJ’s choice of friends.
Charles Barkley had figured out the problem with Michael Jordan
When it came to managing and owning an NBA team, having an entourage filled with yes-men was a factor in Jordan’s not finding success as an NBA franchise owner. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were best friends during their playing days in the NBA. However, Barkley started having disagreements with Jordan over his ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) franchise in the NBA.
Though Jordan became the first black majority owner in the league, his mismanagement of the Hornets was quite evident. On that note, Barkley once commented,
“What I said about Michael, I said that I don’t know if he’s ever going to be successful because of the people around him. I think he hires too many of his friends, cause your friends don’t ever tell you “No”…”
This assessment from Sir Charles was quite fair in highlighting the recent lack of success of the Hornets under Michael Jordan. This year, Jordan sold his majority shares in the Hornets, further increasing his net worth upwards to a whopping $3 billion.
