"Jordan’s greatest failure, if you really boil it down, was his inability to control his competitive nature" - New York Times best-selling author outlines Michael Jordan's biggest flaw during his playing days

Michael Jordan displayed his fiery competitive nature throughout his NBA career. [Photo: Essentially Sports]

There are three things former NBA players consistently say about Michael Jordan regardless of whether they played with or against the Chicago Bulls legend. They usually mention his insane basketball skills, his trash-talking and his unbending desire to be better and dominate.

That competitive nature made him unbelievably good, but was also one of his biggest flaws, according to Chuck Klosterman. The award-winning New York Times author appeared on Colin Cowherd's podcast to share his thoughts on the successes and failures of “His Airness.”

Here’s what Klosterman had to say on how Michael Jordan is partly remembered by basketball fans:

“I often think that we remember these guys for their great achievements but they are sort of defined by their greatest failures. Jordan’s greatest failure, if you really boil it down, was his inability to control his competitive nature.”

The author added:

“At times, it made him misread both his ability to play baseball and his ability to come back with the [Washington] Wizards and be the same.”

"I think I just saw the best 6"4 high school player I've ever seen... Michael is the most driven, most focused & greatest competitor I've ever known."

@UNC_Basketball coach Roy Williams recalls coaching Michael Jordan & the first time he spotted him: https://t.co/b456vVPxJA

Michael Jordan briefly retired after the Bulls’ first three-peat to put into context the death of his father and to take time off basketball. He also wanted to honor the memory of his father by playing baseball.

Opinions are divided on how MJ fared in baseball. Some would say that his competitive nature would have made him good enough with a few years in the minor leagues. Others argued that he was way in over his head.

Two-time World Series champion manager Terry Francona on Michael Jordan's baseball career:

"With 1,500 at-bats, he would've found a way to get into the Major Leagues" trib.al/8ICTqw2

“His Airness” ultimately returned to basketball and led Chicago to their second three-peat after his dalliance with baseball. After the Bulls decided to break the core of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson, the six-time champion stepped down once again.

However, Jordan came back from retirement for the second time in his career to “scratch an itch that won’t go away.”

Klosterman admitted that Michael Jordan's Washington Wizards tenure wasn’t as bad as some thought it would be. However, the author speculated that the Bulls legend still wanted to show that he could play the same way as before but was proven wrong.

"I am returning as a player to the game I love."
20 years ago today, Michael Jordan came out of his 2nd retirement. He donated his $1M salary to 9/11 relief efforts.

Best GMS with Wizards
Age 38: 51 PTS (34 1st half)
Age 39: 45 PTS
Age 40: 43 PTS, 10 REB
https://t.co/joFgFqqEz4

Many past and current NBA players, however, would willingly take MJ’s “greatest failures” to go along with his mind-boggling successes.

Michael Jordan could also have been in hot water had social media been what it is now

Michael Jordan's gambling could have gotten him in trouble had social media been what it is today. [Photo: Fadeaway World]

Social media today is far more relentless and unforgiving, and there’s almost no escaping the all-seeing eyes of fans. Back in Michael Jordan's heyday, players had significantly better privacy.

Chuck Klosterman argued that Jordan’s off-court activities could also have gotten him in trouble with fans had they been brought up on Twitter on Instagram:

“Jordan, going to gamble when they’re playing the Knicks and disappearing all night with his dad and coming back when they’re down 2-0. It is pretty obvious to say in the social media era that would have been very different.

“There would have been attempts to argue that he didn’t care about winning.”

“I don’t think MJ would have been on social media but...there wouldn’t have been those trips to Atlantic City. People would have put pictures and videos out there.” @LaurenceWHolmes to @ALawRadio on Michael Jordan’s privacy in a pre social media world. #TheLastDance https://t.co/1UMZ5A0jvB

Many consider Jordan to be the most beloved athlete in American sports. He is viewed as a transcendent basketball player who has become a cultural icon.

Part of Jordan’s glittering image, per Klosterman, was due to the media and NBA fans giving him a pass for several gaffes:

“The idea that he would cheat…the idea that he would keep Isiah Thomas off the Olympic team. All these things that, in truth, are sort of signs of somebody who is unable to turn off this desire to dominate.”

He added:

“We love that and maybe if he had been punished at that time for it, we would think differently. But because he wasn’t punished for that in the ‘90s, we forgive it now retroactively.”

Greeny, once again speaking the truth.

"If Michael Jordan played today he would 100x more concerned by the criticism he would hear than Lebron James."

"And he would have been criticized because despite all the revisionist history people create, Michael Jordan was not perfect." https://t.co/bJbihdAg9T