Despite Michael Jordan’s Ugly ‘Jealousy’, Bulls Legend’s Unusual Dream Team Trait Disclosed by 54YO Teammate

With the release of The Last Dance on Netflix, younger NBA fans saw raw footage of Michael Jordan running the Chicago Bulls squad like a drill sergeant. He was a lot tougher on his teammates going into another three-peat. No one knew that better than the Bulls’ European import, Toni Kukoc. Before they won three champions together, Jordan and Kukoc were opponents. And the Croatian pro saw a different side of His Airness.

Jordan was known to rise above the trash talk and let his game do the talking. But he had his moments. He reserved his special brand of tough love for Toni Kukoc except when they were at the 1992 Olympics.

Toni Kukoc set the record straight at 1992 Olympics

From 1985 to 1993, Toni Kukoc played in Europe, including for the Croatian national team. He’s had two Olympic appearances in 1988 and 1992, leading his team to the silver medal both times. But it’s his 1992 appearance that was significant. The Bulls had selected ‘The Waiter’ in 1990 but he wouldn’t be able to start immediately due to his national team commitments. He’d come face to face with Bulls star, then three-time NBA champion, Michael Jordan, in the 1992 Olympics.

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The Croatian team was up against Team USA’s ‘Dream Team’ led by Jordan. NBA insiders claim Jordan had taken a dislike to the European recruit by then. However, he didn’t show that at the Olympics. Kukoc told Bally Sports a different narrative.

When asked if Jordan had some harsh words for him at the Olympics, Kukoc answered, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think I ever heard Mike talk smack to us in the Olympics.” That’s unusual because Jordan was known for not mincing his words.

Basketball watchers around that time remember Jordan was not excited about Jerry Krause’s recruit. He felt that the GM was cossetting Kukoc. He was apparently looking forward to taking it out on him at the Olympics. Which he did by taking the gold. Kukoc would then get a taste of the MJ trash talk when he joined the Bulls.

Jordan was harshest to Kukoc

Kukoc told Bally Sports that if you’re going to talk smack to Jordan, you better have the audacity to back it. “But Michael was one of those guys if you don’t wake him up, then he’s gonna play. He believes in his skill and his dominance and he’ll probably score 25 or 30 on you if you ‘let it be’ in a way. But if you’re going to start talking trash to him, make sure that you can cover it! Because if you can’t, he’ll hit you for 45-50 and make you feel each and every bucket he scores.”

Jordan retired from the NBA for the first time in 1993 and played pro baseball for two seasons. Kukoc would finally join the team and was apparently disappointed he couldn’t play with his Olympic opponent. But ‘His Airness’ returned in 1995 and he was tougher than ever. A snippet on The Last Dance alone showed Jordan running practice mercilessly. In archived footage, he’s seen yelling, “Toni, it’s okay. You know why? Cause I gotta scream at you all day.”

That was how Jordan whipped his team into another three-peat shape and Kukoc would go on to become a three-time NBA champion. Two decades later, Jordan would welcome Kukoc to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2021, where the latter thanked the legend for beating him in the Olympics.

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