"What am I going to say to my family?": Michael Jordan once declined a 1v1 with Scott Burrell, citing a lack of respect for his game
Michael Jordan has been known to go hard on his teammates, particularly in practice. The Chicago Bulls legend once punched former teammate and current Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr following a scrimmage.
During the 1997-98 season, the newly acquired Scott Burrell got on Jordan’s nerves. The two were once engaged in an interesting one-on-one match. Jordan won a close 7-6 decision in the first game before the five-time NBA MVP refused to go another round with Burrell.
“His Airness” reportedly told his former teammate the reason why a rematch was no-go, per Andscape:
“So you can tell everyone, all your friends, family and relatives that you beat Michael Jordan? If I win, what am I going to say to my family: ‘I beat Scott Burrell?’”
When asked if Jordan had gone overboard with some of his comments, Scott Burrell responded:
“No, he wasn’t a bully. He coached like a leader, and we respected him for what he said. In this day and era, it might be too aggressive. But, no, I mean, guys loved it. I enjoyed it, and I needed it.
“I played on good teams, but I never played on a championship team. And now I know what a championship team is like.”
Scott Burrell played 80 games that season for the Chicago Bulls, starting three. He averaged 13.7 minutes per game and put up 5.2 PPG on 42.4% shooting, including a 35.4% clip from behind the arc.
The unassuming forward was fourth in the Bulls’ lineup in 3-point percentage, behind gunners Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and Toni Kukoc. Burrell played a key role for Chicago with his hard-nosed play, hustle and outside shooting.
Scott Burrell played eight seasons in the NBA. The highlight of his career was helping Michael Jordan win his sixth and last championship.
Michael Jordan remained the same when he played for the Washington Wizards
Michael Jordan was at the tail end of his career when he joined the Washington Wizards.
Jordan had retired for three seasons before returning to “scratch an itch” in 2001. Instead of playing for the Chicago Bulls, he took his talents to the US capital. Sports analyst Chris Broussard had this to say about Jordan in 2020 (2:15 mark):
“I was with the Wizards that year, about the last week or two of Jordan’s career. I wrote for the New York Times a story about his last game.
"The players were sick of him. I mean they really weren’t enjoying playing with the great Michael Jordan that most of them grew up idolizing, including (Jerry) Stackhouse.”
Michael Jordan’s ferocity and competitiveness often rubbed people the wrong way. Apparently, he never changed even when he was playing on one leg for the Washington Wizards.