Scottie Pippen is inarguably Michael Jordan’s most important teammate. However, his trainer Tim Grover was just as critical to his success as the Hall of Fame forward. The duo worked together for 15 years, but their relationship would have never commenced had Jordan not snooped around in his teammates’ lockers.
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During an appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Grover revealed that after graduating with a master’s degree in Kinesiology from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois, he couldn’t find a suitable job. He took up a position at a health club in Chicago on minimum wage and used his expertise to help his clients achieve their goals quickly and efficiently.
Grover quickly built an ironclad reputation in the fitness circles in Chicago and decided to leverage it. He wrote letters to all the players on the Bulls roster, except Jordan, offering to be their trainer, which was his dream job.
He assumed the guard had already employed an expert to look after his workout routine and diet. So he did not send a letter to the superstar. However, he was left astonished when one of the members of the Bulls’ backroom staff got in touch with him and told him that Jordan was interested in his offer. Revealing how the Bulls icon learned about his offer to his teammates, Grover said,
“Michael reached into a locker of somebody else and pulled the letter out and read it. And gave it to the team’s athletic trainer and said, ‘Hey, find out what this guy is about’… One of the reasons Michael wanted to get stronger is because of the physical abuse he was taking from the Detroit Pistons.”
Jordan employed Grover as his trainer in 1989 and sought his counsel to help build his strength to deal with the physicality of the ‘Bad Boy Pistons.’ Jordan and the Bulls pushed Detroit to a Game 7 in 1990 but came up short. However, the following year, they thrashed them 4-0 en route to winning their first NBA title.
Grover remained the five-time MVP’s trainer until the end of his career. His stellar job as Jordan’s trainer made him the most sought-after fitness guru in basketball. His impressive client list includes Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
It’s difficult to envision how different the league’s history would be had Jordan not rummaged around his teammate’s locker and stumbled upon Grover’s ambitious offer.
