Michael Jordan’s greatness wasn’t only limited to his basketball moves on the court, another facet where the Bulls legend excelled was talking trash, whether it be his teammates or opponents. Stories of His Airness being a tyrant in the Bulls locker room are no secret.
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Thus being MJ’s teammate was nothing short of a double-edged sword, with the situation being more petrifying for a rookie, something his former Bulls teammate B.J. Armstrong would shed light on during a 2018 appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.
While speaking on the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James GOAT debate, Armstrong would give an insight into the narrative of Black Jesus never keeping tab on the score, revealing how the game was always 0-0 for the Bulls guard.
“I think he (MJ) knew what the score was, but he made a conscious effort to treat the game as if the game was always 0-0,” said BJ.
The Michigan native added how Jordan was always trapped in that possession, continuing to stay locked in, despite being 20 points up. The six-time Finals MVP never let incompetency seep into his scheme of things.
B.J. Armstrong hilariously revealed how Michael Jordan bated young guys on the team into ‘Silly Fines.’
Given MJ’s aura, coupled with the notion that he was a tyrant, one can imagine sustaining alongside the Bulls superstar be the ultimate pressure test for the rookie. Giving further details on Jordan’s mentality of the score always being 0-0, BJ added how the 6ft 6″ guard bullied the young rookies.
“We had a thing in Chicago called the Silly Fines and if we were up big, especially in the game, we would ask the younger players, especially the rookies, ‘What’s the score of the game?’ and of course, the rookie would look up an tell the score of the game, and that was a ‘Silly Fine.'”
When asked where would the ‘Silly Fines’ go, the three-time champion replied the following.
“It was our fund of money that we all had, we would like bet upon like who was going to make the most free-throws, during practice or who’s gonna make the most shots, it was like a little fund of money that we like to play, little kiddy money.”
(Timestamp: 3:20)
In what it seems, The Last Dance wasn’t enough to give us insight into the stories revolving around the Bulls’ iconic dynasty. There remain plenty of stories that are unheard of.
The alleged ‘dictator’ called Michael Jordan.
There are no two ways that MJ had a competitive zeal, almost impossible to match, something his teammates would often have to bear the brunt of. The ten-time scoring champion was a tough taskmaster, getting into several confrontations during practices.
Some examples of this were not letting food be served to teammate Horace Grant on flights in case he had a bad game, another infamous instance being his punching Steve Kerr, not to forget him and Scottie Pippen annihilating Croatian native Toni Kukoc during the 1992 Olympic game.
Also read: “I wore number 23 for Michael Jordan!”: David Beckham speaks on how 6’6″ Bulls legend inspired him
