Michael Jordan’s reputation in the NBA community hasn’t exactly been that of a ‘selfless teammate’ for some time now. On the contrary, during his best years in the NBA, he was known as a bit of a tyrant. The feeling was so rampant, that the legend felt the need to explain himself, saying that it was vital for him to be harsh on his teammates to ensure winning. But contrary to popular belief, Jordan was kind to his teammates as well. One example of his kindness could be seen when Disney approached him with $100,000 to say a certain catchphrase after winning the NBA Finals in 1991. While ‘His Airness’ agreed, he only did it under a condition that would require him to take a $80,000 pay cut.
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Jordan’s bad reputation is unfortunate, but at the very least, some of it is absolutely warranted. During his time with the Bulls, he chose to lead his teammates by trying to make them better. Jordan would try to hurt their feelings constantly, even getting into physical altercations with them at times, hoping that it would bring something exceptional out of them. As you might expect, that kind of behavior didn’t sit well with many in the team.
However, as per his teammates themselves, the Bulls wouldn’t have been so successful if MJ had been any different.
Michael Jordan ensured his teammates got a paycheck from Disney after winning their first-ever title
Some might say that the 1991 NBA Finals between the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls and the Magic Johnson-led LA Lakers was a bit of a wash. Admittedly, they wouldn’t be completely wrong.
Back when it happened, the contest was marketed as the Battle of the Stars. However, after the Lakers took Game 1, the Bulls ran them out of the building in all of the following games, with the finals series record being 4-1.
Disney had a deal with both Johnson and Jordan at the time. All they wanted was for the winner of the series to shout out, ‘I want to go to Disney Land‘. Here is an excerpt from Sam Smith’s ‘‘The Jordan Rules‘ explaining all the details, and what happened next.
“Another gracious gesture would follow the Finals: The Disney people had contacted both Jordan and Johnson, wanting the winner to declare his intention of “going to Disney World” after the final game. Both agreed, but Jordan said he would only do it if the commercial featured the whole starting five. Each would get $20,000 instead of $100,000 for him.”
Disney ended up taking the offer. And as a result, here is the advertisement that came out of it. Take a look at the YouTube video by Craig Shimala.
Frankly, it is downright hilarious to see grown men, especially Michael Jordan, cry out in such childlike excitement. The money they all got from the advertisement was very much well-earned.
Jordan loved other people’s money in his pocket
Michael Jordan could be nice when he wanted to be. Unfortunately for his teammates, it didn’t happen nearly as much as they would have hoped. In fact, most of his time spent with them, Jordan was trying to win their money for himself.
While the Bulls rode on the team plane, MJ and a few other players would gamble with massive bets. However, as John Paxson once revealed, Jordan came to the other side of the plane to gamble with him and Will Perdue. However, there was a big difference here. The two former Bulls players were only playing with $1 hands. For Jordan, who had been winning big on the other side of the plane, it made no sense to play with them.
So Paxson asked him why he was playing with them. With a devilish smile on his face, Jordan explained that he didn’t care how much he won. He just wanted all his teammate’s money in his pockets. Read about it here.
