Michael Jordan and fellow NBA players didn’t exactly make Kwame Brown’s NBA journey a walk in the park. According to Brown, during MJ’s time with the Washington Wizards, he really put him through the wringer. In a Sports Illustrated interview, the former top draft pick opened up about the obstacles he encountered and the fact that Jordan never really warmed up to him.
What did Brown say?
Brown recounted how he was forced to work out for two and a half hours before games, only to be benched until the team was down by 30 points with just a few minutes left on the clock. He described how the coach would curse and rant on the sidelines at the slightest mistake, making him feel as though the losses were his fault.
According to Brown, Michael Jordan never wanted him on the Wizards from the beginning. Jordan had drafted him with the intention of trading him for Elton Brand, but the Wizards’ owner blocked the trade.
Brown also revealed that veterans were brought into practice specifically to foul and beat him up daily. He recalled Charles Oakley threatening to beat him up, which was a significant challenge for him as an 18-year-old. Despite being perceived as weak, Brown asserted that he is one of the strongest men around. He emphasized that if others had experienced what he did at the age of 18, they might have been driven to despair.
It wasn’t the first complaint against Jordan
Another ex-player has also raised issues about how Michael treated his teammates both as an owner and a fellow player. Jordan was fortunate not to be in an era of social media that could have revealed these incidents as they occurred, given the circumstances of his career.