Michael Jordan to Former Bulls Coach Doug Collins: ‘Drink the Water, I’m Not Going to Let You Lose Your First Game’

Michael Jordan was always full of praise for his former Chicago Bulls coach, Doug Collins. The Bulls were coached by Collins for three seasons from 1986 to 1989, when Jordan was in his third, fourth, and fifth season respectively.

Collins has coached several teams throughout his career, such as the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers. During a recent documentary that aired on ESPN, we can hear him discussing his relationship with Jordan.

Michael Jordan’s greatest seasons as described by Doug Collins

As part of the documentary series “The Last Dance” which aired on ESPN, Collins talked about his relationship with Jordan. He recalled the first game he coached and mentioned the following incident. Chiefly, he recalled the incident once more on the 94 WIP SportsRadio show and recounted his debut as an NBA coach.

“My first game coaching in Madison Square Garden. Hubie Brown, Patrick Ewing, Bill Cartwright. My first game ever as an NBA coach, two minutes to go in the game. I’m soaking my suit because I’m sweating so much…”

“I see this hand come out and I see that it’s Michael… Michael reaches out and he hands me a cup of water. He said ‘Drink that coach, drink the water. I’m not going to let you lose your first game.’ Came out scored the next 10 points of the game, we win.”

In the third episode of the documentary “The Last Dance,” Collins was the central focus character describing the incidents and his time with the Chicago Bulls. The documentary shows Collin’s bond with Bulls’ poster boy Michael Jordan, as well as their understanding of one another. In the series, he mentioned the following in regard to his experience with Jordan:

Jordan was playing his best ball during his rookie season, and yet Collin was fired in the summer of 1989 after the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals once while he was there and lost to the Detroit Pistons in that series.

In his tenure, Collins never won a single NBA title as a coach. During his time working with the Bulls, he won zero championships. Whether Collins made a difference or not is debatable, but it is always interesting to hear someone describe the era in which Michael Jordan dominated the NBA. Please let us know what you think about his performance with the bulls.

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