“Rookie Michael Jordan Made Me Retire From the NBA!”: George Gervin Explains Hilarious Story Behind His Retirement

Michael Jordan was famously one of the most competitive players to ever take the court. Heck, there were occasions where he was so competitive with even his own teammates, that it could’ve been considered outright disrespectful.

There are countless stories of his from his championship years pushing any and every player around, whether it was to get inside their head or push them to do better. But what about a story from when he was a rookie?

Well, we have one right here for you. And suffice it to say, you’re going to want to see it.

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Michael Jordan retired George Gervin with just his trash-talk

Michael Jordan came into the NBA in the 1984 draft. And from the get-go, he was one of the best in the league. And apparently, so was his confidence.

Despite being surrounded by veterans, it appears that the man wouldn’t hesitate to trash-talk anyone in practice.

And as George Gervin admitted in 2017 as per The Post Game, he had to find that out in the hardest way possible, in his first-ever practice with MJ.

“The son of a b*tch (Michael Jordan) is crazy. He played just as hard at practice as he did in the game. I’ll never forget it, I’m at practice with him one time, I’m lackadaisical going through it and stuff. I say, “Dang, young fella.” He said, “Hey, old man, go sit down over there.” I sat down. I was done. He helped me understand I was done. You’ve only got so long to be on top. I was on top for about 12 years. You only have your turn. My turn was pretty much up. I retired after that.”

While the lesson may have been a hard pill to swallow, it’s hard not to chuckle at least a little at the way the incident went down. And we don’t think that was lost on George Gervin either.

What do Michael Jordan’s former teammates think of his competitive leadership?

Michael Jordan was famous for treating his teammates pretty harshly during his hay day.

But, do they hold it against him?

Just take a look at the YouTube clip below.

Perhaps the treatment wasn’t harsher than it needed to be.

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