Every once in a while, the world of the NBA embraces itself with a ridiculous storyline circling Michael Jordan. To the fans’ delight, Bob Starkey recently narrated an instance from MJ’s playing days that undoubtedly fit the bill. The LSU head coach reflected on when ‘The Black Jesus’ fixed a $1000 bet with his Chicago Bulls teammates over travel luggage.
Starkey revealed how Jordan allegedly bribed the flight attendant. That’s how the 6x champion tampered with the unspoken rules before setting the trap. He then perfectly executed his plan by toying with his teammates’ egos. And expectedly, the trick paid dividends as he earned thousands of dollars instantaneously.
“[Michael Jordan] tells the flight attendant, ‘Do you have any control over which bag comes off the conveyor belt first?’. She said, ‘Well, I’m sure I can arrange something. What do you need?’…’I need bag number 23 to come off that conveyor belt first’… Jordan rolls out a few hundred dollars and gives it to her… You know how you stand around the conveyor belt… Jordan says, ‘What the heck! I got a $1000. Mine is the first one to come off… So, they all throw a thousand dollars on there. Boom! Here comes 23 off the conveyor belt.”
This story possibly happened during one of the Bulls’ away games during Jordan’s time with the franchise. On one hand, it captured Jordan’s reported addiction to gambling during his playing career and beyond. On the other, it highlighted his competitiveness which helped him excel in various aspects of life.
This ruthless approach was his key to terrorizing his opponents on the court. However, at times, his teammates also had to suffer for this.
A glimpse into Michael Jordan’s competitiveness
Michael Franzese, a former mobster once revealed the intricate details of Jordan’s addiction to winning at any cost. During an appearance on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin podcast in April 2020, he opened up about MJ once squaring off against the then-Bulls head of security. Mentioning the details, Franzese stated,
“Michael was playing the head of security in table tennis for five bucks. Of course, Michael wins, he wins at everything. So Horace has his warm-up suit on, and Michael goes where are my five bucks. He said that it’s up in his room, so he goes up and tells him to go out to get it. Horace looked at him and said, ‘Five bucks Michael’. He said, ‘Yeah, this is my trophy, I beat you’. He puts it in his pocket and walks away’“.
This further proved MJ’s drive to be the best at everything he did. This included a range of actions – from intentionally petrifying his opponent to using underhand tactics to defeat his teammates – Jordan’s single-minded focus to win forced him to insane lengths. In hindsight, that was the price he had to pay to become unforgettable.