Michael Jordan was all about winning and he did so with the mentality of believing anybody who loses is eventually forgotten.
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The way Michael Jordan had his NBA career pan out from 1984 to 1998 is what storybooks are made of. He was drafted 3rd overall behind an all-time great in Hakeem Olajuwon and a bust in Sam Bowie and provided an immediate impact to a struggling Chicago Bulls team that was known more for their usage of substances than for playing winning basketball.
While Michael Jordan achieved great individual success, his teams were nothing close to what MJ needed to go far in the Playoffs.
He suffered 6 straight losses in the NBA Playoffs. ‘85 saw his Bulls lose in the first round to Sidney Moncrief and the Bucks, 1986 and ‘87 were first round exits at the hands of Larry Bird and his Celtics, and the next three years 1988-90 featured brutal losses to the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons.
Finally, in 1991, Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Bulls, bested the Pistons and never slowed down.
Michael Jordan on losing compared to winning.
Michael Jordan had to earn the right to call himself a winner. He received the pieces necessary to win and didn’t fumble the opportunity to take his team to newer heights. He won 6 championships in 6 total NBA Finals trips and never let the series go to a Game 7.
On the flipside of things, Jordan knows exactly what it’s like to lose, as highlighted by his several early postseason losses. Even after winning three in a row, MJ and the Bulls lost to Shaq and his Orlando Magic in the ECSF after Jordan’s return from baseball.
However, winning at the level that Jordan did made him realize that the ones who lose in the end, end up being forgotten. A clip of him saying was used in his NBA 75 Stories segment and is quite the powerful statement. [at the 4:35 mark]
