David Robinson became teammates with Michael Jordan on the 1992 Dream Team. It was a great experience, which earned him a gold medal. Apart from this, Robinson saw the insane schedule of several players, including Michael Jordan. The Admiral came to the conclusion that MJ shook hands with the devil.
Deal with the devil
Will Perdue shared a story about the first time he met David Robinson. Perdue played for the Chicago Bulls from 1988 to 1995, snagging three titles. He was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 1995. When he met The Admiral for the first time, their conversation revolved around Michael Jordan and the Dream Team.
“When I got traded to San Antonio… and I meet David (Robinson),” Perdue recalled on The Habershow, per NBC Sports. “The first thing he says to me is ‘Michael Jordan’s got a deal with the devil.’ And I’m like, ‘What?'”
“He goes, ‘I played on the Dream Team. This was their schedule in Monaco, and I tried to keep up– and the one person that could keep up was Chuck Daly– practice, straight to the golf course, straight to– ’cause they’re in Monaco– straight to the casino, until all hours in the morning, shower, rinse, repeat. No sleep.,” he added.
Robinson reiterated how intense and competitive the practices were. Like his fellow Dream Team members have said, those practices were some of the best he’d ever been a part of. Michael and Magic never stopped talking trash which got everyone hyped.
After sweating buckets and sending all their energy, Jordan would invite his teammates to play golf. After 36 holes of golf, they’ll go play cards all night, then go practice in the morning. Robinson tried his best to keep up but he just couldn’t.
No sleep
This is not the only account of Jordan’s crazy habits. Ex-Bulls guard BJ Armstrong believes that players and fans did not experience his top form. That’s because His Airness didn’t sleep much, as he was always occupied with something.
“We didn’t see the best of Michael Jordan because he literally didn’t sleep for 14 years,” Armstrong said. “My moment was watching him play 35-40 minutes, then come to practice with the same energy. I’ve never seen a guy this competitive and he’s always on. In practice, I realized he’s different. Everybody else is a little tired. And all of a sudden, when Phil Jackson blew the whistle, this guy acts like he got 10 hours of sleep. You got a guy that didn’t sleep, he didn’t eat, he’s playing cards, or whatever he’s doing at night… And the guy is playing, and you’re just like ‘Wait a minute, he just played 45 minutes the other night. How?'”
Sleep is the best way for the body to recover. That’s why athletes take naps before games and sleep over 8 hours every night. And so Armstrong has a good point. When Jordan was dropping 50 points and game-winners, he was at a disadvantage as he didn’t get enough sleep. Imagine what would’ve happened if he had gotten ample rest.