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Michael Jordan during 2006 Jordan All-American Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
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Michael Jordan during 2006 Jordan All-American Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Love him or hate him, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players ever. He won 6 NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, among other individual accolades. However, he has also given people reasons to hate him.
Most of the time, it is his attitude. Jordan was the upright leader in the dressing room who tolerated no funny business from his teammates, especially during training. There are many stories of Jordan going face to face with his teammates during training sessions.
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In one such instance, former NBA player Will Perdue and Jordan went at each other. Although Perdue beat Jordan during a training session, he paid the price with a punch to his face.
Will Perdue talks about his fight with Michael Jordan
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There is no denying Michael Jordan is one of the greatest of all time. He led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA titles in 8 years and dominated the entire league. However, Jordan was not alone.
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From left, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc were big parts of Bulls teams that won three straight NBA titles from 1996 to 1998. Jordan and Pippen were members of the first “three-peat” team, which won titles from 1991 to 1993. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He had a talented roster of stars like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr and others. While most of them did not dare to go against Jordan and his upright nature, Will Perdue did.
Perdue and Michael Jordan were teammates for 7 years in the Bulls. During a training session, Perdue got on the nerves of Jordan. The team continued to screen Jordan, which sometimes was illegal. Moreover, Jordan had warned Perdue of the consequences in case he does it again.
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He said, “So, we kept running this play, and sometimes my screens were illegal,” Perdue recalled. “Sometimes they were not. But my job was to make sure I hit him. Well, one time he said, ‘If you do that again I’m going to make you pay for it.’ Well, Johnny Bach just stood there and goes, ‘Run it again.’”
Perdue added, “So, we ran it again, and this time I figured I’m going to get my money’s worth. I nailed him, knocked him to the ground, kind of stood over him a little bit. He stood up, popped me, and before I could get him, they got us and that was the end of it.”
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Despite their altercation on the court, Perdue confirmed he received an apology from MJ regarding this issue. The two won 3 NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
