It is probably safe to say that NBA legend Michael Jordan is an icon who represents the sport of basketball to a certain number of people in the world. The Hall of Famer took the sports world by storm shortly after he was drafted into the NBA. While the Chicago Bulls franchise existed in the league way before His Airness was drafted, it was Jordan who had a major hand in creating a massive fan following for the Bulls. However, when you are playing as a team, no matter your status in the team and the league, not everyone would agree with your style. Similar revelations regarding Michael Jordan and his Bulls came forth when The Jordan Rules was published.
The Jordan Rules by author Sam Smith was published in 1991 and the name was derived from the set of rules created by the Detroit Pistons to take down Michael Jordan. The book provided a very controversial behind-the-scenes perspective on the Bulls’ roster before their first championship win.
Bulls teammate expressed his displeasure with Michael Jordan
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Michael Jordan was arguably the best player in the 90s Chicago Bulls team and his six championship rings are the physical testament of the statement. However, the highly competitive 14x NBA All-Star was not always a by-the-book player and this bothered his former teammates. 3x NBA champion B.J. Armstrong spent his first six seasons in the league playing for the Bulls alongside His Airness. Sam Smith claimed in The Jordan Rules, that MJ’s improvisations on the court aggravated his teammates despite his superstar status.
Despite the coaches’ warnings, the 6x NBA Finals MVP would be given a pass during such instances since he always managed to score. This bothered his teammates.
“The difference is that in our offense, if your man goes at you, you can’t go back at him. You have to run the offense. But Michael doesn’t. Sure, he’s better than everyone else, but you just hate to watch him get to do that without anything being said, and then if you try, watch out,” said B.J. Armstrong.
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While Armstrong had an issue with this habit of Jordan’s, he also believed that the Bulls legend had the potential of getting even better than he already was.
Jordan didn’t sleep for more than a decade
Of course, it is not possible for a human being to go without sleep for 14 years but according to B.J. Armstrong, fans missed out on witnessing Michael Jordan playing in his full potential only because he didn’t get enough sleep. Armstrong said that Jordan would go on games and practice sessions with little to no sleep and still engage in the activity with utmost energy.
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BJ Armstrong on Michael Jordan: "If he would have slept, we don't how good he really would have been. We didn't see the best of Michael Jordan because he didn't sleep for 14 years literally". pic.twitter.com/zK0a8cefWU
— mj23_world (@mj23_world) May 2, 2022
?We didn?t see the best of Michael Jordan because he literally didn?t sleep for 14 years. My moment was watching him play 35-40 minutes, then come to practice with the same energy,”?said Armstrong during an interview with Basketball Network.
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If what Armstrong said is true then NBA teams during the 90s are probably thankful that His Airness could not unlock his full potential.