“Practise or Real Game Should Be Played to Win”: Michael Jordan’s ‘Insane’ Quote Perfectly Portrays Bulls Legend’s Competitiveness

Michael  Jordan was well known for his zeal and competitive nature throughout his career. Jordan’s nature helped him inculcate a winning mentality within the Chicago Bulls team, which helped them win six NBA championships during the 90s. For MJ, every win counted, even during practice or on the court during an official NBA game.

An X handle named The Jordan Rules posted a montage of Jordan’s moves against the teams during his playing tenure in the 80s and the 90s. The caption of that post included one of MJ’s most popular quotes, which said, “Practise or real game should be played to win.”  To explain this mentality, Jordan later added,

“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.” 

“Practise or real game should be played to win.

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win”

~ Michael Jordan #NBA pic.twitter.com/cUfmVhFRtr

— The Jordan Rules (@Rules23Jordan) February 14, 2024

For Jordan, he would let nothing come in his way of winning. After joining the Bulls in 1984, he led the team to several playoff runs and improved the attendance at the Bulls’ home arena with his stellar performances. Through the 80s decade, Jordan continued his run of leading the Bulls to impressive playoff runs before finally hitting the jackpot in 1991 by winning his first championship. Since then, Jordan has appeared in five more finals and has an incredible record of 6-0 for the same.

Jordan’s nature and zeal have inspired several generations of players. From Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to even the newer generation of players in today’s era, everybody looks up to Jordan as a benchmark to achieve greatness as an individual player. Jordan has set precedence for winning in a way unimaginable for the league and has helped spread the popularity of the NBA beyond the borders of the United States with his star power and global persona.

Reggie Miller had to face the brunt of trash-talking Jordan in his rookie year

The Indiana Pacers had finally found their star in Reggie Miller, whom they drafted as an 11th overall pick from UCLA in the 1987 NBA draft. However, in one of his games against Jordan as a rookie, he had underestimated the ‘Black Jesus,’ who was having a bad game against the Pacers. As Miller described, Jordan was just 4 points by the half-time period, while Miller had 10 points.

Miller wanted to prove himself as the new kid in the block who could overwhelm the great Jordan. In speaking smack against MJ, Miller told Jordan, “Who do you think you are?” Well, Miller learned the prowess of Michael Jordan being provoked in the harshest possible manner. Jordan finished the game with 44 points and a win, while Miller raked up only 12. This was truly a humbling experience for Miller, who must have had his ‘Welcome to NBA’ moment with this incident.