Michael Jordan was perhaps the most competitive basketball player to have played in the NBA. He was never satisfied with himself no matter how much he had achieved.
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The Bulls legend has accomplished what NBA players dream of doing in his career. Six championships, six Finals MVP’s, five NBA MVP’s, an obvious Hall of Fame induction, and much more has cemented Jordan’s legacy as the greatest NBA player of all time.
So, why was his career so confusing? Well, he retired thrice in his career, to give you some context. If that sounds weird to you, that’s because it is. His first retirement was by far the most surprising as it came only nine years into his career, and he had just started to win at the highest level, coming off of his first three-peat.
Michael Jordan was pushing for greatness even at age 35
Jordan’s accomplishments had create a great reputation for him. By age 34, he was already a five time champion. You might think that it doesn’t get better than that, but Jordan thought otherwise.
In an interview, he revealed that at age 35, he was still reaching his peak, and that he still could play better. It’s insane to believe that even late into his career, Jordan was pushing the boundaries on how good he could be, but that’s just who he was.
Jordan turned 35 in 1998 which means that by the 1997-98 season, he had amassed a great deal of money. If you add up his earnings through contracts till the 1996-97 season, he would have made roughly $58 million according to Spotrac values.
So, money didn’t matter to Jordan. It was all about his love for the game. Of course, in the 1997-98 season, Jordan became the highest paid player in NBA history at that point, signing a deal worth $33 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would work out to about $50 million now which would be the highest salary in the league.
Greatness has no age as Jordan so clearly showed.
