The Michael Jordan era reigned supreme in the 90s. The Chicago Bulls were the most dominant force in that decade and had assembled arguably the greatest team the league had ever seen. So while such a spectacle is enjoyable for fans, the people running the show often end up making enemies.
MJ’s beef with Jeff Van Gundy stems from that era of dominance as well. Over the years, a lot has been said between the two, creating animosity. There is, however, more to their problem than just the old “con man” clash. Let’s take a deep dive into their history.
Was Michael Jordan a “con man”?
The 90s were a tough time to be an NBA athlete, especially if you weren’t a part of the Bulls squad. A dominant run like that team is yet to be repeated in the league. What’s worth marveling over is the effort it took for the team to achieve the unthinkable. From MJ’s imaginary beef to the rigorous practice sessions, they did it all to get those six NBA titles. However, not everyone was a fan of the strategies that the 6x NBA champion would have in place. In January 1997, Van Gundy said that Jordan was a “con man” who sells fake friendships around the league.
The NBA coach believed that MJ would only befriend a player from the opposition team to soften them up and would drop a brilliant performance the next game. As per Van Gundy, Jordan’s idea of friendship was only to gain a competitive advantage over other players.
MJ received this message loud and clear and dropped 51 points the next time the Bulls faced the New York Knicks. That wasn’t the end of it, as Jordan had some things to get off his chest, which he did mid-game.
While it’s pretty clear that Van Gundy wasn’t a fan of Jordan’s tactics, he acknowledged the brilliance of the great man.
Jeff Van Gundy’s recent comment on Jordan
On an episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast Van Gundy said, “If you would give the ball to Jordan in his prime with these rules, with all the shooting, and think that he wasn’t going to shoot over 50%? Michael shot over 50% with limited 3-point shooting, and limited space in the triangle offense….at the highest form of physicality”. As for Jordan’s survival in the league today, he said, “Michael Jordan would have led the league in scoring (in today’s time)…..he would’ve averaged 40 (points)”.
In the end, the world did acknowledge that Van Gundy was right. When the Bulls/Jordan documentary The Last Dance was released on Netflix in 2020, we got a glimpse of what it was like facing Jordan. Such Jordan stories were spread out across the 10 episodes of the show. Jordan’s LaBradford Smith story was something that actually shook basketball fans. As per the Bulls legend, the Washinton Bullets player, after a game approached him and said “Nice game, Mike.” Smith was averaging 9.3 that season, and his comment didn’t sit well with Jordan.
In their next matchup, Jordan dropped 47 points, leading his team to a win. It was only years later, that people got to know it was all concocted within Jordan’s head and Smith had said nothing to piss Jordan off.
