Not many players in NBA history can say they have a better career resume than Michael Jordan. The six-time NBA champion achieved his esteemed greatness through incredible amounts of hard work. It’s why many consider him to be the GOAT. Still, he did have battles with himself, like when a three week pause on workouts had him questioning his own identity.
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Winning one championship is extremely difficult, but five becomes a Sisyphusian task of mental fortitude. Entering the 1997-98 season, Jordan had proved that he was one of the hardest-working players in the league. It is no coincidence that the Bulls began to experience widespread success once Jordan’s game became significantly more refined, after thousands of hours of work.
Regardless, even the great Michael Jordan is human. Championship hangover is a real thing, and for someone who had just won his fifth in seven years, he was feeling it more than ever. For the first time since he left for baseball, Jordan was feeling that wear and tear of mental preparedness. Shockingly, he gave in.
Jordan spoke with Rick Telander from ESPN for ESPN The Magazine. The issue was published on April 6, 1998. Just two weeks ahead of the start of the playoffs, Jordan made a stark revelation. In their conversation, he opened up about the tribulations he faced, which weren’t common knowledge to the general public.
“I stopped working out for about 3 ½ weeks this season,” Jordan said. “I got used to sleeping in, taking shortcuts. And it affected me on the court.”
Such a drastic break from basketball was unheard of for Jordan’s standards. He wasn’t above taking breaks, but when it came to basketball, either he was fully in or fully out. Whenever he was in season, he didn’t let anything come in the way of the sport he loved.
Jordan claims the impact affected him on the court, but the counting stats suggest otherwise. Entering April, Jordan was averaging 28.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Chicago also had a 56-17 record at the time.
The difference is that Jordan knew that he couldn’t lead his team to a championship behind these newfound habits. “I told Phil Jackson one morning, ‘I’ve been taking shortcuts, yet I’m expecting the same results. It can’t happen that way,'” Jordan said.
Once he began getting back to his roots, however, he began to feel like his usual self. “I feel better physically, and I feel good about myself as a person. I’m getting up at 8 every day instead of 9. I’m not getting soft,” Jordan proclaimed.
Jordan didn’t do the work himself. His trainer, Tim Grover, was alongside him every step of the way. Despite MJ’s moment of weakness, it never changed how great his work ethic truly was, and Grover can boldly attest to that.
Jordan’s obsessive work ethic
Grover has trained some exceptional talent throughout his career, such as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. As good as those players were, none of them quite compares to the likes of Michael Jordan.
The esteemed trainer knew Jordan was special from a talent standpoint alone. His entire perception of the Hall-of-Fame guard changed once he witnessed his otherworldly work ethic.
“No matter what happened the night before—good game, bad game, soreness, fatigue—he was up working out every morning while most other guys slept,” Grover said. “Interesting how the guy with the most talent and success spent more time working out than anyone else.”
Jordan’s relentless drive to become better explains why he was as great as he was. Although he had a stretch of complacency, he didn’t let it consume him.
A few weeks following his revelation in ESPN Magazine, Jordan went on to capture his sixth NBA title. That reality check became one of the most important moments of his career.
