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“It must be the shoes.”

Every episode of “The Last Dance” through the docuseries’ first four episodes had a specific theme: Episode 1 was the Michael Jordan episode. Episode 2 showcased Scottie Pippen. Episode 3 handled the unique personality that encapsulates Dennis Rodman, and Episode 4 was sneakily a way to highlight head coach Phil Jackson’s best traits.

Episode 5 brought the main spotlight back to Jordan throughout, but in a unique way. It wasn’t just Jordan, it was his impact on the world through his shoes.

The installment went into detail about Jordan’s connection with his footwear, and the makings of an infamous Nike deal that helped to turn him into a star, and transform the brand itself into a powerhouse.

>>RELATED: ‘The Last Dance’ Episode 1 synopsis/review: ‘Enjoy what’s happening, because this is it’

As usual, the episode was packed with a lot of insight and in-depth elements about Jordan’s rise and the Bulls’ “last dance,” but certain things stuck out among the rest.

Highlights include:

Jordan’s impact on the game from a talent perspective was obvious, but his influence on other players may have been even more important.

The episode starts with clips from the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, which many speculated to be Jordan’s last as the 1997-1998 season’s drama hit its stride. It highlights Jordan’s connection with Madison Square Garden, and showcases his relationship with a certain 19-year-old star, Kobe Bryant.
As the Lakers youngster began to take the league by storm, many wondered what his role could be when squaring off with Jordan throughout the game.
“Can’t forget the king is on the court,” the media said in the buildup.
Meanwhile, Jordan took to his usual competitive spirit, promising to “make this a one-on-one game.” He did just that, beating Bryant in the post and giving him lessons in the process.

It was a rough couple of years coming into the league, nobody was really thinking much of me,” Bryant said in an interview before his passing. “At that point, Michael provided a lot of guidance for me. ‘If you ever need anything, give me a call.’ He’s like my big brother.”
“I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one,” Bryant continued. “I feel like, ‘Yo, what you get from me is from him.’ I don’t get five championships [in Los Angeles] without him.”

Fittingly, Jordan tells Bryant that he’ll see him “down the road” as the two embraced after the game, sparking a friendship that would last decades.

>>RELATED: ‘The Last Dance’ Episode 2 synopsis/review: ‘I had to do what was best for me’

If Jordan had his way, he would’ve signed with adidas. Instead, he landed with Nike, and changed the shoe game as fans know it.

After the introduction, viewers got a glimpse of Jordan talking about playing in an old pair of Jordan 1’s in what many believed would be his last game at Madison Square Garden in 1998. He initially broke them out in 1984, and decided to bring them back 14 years later.
The documentary flashes back. to that time in 1984, with agent David Falk talking about the contract negotiations with different companies like Converse, adidas and Nike.
Falk’s company represented tennis star Arthur Ashe, and wanted to turn Jordan into a one-man superstar like a golfer, tennis player or boxer. So, the very first deal Falk went after was shoes.
They initially went to Converse, the NBA’s official shoe sponsor, but the company said that they “couldn’t envision” Jordan ending up ahead of the brand’s stars in Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird.
Then, Jordan’s team went to his preferred choice, adidas, who said they “can’t make a shoe work at this point in time.”
Finally, the upstart Nike brand got its turn, but Jordan showed no interest and didn’t want to visit their campus After Falk called Jordan’s mother, the young gun changed course and made the trip, receiving a huge offer in the process.
As a result, Air Jordan’s were created, and the company hoped Jordan could help them sell three million shoes by the end of the fourth year on his contract. Instead, he sold more than 120 million by the end of the deal’s first year.
“It was more of a status symbol,” Nas said. “You knew this guy was the guy.”
Nike used Spike Lee to create Jordan’s commercials, and the brand suddenly crossed urban culture with sports, even coining the phrase, “It must be the shoes,” in the process.

 

“What I did on the basketball court, my dedication to the game led to all this other stuff,” Jordan said. “My game did all my talking.”
Flashing back to 1998, Jordan goes off in his old shoes, and the media decides to dust off that old phrase, too: “It must be the shoes.”

>>RELATED: ‘The Last Dance’ Episode 3 synopsis/review: ‘You don’t put a saddle on a mustang’

As the Bulls started to become a successful franchise, the expectations began to rise. So, after they won their first title in 1991, the pressure kept them moving towards a repeat, and even a three-peat.

Fortunately for the Bulls, they may have had their best team of the dynasty when the 1991-1992 season rolled around. According to ESPN analyst Michael Wilbon, that was exactly the case.
At the same time, Jordan was hitting his peak, and teammates were starting to recognize that he was simply on another level.
“He knew how to steer momentum, he knew how to get guys going,” B.J. Armstrong said. “He was just playing a different game than the rest of us. Once he figured that out, you couldn’t beat him.”
Chicago squared off with the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals, pitting two great superstars against one another: Jordan and Clyde Drexler. Unfortunately, Jordan wasn’t pleased about that phrasing.
“Me being compared to him, I took offense to that,” Jordan said. “Based on where I was playing at the time, it wasn’t even close.”
Conversations with Magic Johnson the night before the battle showed how determined Jordan truly was, and even led to some barking from Jordan towards Johnson’s media table court-side during the game. As a result,  fans got to see the origins of Jordan’s infamous shrug.

The Bulls went on to win the series in six games, giving Chicago their second straight championship. Meanwhile, Jerry Krause celebrated the “great” and “all-time” organization,” while subtly praising the team.

>>RELATED: ‘The Last Dance’ Episode 4 synopsis/review: ‘Times are changing’

After the 1992 NBA Finals, questions began to come in about the 1992 Summer Olympics. Then, the “Dream Team” was formed, uniting some of basketball’s all-time greats on one squad.

The drama between Isiah Thomas took centerstage as the team’s stars were chosen, and the fingers continued to be pointed at Jordan due to the animosity between the Bulls and Thomas’ Pistons.
“Guy who you’re talking about or thinking about isn’t going to be playing,” one coach told Jordan when the latter asked, “Who’s all playing?” on the team.
I respect Isiah Thomas’  talent,” Jordan said in the documentary after clips showed him not wanting to talk about Thomas in interviews ahead of the Olympics. “To me, the greatest point guard of all time is Magic Johnson. Right behind him is Isiah.”
“I don’t know what went into that process,” Thomas said in the docuseries. “I met the criteria to be selected, but I wasn’t.”
“It was the best harmony,” Jordan said when describing the collective “Dream Team” unit. “Would Isiah have made a different feeling on that team? Yes.”
Wilbon described the tension between numerous players and Thomas, rather than just Jordan’s sourness towards the Pistons legend. “They did not want to play with him,” Wilbon said. “Everybody put it on Michael. There was a lot more to it than that.”
When the field was finally set, Jordan was joined by the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and many more familiar foes from the NBA. As a result, Jordan felt he was the “young guy with the elder statesmen.”

Jordan, Johnson and Barkley reminisced about a practice the team had with “Team Magic” and “Team Jordan,” battling back and forth. As Johnson’s team took a lead and the Lakers legend started to talk trash, he told Jordan that he needed “to turn into ‘Air Jordan’ or we’ll blow you out.”
“Man, what did I say that for?” Johnson said, as highlights showed Jordan’s team bouncing back and taking a quick lead before taking the inevitable W in the game.
“Hey Charles, I guess we shouldn’t have pissed the man off,” Johnson said.

>>RELATED: Pick-Six: Top sports stories that need a “The Last Dance”-style documentary

The drama between the Bulls and general manager Jerry Krause leaked into the “Dream Team” atmosphere, coming to a boiling point as it related to Croatian star Toni Kukoc.

“Toni’s certainly an outstanding young prospect, and certainly an outstanding young man,” Krause said in an interview in the 1990s.
As things at home in a war-torn environment escalated, Kukoc decided to play a few more years in Europe before heading to the NBA. As that happened, Krause traveled to watch him play, and negotiated with Kukoc while Pippen’s deal was on hold.
“He’s willing to put someone in front of his actual kids,” Jordan said.
So, Jordan and Pippen took it to the young Kukoc in the Olympics, asking teammates to only let the two of them cover him during a U.S.-Croatia game.
“I feel bad for Toni, and I thought Michael and Scottie were out of line,” Wilbon said. “He was terrified.”
“It wasn’t anything personal about Toni, but we were going to do everything we could to make Jerry look bad,” Pippen said.
In the gold medal game between Croatia and the U.S., Kukoc came back and impressed his future teammates, but the “Dream Team” was too much for Kukoc’s squad, and Jordan and company took home gold medals in the process.

>>RELATED: Pick-Six: Best NBA video games of all time

While Jordan rose to meteoric levels as a result of the 1992 NBA Finals and Summer Olympics, the spotlight began to create some problems, especially as it relates to the politics of sports.

When the “Dream Team” won, Executive Director of the United States Olympic Committee Harvey Schiller said that players who didn’t wear the Reebok-sponsored U.S. outfits couldn’t accept gold medals. Jordan, a Nike athlete, responded by saying everyone was “in for a big f—ing surprise.”
While Jordan wore the sweatsuit, he covered the Reebok logo with the American flag, sending a message to Schiller and Reebok in the process.
As the basketball world focused on “selling Americana” after the “Dream Team” won the Summer Games, according to current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Jordan turned into a global superstar. And, a “Be Like Mike” Gatorade commercial changed the game for the Bulls star.

At the same time, politics entered the equation on Jordan’s end, creating some problems in the process.
“A lot of times, America is very quick to embrace a Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama, so long as it’s understood you don’t get controversial,” President Barack Obama said.
When African American Democrat Harvey Gantt launched a U.S. Senatorial campaign in North Carolina in 1990, Jordan was not willing to endorse or support the candidate, saying that, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
Jordan lost credibility with the African American community as a result, as fans compared what he did against Muhammed Ali’s activism during his successful boxing career.
“I do commend Muhammed Ali for standing up for what he believed in, but I never thought of myself as an activist, I thought of myself as a basketball player,” Jordan said. “The way I go about my life is I set examples, and if it inspires you then great. If it doesn’t, then maybe I’m not the person you should be following.”

Despite the controversy, Jordan’s star kept shining brighter, and as the drama built up for the 1997-1998 season, all eyes were on number 23 and the boys in red, black and white.

Ticket sales were through the roof for the Bulls’ “last dance,” and season tickets sold out entirely within two hours of going on sale. A game between the Bulls and Hawks had more than 60,000 fans in attendance at the Georgia Dome, and celebrities would try their hardest to get tickets to see Jordan’s Bulls.

“I wanna be like Mike, also,” 49ers legend Jerry Rice said at one game.

At the same time, celebrities wanted to see if Jordan’s basketball career was nearing its end, even drawing comparisons to comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

“The show of the 90s, the team of the 90s, and I’m trying to make quitting the move of the 90’s,” Seinfeld jokingly said. “Let the new people in.”

Jordan talks about wanting to finish the 1997-1998 season right, and ending the episode on a high note by talking about pursuing one last championship.

“When you get to the top, it’s great to be admired and respected,” Jordan said. “But every time I would get by myself, I’d think about the end of the season.”

“There’s something at the end of this rainbow that I’m fighting for, and I’m going to get to it.”

The episode succeeded in its attempt to tackle a lot of different topics in one hour at the peak of the docuseries’ 10-part run, highlighting Jordan’s relationship with Kobe Bryant, his high-profile rise through the creation of the Air Jordan’s, the success of the “Dream Team,” and even the drama surrounding his political opinions and controversies.

It didn’t shy away from anything, and set the tone for a high-tension sixth episode that begins the downfall of the Bulls’ dynasty. It’s a rollercoaster of a documentary, and it appears that the fifth episode is where things hit their peak before the coaster’s cars begin their downward descent into the series’ last few parts.

Justin Bieber has taken a stand against the rumors circulating about his marriage, following speculation that his relationship with Hailey Bieber was on the rocks. Despite recent sightings of the couple appearing affectionate at Coachella, some fans remain skeptical, suggesting that their public display of affection was nothing more than a charade.

The drama surrounding Justin and Hailey’s relationship has reached a fever pitch, with rumors swirling about the authenticity of their recent appearance together. While the couple seemed inseparable at Coachella, many fans are questioning the sincerity of their affection, fueling speculation about the true state of their marriage.

Justin’s bold statement refuting the divorce rumors comes amidst a storm of controversy, as fans grapple with conflicting reports and conjecture about the nature of his relationship with Hailey. Despite his efforts to reassure fans, skepticism persists, underscoring the intense scrutiny that accompanies the lives of high-profile celebrities like Justin and Hailey Bieber.

As the drama unfolds, fans are left to speculate about the true nature of Justin and Hailey’s relationship, and whether their public appearances are genuine expressions of love or carefully orchestrated publicity stunts. Regardless of the rumors, one thing is certain: the saga of Justin and Hailey Bieber continues to captivate audiences around the world.

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

All the reasons that others have to diminish this, an upcoming accomplishment that most definitely resonates with Kobe Bryant, are the very reasons he cherishes it.

Bryant is set to pass Michael Jordan on the all-time NBA scoring list in the next week or two. Yes, it has taken him more games, more years, more teams and more tries than it took Jordan to get here.

Bryant isn’t apologizing.

“Nineteen years is a long time to be playing, and I’ve had a different career path than Michael,” he said. “It has been a hell of a marathon. I’m really proudest of that.”

Unlike Jordan with his baseball break and premature pre-Washington Wizards retirement, Bryant has been a constant. The running at dawn, refining of footwork, punching the clock.

“I enjoy what I do so much,” he said. “I enjoy the preparation of it. I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out a new puzzle. I take a lot of pride in that, in having the challenge to work through year after year after year with different teams and different teammates and different coaching staffs, trying to work through all that stuff. I feel very fortunate.”

Bryant spoke at length with Bleacher Report about Jordan’s inspiration and impact on him—including why he’ll never share the best advice Jordan gave him and what still irks him about the never-ending comparisons.

Kobe Bryant believes the aggression Michael Jordan showed as a scorer is one of the primary elements that set him apart as an opponent.Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Jordan’s Key Attribute

Let it be clear first, fundamentally, the admiration Bryant has for Jordan.

Ask Bryant what pops into his head when he thinks of Jordan the scorer, and it’s a one-word headline—followed by a stream that can barely keep up with the passion in his voice.

“Aggression. It’s not one game or one play, in particular; it’s just his aggressiveness. It takes a lot of work, a lot of conditioning, skill and thought to be that aggressive and that assertive. He was relentless, man. He just kept coming after you.

“He just kept attacking, attacking, attacking—and attacking in different ways, from different spots on the floor, with different forms of footwork. Posting, perimeter, versatility…”

Joining Jordan in the NBA

Bryant remembers that when he was a teenager just entering the NBA he was struck by how other players were “terrified, like, deathly afraid” of Jordan.

“It was great for me. I was looking forward to that moment, him being the pinnacle of who I was looking forward to playing against most. At the time I came into the league, all the golden greats were still there—Clyde Drexler, [Hakeem] Olajuwon, [Charles] Barkley, [Gary] Payton, Anfernee Hardaway, John Stockton. These guys were still doing their thing. It was a huge honor for me to match up with all of these guys, see them up close.

Bryant says that unlike many others in the league, he was never shy about asking Jordan and other greats for their advice.Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

“I’m not scared of anybody,” Bryant said. “It’s more curiosity and such a respect that I want to learn. I want to learn. I’m so curious to learn—still to this day. Just a constant learner. I’m not afraid to ask questions about things that I don’t know. I’m not afraid to admit what I don’t know. I’ll ask questions and try to learn as much as I can.”

Bryant wasn’t shy. Early in his second year in the league, he already hit Jordan with direct questions on the court in Chicago. They discussed Jordan’s fadeaway jumper and his post moves right then and there.

“Talked a little bit about the game. I do that often, though. My conversations with Michael get the most attention, but I do that often. I used to ask Clyde a lot of questions; I asked Stockton a lot of questions. You grow up watching these guys and seeing them do what they’re doing, and you want to know how they do what they do and why they do what they do. I wasn’t too proud to ask.”

His Relationship With Jordan

It’s apparent by how much help Jordan has given Bryant over the years that the former respects the latter’s own aggression. When asked last year about whom he’d like to play one-on-one in their primes, Jordan mentioned Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony before saying, “I don’t think I’d lose…other than Kobe Bryant, because he steals all my moves.”

Jordan smiled after the dig, reflective of how Bryant is the one guy he feels comfortable teasing the way male friends do to one another. The feeling is mutual.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

“We hit it off very well. He was really like a big brother, and whether it’s because we see things in a similar way in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be, there’s an understanding that we have—a connection that we have.

“I don’t know if he opened up with me more than he did with other players, I’m not sure. I don’t know if other players had the balls even to ask. But we have a really, really good relationship.”

Comparing Jordan and Bryant has at times been a touchy subject with the Los Angeles Lakers legend. Years ago, reporters asking Bryant a question about Jordan might have gotten an eye roll or a shake of the head in response.

“The thing that I always bristled at was the notion that I learned everything that I know from Michael. That’s just not true. Hakeem Olajuwon deserves a lot of credit; Jerry West deserves a lot of credit. Oscar Robertson deserves a lot of credit. I really was a student of the game and watched everybody.

“I’ve always welcomed the comparison to Michael if it’s in competitive spirit or in terms of records that I may set. I’ve always been cool with that. To be in that kind of company is…is…is…crazy, for lack of a better term. Rare air.”

The Jordan Rules

Here’s the current atmospheric pressure reading: Bryant has 32,165 points entering the Lakers-Wizards game Wednesday night; Jordan stands at 32,292. (For the record, Bryant long ago passed Jordan in total assists, that current tally being 6,016-5,633.)

The success Bryant has experienced in his career makes it hard to pigeonhole him as merely a Jordan wannabe. Yet the respect and assistance Jordan has accorded Bryant when he calls with questions has undeniably made him more comfortable.

NBA All-Time Scoring Leaders

Rank
Player
Points

1
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
38,387

2
Karl Malone
36,928

3
Michael Jordan
32,292

4
Kobe Bryant
32,165

5
Wilt Chamberlain
31,419

6
Shaquille O’Neal
28,596

7
Moses Malone
27,409

8
Elvin Hayes
27,313

9
Dirk Nowitzki
27,138

10
Hakeem Olajuwon
26,946

NBA.com

And in what ways has Jordan helped Bryant most?

“There are a lot of ’em, actually.”

Then a pause before Bryant continued what has become ritual for him: not sharing the exact contents of his conversations with Jordan.

Call it the Fraternal Order of Basketball Killers, Lodge No. 23-24.

“To get that kind of information, to me it’s like climbing Mount Everest and speaking to a Buddha at the top of the mountain. You want that information? You’ve got to climb that mountain yourself.”

A Mutual Respect

If Bryant, 36, plays only one more season after this one, he won’t ascend any further on the all-time scoring chart. No. 2 Karl Malone is at 36,928 points, and No. 1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is at 38,387.

From a personal standpoint, however, passing those guys would never carry the power of passing Jordan.

Asked if he has any relationship with Malone, the friend whom Bryant accused in 2004 of inappropriate comments toward his wife, Vanessa, or Lakers legend Abdul-Jabbar, he is brutally honest.

Once a source of NBA lore for Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has fallen out of Bryant’s life after leaving the team in 2009.Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

“With Karl, zero. With Kareem, I haven’t seen him since he stopped coaching with the Lakers organization [2005-09].”

True to his platform of learning from anyone and everyone, Bryant used to prod Abdul-Jabbar, when he was special assistant coach for Phil Jackson, to share stories with him about Magic Johnson or Robertson—or even Bob Dandridge, whose name few NBA watchers today will recognize but was a potent wing player and Lew Alcindor teammate in the 1970s.

Although Jackson likes to tell the story that he arranged a 2000 meeting between Bryant and Jordan only to have Bryant shake Jordan’s hand and proclaim that he could take MJ one-on-one, Bryant disputes it.

While Bryant acknowledges he has learned a lot from Jordan, he also credits many others around the game for his NBA acumen, including former Lakers great Jerry West.Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

“Nah, that was a little mythology. I’ve never challenged Michael—or I’ve never initiated the challenge. With guys like him and guys who have come before me who I learned a lot from, like Jerry West, I would never initiate a challenge and say, ‘I could do this to you.’ I’ve learned so much from them. I wouldn’t do that.

“But Michael likes to talk, too. I’m not the only one who likes to talk, right? The times that we have talked trash, I haven’t been the one who has initiated. We just rib each other; we just kind of joke around about stuff. He knows who I am; I know who he is. Mutual respect.”

Along those lines, Bryant now can laugh at himself as he describes why he sought Jordan out.

“I gravitated toward him more, because naturally my personality was a combative one.”

Inspiring Young Players

While not known to shy away from a challenge, Bryant said he never issued one to Jordan.Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

As he said, Bryant’s memories of Jordan are not the points, but rather the fierce manner in which Jordan scored those points. And Bryant hopes he has also touched younger players now in the same way—just for a little longer.

“I look at the players who are playing currently and watch the things that they say and the aggressiveness that they play with. And I understand that they grew up watching me play, just as I grew up watching Michael play. That’s a great feeling. It really is.

“He and I are very similar in that regard. We challenge everybody.”

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.

For better or worse, there’s nothing sports fans love more than debating how current players would stack up against historical greats. Michael Jordan, despite being firmly entrenched in the latter category, seemingly can’t help but join in on the action.

While His Airness doesn’t give too many interviews anymore, he once provided ESPN’s Wright Thompson with plenty of access for a 50th birthday-based story. In that piece, MJ waded into the sports-talk-radio territory and proclaimed that only four modern NBA players could have cut the mustard in his era.

Michael Jordan, for better or worse, isn’t afraid to speak his mind

As anyone who ever saw him play can confirm, Jordan was supremely confident in his own abilities. The Chicago Bulls star also had no issue speaking his mind.

By and large, most of that confidence translated into trash-talking. His Airness never pulled any punches; if there was a prize on the line, he was going all-out. Whether you were a teammate like Rodney McCray, an opponent, or a former president of the United States, MJ had no problem giving a tongue-lashing.

His Airness’ willingness to speak his mind wasn’t limited to basketball, though. During his time in Chicago, he found himself in the spotlight for saying, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” While he later claimed he made the comment as an off-hand remark, Jordan still said what he was thinking at the time. More recently, he’s also spoken up about social and racial justice, throwing his weight around in a space that’s bigger than sports.

Only 4 modern players could have starred in Jordan’s day, if we take the legend at his word

Even though he’s been retired for quite a while, Jordan is still involved in the NBA scene as an owner. Unsurprisingly, the living legend has plenty of opinions about today’s game.

Around MJ’s 50th birthday in 2013, ESPN’s Wright Thompson penned a feature looking at the more human side of His Airness. As part of his reporting, the veteran scribe witnessed Jordan watching an NBA game on TV. That quickly turned into a discussion of all-time greatness and competition between different eras.

Jordan plays his new favorite trivia game, asking which current players could be nearly as successful in his era. “Our era,” he says over and over again, calling modern players soft, coddled, and ill-prepared for the highest level of the game. This is personal to him, since he’ll be compared to this generation, and since he has to build a franchise with this generation’s players.

WRIGHT THOMPSON, WRITING FOR ESPN

According to Thompson, Jordan quipped that he could “only come up with four” modern players. Those select few? Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki.

While some additional players could make the cut, don’t expect Jordan to provide an update

In fairness to Jordan, quite a bit of basketball has been played since he turned 50; theoretically, it’s possible that he believes a few more players from today’s game could shine in the 1980s and 1990s. Stephen Curry — who we’ll discuss shortly — certainly deserves to be in the conversation. Giannis Antetokounmpo has the sheer athleticism to survive in any era, although old-school coaches probably wouldn’t have any idea how to utilize his talent. Similarly, Nikola Jokic’s skill set might confuse people in the 1980s, but the big man certainly knows how to make an impact on the court.

Beyond those sure-fire inclusions, you can also make the case for plenty of other inclusions. Kawhi Leonard’s load management wouldn’t fly back in the day, but it’s tough to argue with his two-way game. Russell Westbrook became something of a joke after arriving in Los Angeles, but it’s easy to imagine his scoring potential dominating a more static game featuring illegal defense rules.

So while we can’t really hold those omissions against MJ — he may be incredibly talented, but expecting him to predict the future is a bridge too far — we also shouldn’t expect him to issue a revised version of his list anytime soon.

In the fall of 2019, Jordan made headlines by saying Stephen Curry wasn’t a Hall of Famer just yet. During that same interview, His Airness confirmed that if he were building a starting five, he’d still hit the court with Scottie Pippen, James Worthy, Magic Johnson, and Hakeem Olajuwon. That would have been a chance to acknowledge the modern era, but all of those men played in Mike’s day.

But there’s also another piece of the contextual puzzle to consider.

Before we bury Jordan for being biased toward the past, it’s important to look at a different quote. During an NBA press conference in early 2020, MJ fielded a question about comparisons between himself and LeBron James. In that setting, the living legend provided a more measured response.

“We play in different eras,” Jordan explained. “He’s an unbelievable player. He’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world. I know it’s a natural tendency to compare eras to eras, and it’s going to continue to happen. I’m a fan of his, I love watching him play.”

“But when you start the comparisons, I think it is what it is,” MJ continued. “It’s just a stand-up measurement. I take it with a grain of salt. He is a heck of a basketball player without a doubt.”

So, while you can claim plenty of players could have cut the mustard in Jordan’s day, it’s probably not worth getting too far down the rabbit hole. Mike isn’t going to change his list, and there’s no point in getting so bogged down in arguments that you miss the greatness in front of you.

Debates can be fun, but sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the show.

Michael Jordan’s competitive fire never left him, even if he was at the tail end of his career or during his brief retirement in Washington.

If there’s one thing we know about Michael Jordan, he doesn’t take trash talk lightly — whether from competitors or teammates. The 6x champion said in his documentary “The Last Dance” that he takes almost everything personally. Whether it was Goerge Karl ignoring him at a restaurant, Magic johnson doubting him, or Karl Malone winning the 1997 MVP instead of him, Jordan always found a way to respond and make his competitors look like fools.

Even in retirement

Jordan’s competitive fire never left him, even if he was at the tail end of his career or during his brief retirement in Washington. When Jordan took a 3-year break after winning his last championship with the Chicago Bulls, he took over as president of basketball operations for the Wizards. Even as the big boss, MJ couldn’t stand it when his players would talk smack to his face (speaking of, LaMelo Ball better take note).

One time, Jordan’s player Laron Profit hit a shot in his face and yelled out:

 “‘Yeah, you can’t guard me with them old-ass knees!‘

“And I’m like ‘oh! Stop! Time-out! You don’t say that to the GOAT,” Profit’s teammate Richard Hamilton who also played for Jordan’s Wizards, said in his appearance at the All The Smoke podcast.

“MJ was heated. I mean, he was heated to the point that when I went to my exit-meeting, cause you know he was the president at the time, he was like ‘Ok Rip, your man, your buddy…’ cause he ended up trading Prof that summer ‘He’s out of here! You gon’ be there by yourself….‘

I was like ‘M, I don’t want no problems,” Hamilton added.

Power abuse or fair game?

In retrospect, Profit’s trash talk was undoubtedly a questionable choice. Even if it’s all part of the game, it’s safe to say that Profit should’ve talked trash to Hamilton instead. But one can also argue that Jordan shouldn’t have taken Profit’s jab too seriously to the point that he ended up shipping him out of Washington. Whatever the verdict, at the end of the day, MJ was president of basketball operations, so his final say had to be respected by all.

It’s also important to point out that Profit wasn’t worth keeping on the roster anyway. After playing two years with the Wizards and putting up underwhelming numbers (3.0 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 rebounds in 68 games), the shooting guard eventually had to take his talents overseas. Profit returned to the Wizards after spending 3 seasons in Italy and China but barely made an impact in his second stint with Washington.

As for Jordan, he can also say that his Wizard’s tenure was much better than whatever Profit had. In Jordan’s last two years in Washington, he still put up 21.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 5.9 rebounds and was an All-Star in both years.So suffice it to say that Jordan (as the president and superior player) had reasons to kick Profit off his team — with or without the trash talking involved.

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player to ever grace the game of basketball. But you don’t become the greatest without people trying to pull you down. In basketball, the rawest form of that comes between players as trash talk.

Many former players recall their experiences with Michael, who has probably seen the highest variety of trash talk on the court. Considering that he was the best, the opposing teams tried everything they possibly could to stop him.

Washington’s Michael Jordan still moving around Clippers’ Quentin Richardson in the 2nd half of the game. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

However, by the end of his career, most of the players he was playing with had actually grown up watching him play. And he was very well aware of that, so he didn’t hesitate in reminding them every once in a while.

Vincent Yarbrough and his experience trash talking Michael Jordan

In 2003, Denver Nuggets had gone to the MCI Center to face Michael’s Washington Wizards. When the latter went down ten points in the first quarter, a Denver Nuggets rookie Vincent Yarbrough took that as an opportunity to take a jab at Jordan.

Yarbrough’s bio on the media guide said Jordan was his favorite player growing up, and from the looks of it, Michael was aware of that fact. Responding to Vincent’s trash talking, his Airness said, “You watched me, I didn’t watch you.”But Jordan didn’t leave it at that; he turned and strolled past Denver’s bench after hitting his 12th point of the fourth quarter, to give Washington an 84-70 lead.

Had the tables turned on Jordan?

Throughout his career, Michael never hesitated to throw some figurative ‘trash’ at his opponents. Moreover, he is actually famous for his trash-talking even to his own teammates. But one of the most famous instances of him taking a jab at his opponents is when he took a free throw with his eyes closedMichael always believed that your mentality is very important on the court. If you’re the best on the court, you need to let the other side know – with your actions and your words.

If there is one thing the hit Netflix and ESPN docuseries ‘The Last Dance’ has shown basketball fans across the world, it is that Michael Jordan will do absolutely anything to win.

Jordan was the focal point of the Chicago Bulls side which won six NBA Championships across eight seasons, cementing his place as arguably the greatest basketball player ever.

There has been widespread praise for Jordan’s ability to dominate matches and perform at the highest level continuously during his illustrious career since the 10-part series aired.

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Michael Jordan is seen as the NBA’s ‘GOAT’ having won six championships with Chicago Bulls

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A new documentary, ‘The Last Dance’ has showcased how Jordan guided the Bulls to greatness

But his methods to try and squeeze every last drop out of his team-mates in training often led to bad blood within the camp and some of his former colleagues have spoken out about him in recent weeks after the documentary aired.

Will Perdue, a team-mate for the first three titles, has called Jordan an ‘a***hole’ and a ‘jerk’ but ultimately praised him for dragging his team-mates to new heights on the court.

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Sportsmail looks at how MJ’s team-mates and other NBA personalities have viewed the icon

Those Jordan and the Bulls demolished on their path to success also felt the brunt of his sharp tongue as well as his sharp shooting. Jordan was the king of trash-talking and was willing to match his opponents physically, as well as psychologically.

Here, Sportsmail looks at some of the most famous quotes that reflect how Jordan is remembered by his coaches, team-mates and opponents.

The Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals to complete their rise from flops to champions under Jordan, winning the first title in their first three-peat.

Johnson was the west coast star while Jordan was dominant on the east after finally toppling the Detroit Piston and Magic once admired Jordan’s incredible attitude.

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Magic Johnson was the star of the west coast with the LA Lakers, winning five championships

He said: ‘If somebody says no to you, or if you get cut, Michael Jordan was cut his first year, but he came back and he was the best ever.

‘That is what you have to have. The attitude that I’m going to show everybody, I’m going to work hard to get better and better.’

Will Perdue

Perdue was Jordan’s team-mate for the first hat-trick of titles in Chicago before he moved onto the San Antonio Spurs when Jordan left to play baseball in 1995.

Perdue was traded to the Spurs for Dennis Rodman, a man who was a key component in helping Jordan and the Bulls get back on top when he returned to Chicago.

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Will Perdue (R) featured in the first three-peat for the Bulls with Jordan between 1992-94

Perdue was one of those to take offence to Jordan’s motivational methods in practice but ultimately came to realise it made the entire team reach a different level.

He said: ‘Yeah, let’s not get it wrong. He was an a***hole. He was a jerk. He crossed the line numerous times.

‘But as time goes on and you think about what he was actually trying to accomplish, you’re like, “Yeah, he was a helluva team-mate”.’

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Perdue labelled MJ ‘an a**hole’ but said, over time, he grew into a ‘helluva team-mate’

Phil Jackson

Jordan won all six of his NBA Championships under Jackson, the legendary coach who transformed the way the Bulls played and went on to have further success with the Lakers.

Jackson took over as head coach of the Bulls in 1989 and set about implementing a new style of play that demanded more circulation of the ball between the entire team, rather than a system flowing straight through Jordan.

Once the new style had been implemented, the Bulls managed to get further and further into the play-offs before eventually winning the title.

He said: ‘He was content to know that he was going to beat teams by being the provocateur and setting up his team-mates.

‘That was the defining moment, his transition from being a great scorer to learning how to beat teams without having to score. He knew we’d win championships because of it. It was a changing moment for him.’

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Legendary coach Phil Jackson said MJ’s transition into a team-player was significant

Scottie Pippen

Jordan admits himself that he wouldn’t have been as successful without Pippen playing alongside him. The pair worked effortlessly together and combined to be one of the NBA’s most feared partnerships.

Reports suggest Pippen is furious with the portrayal of him in ‘The Last Dance’ after Jordan accused him of being ‘selfish’ by delaying surgery on an injury until the season had started.

Jackson made the most of the pair’s competitiveness in practice, regularly putting them on opposite teams to drive up the standards between them.

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Scottie Pippen (R) was a crucial figure in the Bulls team and heaped praise on his team-mate

Pippen once said: ‘Well, it was just great because it taught us how to compete at all times. That was part of Phil’s practice philosophy— to get two guys out there who wanted to win all the time and put us on separate teams.

‘Now, you’ve got two guys who have to get their own group together; they have to use their leadership, not just their ability to do what they can do on the court.

‘If you compete against Michael Jordan every day and you are able to beat him some days, then you feel like you can win most of the games every day.’

Jerry Reinsdorf

The owner of the Bulls during the successful period, and still the man at the helm of the Bulls, was regularly trying to keep the peace between Jordan and his team-mates and general manager Jerry Krause.

Krause wanted to shake things up at the end of their second three-peat and that was the backdrop for ‘The Last Dance’.

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Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf (L) featured in the documentary and had a host of fires to put out

Reinsdorf, who also owns the Chicago White Sox, had a number of fires to put out throughout the documentary and has admitted it is nice to get some recognition from Jordan for his efforts.

He once said: ‘Perhaps the most satisfying thing occurred when Michael Jordan became a team owner and said to me, “I owe you a lot of apologies. It’s a lot harder to run a team than I thought”.’

Sam Smith

Basketball journalist Smith is regularly seen throughout the documentary and offers a perspective from the media during the Bulls’ successful run.

He published a book called ‘The Jordan Rules’ in 1992 and it caused quite a stir within the Bulls locker room.

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Journalist Sam Smith, who wrote Jordan Rules, has shared insights into Jordan’s ruthlessness

Smith once recounted a tale that summed up Jordan’s attitude towards his team-mates when things didn’t go to plan, denying Horace Gant a meal because of his performance.

Smith said: ‘Players would come to me over the years and say, “You know what he did? He took Horace [Grant’s] food away on the plane because Horace had a bad game”.

‘[Michael] told the stewardesses “Don’t feed him, he doesn’t deserve to eat”.’

Horace Grant

Grant has been one of the fiercest critics of the documentary since it aired, even going as far as to say ’90 per cent of it was bull****’ in a recent podcast.

He was present for all three of the Bulls’ first NBA championships but was regularly on the end of some stern words from Jordan in practice and the locker room.

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Horace Grant has been one of the fiercest critics of the documentary since it aired

Speaking recently to ESPN 1000’s Kap and Co podcast, Grant said: ‘I would say [the documentary was] entertaining, but we know, who was there as team-mates, that about 90 per cent of it [was] BS in terms of the realness of it.

‘It wasn’t real – because a lot of things [Jordan] said to some of his team-mates, that his team-mates went back at him. But all of that was kind of edited out of the documentary, if you want to call it a documentary.’

Steve Kerr

Kerr becomes the star of the show towards the end of the series. The horrific tale of his father’s death is followed up by his dramatic winning shot in game six against the Utah Jazz in 1997, propelling the Bulls towards their second three-peat.

The 54-year-old has won eight NBA titles in his career, picking up three more as coach of the dominant Golden State Warriors in recent years. He hails the impact that playing alongside Jordan had in taking him from nowhere to one of basketball’s biggest stars.

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Steve Kerr (R) became the star of the show at the end and had a strong connection with MJ

Kerr said: ‘For me, [playing with Jordan] completely changed the rest of my life. To that point, I had bounced around.

‘I was just an average player. I was able to play on these championship teams, made a name for myself, was able to get into TV, into broadcasting, into management and coaching.

‘And the reason people hired me for these jobs later on is because I had played next to Michael Jordan and I had been part of championship teams.’

Kendrick Perkins

Early on in ‘The Last Dance’ Jordan makes some pretty shocking admissions about the drugs and debauchery surrounding the Bulls during his early days in the NBA.

Some former NBA players have slammed his honesty, admitting there is no place to bring up things that could negatively affect his former team-mates.

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Boston Celtics star Kendrick Perkins has hit out at Jordan over revelations made about the culture of drugs and debauchery surrounding the Bulls in his early days

Perkins, who won the NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and has become a pundit since retiring in 2018, is one of those and he has accused Jordan of damaging reputations.

‘When you look at the whole documentary, it made Michael Jordan look like a superhero and everybody else look like a villain,’ Perkins told ESPN.

‘Michael Jordan broke every player code imaginable. ‘The Last Dance’ was to praise Mike, which it should have been. But you didn’t have to tear down other people to praise your greatness, because your greatness alone speaks volumes for itself.’

Roy Williams

Williams was one of the men who gave Jordan his first major break in basketball and put him on the path towards the NBA at the University of North Carolina, working as an assistant to head coach Dean Smith.

The 1982 NCAA Basketball finals were won by the Tar Heels thanks to some sublime performances from Jordan, including in the final against the Georgetown Hoyas at the Louisiana Superdome.

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Roy Williams (C) was Jordan’s coach in college, and said his pupil ‘never freakin’ turned it off’

It was clear Jordan had the talent to go on and make it big with Williams one of the closest observers of his early greatness.

He said: ‘Michael Jordan is the only player that could ever turn it on and off, and he never freakin’ turned it off.’

Larry Bird

When Jordan first arrived at the Bulls in 1984, Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, alongside LA Lakers’s Magic Johnson, was very much at the pinnacle of the sport, having guided the Celtics to two championships before adding a third in 1986.

Bird was also a member of the famous 1992 US Olympics Men’s Basketball team, and the documentary pinpoints a notorious scrimmage between the all-star players that saw Jordan establish himself as the number one player in the league.

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Larry Bird (L) was one of the NBA stars who passed on the baton to Jordan as he came through

The Hick from French Lick makes an appearance in the documentary later on, as head coach of the New Orlean Pelicans, but MJ comes out on top in the Eastern Conference finals. Bird was full of praise for the Bulls icon.

‘I would never have called him the greatest player I’d ever seen if I didn’t mean it,’ Bird said. ‘It’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.’

Craig Hodges

Shooting Guard Craig Hodges was a team-mate of Jordan’s from 1988 to 1992, winning two championships with the Bulls.

The former Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks star has had a publicly fractious relationship with his former team-mate, not taking kindly to Jordan’s resistance to embroil himself in political discussions.

He has also been critical of Jordan revealing an insight into player culture as a youngster.

‘One of the things as players we call this a fraternity. So I’m watching the first episode and I was upset about the ‘cocaine circus,’ he said.

‘That bothered me because I was thinking about the brothers who are on that picture with you who have to explain to their families who are getting ready to watch this great Michael Jordan documentary event and they know you’re on the team, and now you’ve got to explain that to a 12-year-old boy.’

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Jordan’s former team-mate, Craig Hodges, also slammed the revelations of the Bulls’ culture

Kobe Bryant

As Jordan once did with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant was seen as the man to take the baton as the Bulls star’s career was winding down.

MJ and Kobe enjoyed a playful rivalry when the LA Lakers star arrived in the NBA as an 18-year-old. Bryant would go on to win five NBA championships under Jordan’s coach at the Bulls, Phil Jackson.

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Kobe Bryant (R) described Jordan as a ‘big brother’ and attributed his success to the legend

The Last Dance takes a look at Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

Bryant, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash earlier this year, saw Jordan as family.

‘He’s like my big brother,’ he revealed. ‘I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one. Or fans saying you beat Michael one-on-one. I feel like, yo, what you get from me is from him.

‘I don’t get five championships here without him. Because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.’

The “Crying Jordan” meme has new life in 2017 and we have Michael Jordan himself to thank for this.

The Chicago Bulls legend and current owner of the Charlotte Hornets recently told Cigar Aficionado that so-called “super teams” have hurt the level of competition in the NBA.

According to the six-time champion, fans this season can expect to see “one or two teams that are going to be great, and another 28 teams that are going to be garbage.”

This isn’t exactly breaking news, even to the casual observer, but when No. 23/45 chimes in, it tends to spark conversation. Especially as the NBA off-season featured a dizzying spell of trades that saw star players take up new addresses alongside fellow all-stars.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the latest to try their hand at this, acquiring Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join forces with franchise cornerstone Russell Westbrook.

The Oklahoma City Thunder assembled the NBA’s lastest super team this summer with Paul George, left, reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, middle, and Carmelo Anthony. (Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images)

Faced with the possibility of wasting another year in the Big Apple, Anthony and the New York Knicks agreed it was time to turn the page. But while few, if any, were sad to see Anthony accept a trade, the haul they got in return left a lot to be desired.

There was a similar vibe to the Thunder acquiring George as the disgruntled forward was moved by the Indiana Pacers for two players with a level of talent that can be found on any roster.

The immediate return may require Jordan to remove Oklahoma from the garbage heap, while the already-struggling Pacers and Knicks may slip even further.

Former Raptors GM weighs in

Glen Grunwald, a former general manager of the Toronto Raptors and Knicks, feels that Jordan misspoke with his “garbage” comments and in a way that commissioner Adam Silver would likely not appreciate.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily fair,” the current Athletic Director at McMaster University told CBC Sports.

“Golden State had struggled for many years before they drafted Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, and that made all the difference for them. Then… they took advantage of the increase in the salary cap to sign Kevin Durant.”

Grunwald acknowledges that having great players is necessary for success, especially in a league that has had dynasties dating all the way back to the late 1940s with the Minneapolis Lakers, through the 1980s with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and the ’90s Bulls and so forth.

The differences in this era aren’t so much in how teams are built, Grunwald says, but in how the game is being played.

Playing by the rules

“What is often overlooked are the rule changes which don’t allow as much contact and hand-checking on the perimeter,” he says. “It makes it difficult for a less-talented team to equalize the disparity in talent through tough defence and being physical with a team like Golden State.”

As for the unbalanced trades involving George and Anthony, Grunwald believes that’s just the nature of the business.

“It’s always hard to do a trade and I think there have been more teams with very disparate interests,” he says. “Some teams are really trying to tank and that creates those unbalanced trades, where a team doesn’t particularly care… they want to be bad and get a good draft choice.”

Although the NBA has implemented new draft rules that aim at reducing the incentive to tank, the ability to prevent the forming of super teams is more difficult to tackle, assuming the desire even exists.

So for the time being, Jordan may have to deal with the reality of watching “garbage” teams for years to come.

“I think [Jordan’s] concern is the desire of great players to leave smaller markets or just leave any team, but that’s not a new thing,” Grunwald says. “But that’s what players are entitled to do and… [Jordan] being in a small market, that makes it less likely that [the Hornets] would be able to attract players.”

The insight and access it gives is extraordinary. You get to truly understand what made Jordan one of the greatest athletes of all time and the Bulls a once-in-a-generation sporting team.

Since the documentary’s release, some have said that Jordan hasn’t come out of it in a particularly good light, that he was a single-minded bully within the team who wasn’t much liked.

It has also raised questions whether this sort of mentality still exists within elite teams today, or if it was some sort of ‘old-school’ approach that has now been rightly erased.

Michael Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls

In my eyes, that is total nonsense. Jordan is revealed as an athlete with extraordinary physical abilities but with an even stronger mentality. His will-to-win was unparalleled.

Conor McGregor’s training partners predict Michael Chandler UFC clash

Through utter dedication and determination, he dragged himself and his team to record-breaking victories. He helped lift every single team-mate to greater heights – the average became good, the good became excellent, and the excellent became potential Hall of Famers.

Jordan’s mental strength is why he reached sporting heights others can only ever dream of. Would that have made him awkward to be around? Would he have irritated team-mates with his constant berating? Damn right. But would they have respected him without limit? 100 per cent.

Phil Neville once described Roy Keane as his greatest ever captain, even if he terrified him at the same time. Keane also clashed with team-mates and the manager.

He continuously berated team-mates to do better in training, just as Jordan did. They were uncompromising, but they were winners.

Roy Keane was relentless ( 
Image:
PA)
It is no coincidence that Keane and Jordan led the teams they played for to global stardom.

Every successful elite team needs an environment with an edge to it. An edge were team-mates openly challenge each other to do better.

They will talk honestly to each other and won’t waste words to get to the truth of how they improve individually and collectively in the pursuit of victory. It will be uncomfortable at times but that isn’t bullying, that is an elite mentality. The best thrive in that environment.

We had it in our GB Women’s Hockey team that won Olympic Gold at Rio in 2016. We knew the standards we expected of each other and anything else wasn’t acceptable.

The Last Dance should be watched by every sports enthusiast to understand what makes a champion like Jordan tick.

I have enjoyed watching the Bundesliga since it resumed action in Germany.

One player who caught my eye was young Kai Havertz at Bayern Leverkusen. Many people expect reduced spending in the next transfer window because of the coronavirus, but Havertz looks special.

Despite times being tough, I expect all the big teams to be clamouring to get the midfielder’s signature this summer.

Michael Jordan is regarded by most as the greatest basketball player of all time, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, and picking up countless personal accolades along the way.

Everyone wanted to ‘Be Like Mike’ in the ’80s and ’90s, however the former NBA star is self-admittedly not perfect.

His achievements on the basketball court and in the commercial world, where he has racked up a wealth of around $2.1billion, are almost unmatched, but throughout his career, Jordan showed hints of a darker side.

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He is regarded as the greatest basketball player ever, but Michael Jordan also had a dark side

Punching Steve Kerr

In the 1990s, NBA team practice was a lot more intense than it is in the modern era. Nowadays, players are given more time to rest and recover amid the packed game schedule.

But in a Bulls training camp before the 1995-96 season after Jordan’s return from mini-retirement, Jordan and Steve Kerr started getting rough with each other, to the point where a heated scuffle broke out between the two of them ending with Kerr receiving a black eye.

There are apparently no hard feelings these days, and Kerr, who is now head coach of the Golden State Warriors, actually believed it helped out in the long run.

‘I would definitely say it helped our relationship,’ said Kerr in recent interview on TNT. ‘Practices were really intense. They were a huge part of the Bulls and Michael setting a standard for our play.

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Jordan once punched Steve Kerr during Bulls practice, leaving him with a black eye

He also says practice fights were more common than people might think in the teams he played for, revealing there were ‘probably three’ just in that season alone, although didn’t mention whether Jordan was involved in the others.

After the incident, Jordan and Kerr won three NBA championships together, including a famous moment where Kerr hit the winning shot against the Utah Jazz in 1997 after a crucial pass from Jordan.

Keeping quiet on political issues

Although he wasn’t obligated to share his political opinions with anyone, there is no doubting that a lot of people were disappointed when Jordan didn’t endorse politician Harvey Gantt in his 1990 senatorial race against Jesse Helms in North Carolina, where Jordan lived from a young age.

It was almost expected that as a highly respected black athlete, Jordan would speak out against Helms, who was against having a holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King, was accused of being pro-segregation, and was also against homosexuality.

However, Jordan chose to remain silent, and things became worse for his brand when he was quoted as saying ‘Republicans buy sneakers too’ when asked why he wasn’t speaking out.

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Some criticised Jordan for not endorsing Harvey Gantt’s North Carolina senatorial campaign

Jordan has since claimed that it was a throwaway joke made on the Bulls’ team bus, but people still took it to mean he was more interested in making money by selling his Nike branded shoes than fighting for social justice.

Even former US President Barack Obama weighed in, appearing on Netflix’s The Last Dance documentary.

‘For somebody who was at that time preparing for a career in civil rights law and public life, and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, you would have wanted to see Michael push harder on that,’ said Obama.

Jordan says he did donate to Gantt’s campaign, but Helms went on to win the 1990 election, and held the position of North Carolina senator from 1973-2003.

Rivalry with Isiah Thomas

Before winning six NBA championships, Jordan and the Bulls spent a lot of time chasing after the Detroit Pistons. The ‘Bad Boys’, so-called for their aggressive, defense-oriented play, and led by Isiah Thomas, won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.

The Pistons knew how good Jordan was, so came up with the ‘Jordan Rules’.  Simply put, the Pistons would bully Jordan physically, and commit players to him in order to starve him of the ball. It eventually led to Jordan beefing up to compete with strength of his own.

Then in 1991, the Bulls swept the Pistons in the championship finals and the Bad Boys walked off the court before the final game was even over, controversially refusing to shake hands.

There were a number of other incidents throughout Jordan’s early career that are attributed to their rivalry, and it eventually led to Thomas allegedly being kept off the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team due to Jordan, despite being one of the top picks.

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Jordan and the Detroit Pistons’ Isiah Thomas had a vicious rivalry spanning many years

‘I don’t know what went into that [selection] process,’ said Thomas on The Last Dance. ‘I met the criteria to be selected, but I wasn’t.’

Although Jordan denies it, people have suggested that Jordan made US head coach (and Detroit coach at the time) Chuck Daly keep Thomas off the team for the Barcelona Games.

It was the first time the US had sent a team of NBA players to the Olympics. ‘Dream Team’ assembled was dominant in 1992, and the US men’s team has won every gold medal since then apart from in 2004.

You wouldn’t begrudge Thomas from feeling left out, especially as Jordan says himself that: ‘the best point guard of all time is Magic Johnson and right behind him is Isiah Thomas. No matter how much I hate him, I respect his game.’

Gambling

Jordan has made no secret of the fact he enjoys gambling over the years, and although it has appeared to be an issue at some stages during his career, he is adamant that he has never had a problem.

The most famous incident when Jordan’s gambling came to the spotlight was during the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.

In order to take some time away from basketball and the bustle of New York, Jordan took a trip to gambling hub Atlantic City, but reports say he went a little overboard.

‘We got a limo, we went and gambled for a couple hours, and we came back,’ he said on The Last Dance. ‘Everybody went totally ballistic. It wasn’t late. We got home by 12.30, 1.’

However, the New York Times say someone spotted him out at 2.30am, and the attention only grew when the Bulls lost game two the following night after an underwhelming performance by Jordan.

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Jordan went on a trip to a casino in Atlantic City before playing the New York Knicks in 1993

It has also emerged that he skipped the Bulls’ trip to the White House after winning the 1991 NBA Finals so that he could go gamble with golf shop owner and convicted cocaine dealer James ‘Slim’ Bouler.

Then Richard Esquinas published a book called ‘Michael and Me’. Esquinas was a self-described recovering gambling addict and addressed his and Jordan’s alleged problems in the text.

He also claimed Jordan owed him a staggering $1.2million in gambling debts from golf bets. Jordan denied that and Esquinas later said they settled with a payment of $300,000.

The Bulls team would also play cards for huge sums of money on flights to and from games, and he supposedly once lost $5m in a Las Vegas casino in a single night.

Jordan insists that he does not have a gambling problem, saying ‘no, because I could stop gambling. I have a competition problem, a competitive problem.’

Trash talk / ‘bullying’

There’s always going to be some ribbing in sport, however some have suggested that Jordan took his trash talk too far on a number of occasions.

He has been accused of bullying Bill Cartwright when he joined the Bulls in 1998, replacing Jordan’s friend Charles Oakley.

Jordan didn’t take kindly to the new recruit initially. He accused him of having bad hands, and would throw bad passes at him at practice to try and highlight this. He would also call him ‘Medical Bill’, although Cartwright did end up helping the Bulls to their ‘three-peat’ championship victories in the early 90s.

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Jordan was accused of ‘bullying’ Bill Cartwright when he replaced Charles Oakley on the Bulls

He also reportedly called Rodney McCray a ‘loser’ in practice when he arrived in Chicago as a reserve forward.

Plus, Jordan’s words have been attributed to the decline of Muggsy Bogues. Playing against the Charlotte Hornets in 1995, Jordan backed off Bogues, and former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach claims Jordan said: ‘Shoot it you f****** midget.’

Bogues, the shortest player to ever play in the NBA at 5’3″, missed the shot, and never had a better season in the NBA after that.