Michael Jordan is still one of the most famous athletes in the world even after two decades. After his last championship, there are countless books, articles, and videos about MJ, and everybody knows about his six rings. Dream team in baseball here is some of the lesser-known information about Jordan and the top ten things you might not know about his Airness.
1. Beat a second draft pick one-on-one at the age of 50.
You may see me play the game at the age of 50, Michael Jordan said in his Hall of Fame speech. While he didn’t exactly play pro basketball anymore, he did on a pro basketball team, the Charlotte Bobcats now Hornets in 2012, Jordan drafted Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the second pick in the NBA Draft, who was regarded as one of the best defenders in the class Gilchrist played Jordan One-On-One in practice – and you would think that a 20-year-olds second pick would defeat a 50-year-old man. In most cases, that would be true, but not when the 50-year-old man is Michael, Jordan. Both Michaels confirms the story and it’s incredible how great of a basketball player MJ still was at 50 and how bad of a GM he still is. He paid the price the day after and can hardly walk after the one-on-one game. While he did win against Kidd-Gilchrist. Father time is undefeated.
2. Worst three-point performance of all time.
Despite the GOAT moniker many attached to his name, MJ was never a great 3-point shooter. He did most of his damage from mid-range and attacking the basket and when he scored six threes and a half during the 92 finals, even he was surprised and shrugged game became a term two years before the shrug game. MJ decided it would be a good idea to participate in a three-point shooting contest. It was the first and last three-point shooting contest of his career and for good reason. Jordan sank only five three-pointers during the competition, which remains the lowest score in NBA history
3. Michael started drinking at 27 to battle insomnia.
In the first episode of the last dance, Jordan describes how he knocked on the hotel door as a rookie. Only to see his teammates do cocaine and smoke weed inside MJ was straight as an arrow back then, and never participated in those activities, and his only vice for juices and energy drinks, as he didn’t even drink alcohol that changed around 1990 when a doctor prescribed him a couple of beers before sleep, because MJ was battling insomnia. From that moment, Jordan started drinking and not only falling asleep. It’s on the record that he drank before games: Jeremy Roenick, a former hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks, told the story of playing 36 holes of golf with Jordan before the game MJ had that evening, Jordan had bet Roenick that the Bulls would win the game by 20 and he would score over 40 thrown it gladly accepted because Michael had drank ten beers and played golf all day. Jordan had 44 and a 24-point victory against Cleveland and won the bet.
4. The flu game was food poisoning.
If you don’t remember, the flu game is the name given to the game: five of the 97 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz Michael Jordan, developed flu-like symptoms the night before the game was noticeably under the weather and was doubtful to even play. MJ sucked it up and played, scored 38 points, won the game, and had to be carried off the floor by Scottie Pippen. There are many conspiracy theories about the infamous flu game. The most common theory was that it was food poisoning because Michael ordered, a pizza from an unknown restaurant in Utah. Since the Bulls, hotel location was public knowledge, it wouldn’t be a surprise that a hardcore jazz fan had something to do with that pizza before it reached Michael’s table. Some people, on the other hand, believed the poisoning didn’t come from food, but from drinks and from the sort of what is culturally called adult beverages. MJ never went to sleep early and was known to drink before games, and it’s not a stretch that his flu was a massive alcohol poisoning and a subsequent hangover if he really did drink his behind off before Game five of the finals and still won the Game that just adds another level of legendary to his already mythical legacy.
5. Michels Tongue wag came from his father.
It’s not easy to play sports or generally do things while your tongue is sticking out. This may seem counterintuitive for most people, but it was the norm in the Jordan family, while Michaels’s tongue wag was far more famous. MJ was not the originator. He stole it from his father, his late father James used to stick his tongue out when fixing things around the house. So young Michael copied this from him tongue sticking became a habit and it soon became unnatural for Jordan to keep it inside his mouth. He said that he kept trying to wear mouth guards and tried to stop sticking his tongue out, but it was so ingrained in him that he couldn’t stop anymore.
6. Jordan once owed 12 million dollars in gambling debts.
It’s a known fact that Michael Jordan is extremely competitive when comparing Jordan and Kobe Phil Jackson said that, with Kobe, his competitiveness stopped on the basketball floor. Jordan, on the other hand, also wants to beat you in ping-pong and cards and every other game imaginable. Jordans, love for games and betting got him in trouble during his playing career before a crucial playoff match against the Knicks. In the 93 playoffs, Jordan decided to go to Atlantic City to gamble. He was seen coming back to the hotel late at night, which doesn’t exactly fit into a model athlete lifestyle media was all over him, and especially after the book, Michael and meme, our gambling addiction came out Richard his squamous. The author of the book described how the two played golf together during a four-year spread Michael supposedly owed 1.2 million dollars to ask wine Asst until finally settling down for a $ 300,000 payment.
7. MJ’s Friend - the Limo driver
His best friend is the Limo driver that first picked him up when he moved to Chicago. In 1984, a 29-year-old George Kohler was a limo driver in Chicago one of his first. Passengers on the job were none other than the third pick in the NBA Draft. He just arrived in Chicago for the first time soon George became Jordan’s driver and if Jordan went anywhere, it was with George, he started forming a bond and Kohler became one of Michael’s best friends. Today, George is no longer driving a limo but remains Michaels’s trusted. Confidant and consigliere George’s phones are filled with numbers of famous people, probably more than Michael himself, because if you’re lucky enough to get an MJ circle he’s still more than likely to shine. Your call, however, he’s going to answer George’s call and that’s why many famous people first called George if they want to reach out.
8. Michael donated his entire wizard salary
Michael donated his entire wizard salary to 911 victims in November of 2001, two months after the biggest terrorist attack in modern history, Michael Jordan was Preparing to lace them up again, he would unretire for the second time and as a 38-year-old would once again be an NBA player this time in a Wizards, uniform Jordan was also the part-owner of the team, and he was the least paid athlete on The team, with only a million-dollar salary now since in paying yourself right, given the circumstances of 9/11 and the terrible aftermath for all families that lost their loved ones, Jordan decided to donate his entire salary to the victims and their families and playing for free truly Shows how much he loved basketball and how generous he could be at times
9. Punch Steve Kerr in practice.
MJ pulled no punches when it came to training literally in 1995. During the Bulls practice, Jordan and Steve Kerr got into a scuffle that started when Phil Jackson called some ticky-tack fouls on Kerr, which Jordan thought was soft and counterproductive. Considering he’s going to get fouled much harder in the playoffs, he wanted to express his feelings by example and fouled Kerr extra hard in the next possession Steve Kerr was physically no match for Michael Jordan, but his fiery competitive side wouldn’t be left his slide. Steve’s shoved, Jordan, and Jordan lost his temper and punched him in the face.
Phil kicked Jordan out of practice and Steve Kerr had a pretty significant black eye from the event Jordan later apologized and he and Steve Kerr had a good relationship. Ever since Jordan trusted people who stood up to him and this fight was a predecessor to one of the greatest moments in NBA Finals, history in the 1997 finals, Jordan trusted Steve Kerr with the final shot of the game and curse flashed a game-winner that would win The fifth championship for the balls
10. Jordan originally wanted to sign with Adidas.
Did you know that Jordan always looks at people’s shoes the first time he sees them and if they’re not wearing Nikes, he disapproves and often confronts people about it, while he’s a Nike lifer and his Air Jordans bring him over 100 million dollars every year, Jordan wasn’t exactly enamored with the swoosh brand at first Nike, was known as a track-and-field brand and was never considered to be successful at making basketball shoes, Jordan badly wanted to wear Adidas, but they couldn’t get the shoe ready for the start of the season?
Converse also rejected Jordan, saying that they already endorsed Magic and Bird after his mother forced him to go to a meeting with Nike. They signed him for two and a half million dollars over five years, with the hope they would sell three million dollars worth of shoes. During his deal, Jordan was such a phenomenon that they sold 126 million in the first year alone.