The legend of Michael Jordan transcends the game of basketball. While his on-court brilliance led to jaw-dropping moments, it was his competitive nature that allowed fans and athletes alike to deify him. Former Giants linebacker and Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor, was one of several men who experienced the fiery side to MJ’s persona firsthand as the two played golf on several occasions.
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In an interview with the New York Post, Taylor contributed his own accounts of Jordan’s competitiveness. Although he played against some of the greatest players in the NFL, Taylor considers MJ to be the most competitive person he knows. Even when it comes to simple bets, Jordan desires to always win. Taylor said.
“Of all the people I know, he’s probably the most competitive person I know. He’ll bet on a daggone 50-foot putt and goddammit, if he bets on it, nine times out of 10 he’s gonna make it. Don’t get it confused. He is trying to win every bet. He might not care, but he is trying to win every bet. Everything that is out there. He’s trying to win at all times. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Jordan found a way to increase the stakes in any competition. He would make bets with Taylor when they played golf, and more times than not, come out victorious. Jordan would come off as nonchalant but in reality, he intended to win every bet and come out as the winner. Although the approach is different from Jordan’s NBA career he sought the same results.
Taylor and Jordan are longtime friends and the Bulls star’s competitive nature isn’t anything new to the Hall-of-Fame football player. It became a trait which Taylor continues to tolerate in their friendship.
Taylor and Jordan’s friendship
Taylor and MJ’s friendship began during Jordan’s collegiate career. After the Giants selected Taylor with the second overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, he went back to North Carolina to finish his degree. During that time he met, Jordan on campus and the two quickly became friends.
“My senior year when I went to the Giants, I came back to school to finish up that summer,” Taylor said. “And he was there at Carolina getting ready for the season, but we played a lot of basketball, we hung out a lot. I consider him a good friend.”
Although Taylor isn’t a basketball expert, he noticed something special in Jordan. His skill level exceeded anything he had ever seen. “Sometimes you think he’s from another planet,” Taylor said. “The things he can do you don’t see every day. Every hundred million people that are born, there may be one like him, OK?”
However, Taylor accomplished tremendous feats in his career as well. Many widely consider him to be the greatest defensive player of all time. Although their friendship spans between two sports, both Taylor and Jordan’s greatness changed their respective leagues for the better.
