“He didn’t care if the double team was coming.” The words from one of the LA Lakers’ great defenders, Michael Cooper, are a testament to the fact there was no stopping His Airness just by increasing the number of men on him. However, he has not been the only one to demand that extra attention from the defenders. Among the most recent ones has been Anthony Edwards. In fact, as per an NBA insider, Edwards recently reached out to MJ to seek help dealing with being double-teamed.

Makes sense, considering being double-teamed was just another day at the office for the Chicago Bulls legend. In fact, according to a thread on Inside Hoops, Jordan remains one of the most double-teamed players in NBA history, alongside Wilt Chamberlain. But here’s the thing—Jordan didn’t just endure it; he thrived on it.

For him, double teams weren’t a nuisance but an opportunity to out-think and outmaneuver opponents, often turning them into an advantage for his team. Of course, this wasn’t always the case. Early in his career, Michael Jordan tried to bulldoze his way through defenders, relying on his athleticism. With experience, however, came wisdom.

The 6x NBA champ slowed the game down in his mind, making even chaotic moments look like a perfectly rehearsed symphony. “Over time, I’ve learned how to beat double-teams, to see them coming and exploit them,” Jordan revealed in a 1998 interview with ESPN The Magazine. “A double-team is a very familiar situation for me.”

One play he shared says it all. During a 1998 game against the Indiana Pacers, His Airness nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer while navigating Reggie Miller and Antonio Davis. “I saw Reggie Miller coming from behind me and Antonio Davis in front of me. So I moved to the right and hit the shot, and it was all instinctive,” he said. It’s this kind of composure that left fans shaking their heads in disbelief.

No wonder that while double-teams might overwhelm most players, they hardly rattled Michael Jordan. “I do it because I’ve been there before. Now, at certain times, things move in slow motion for me. I can see the picture, see it being painted.”

Double-teaming Michael Jordan was almost a necessity, but did it really work the way teams hoped? Isiah Thomas, one of Jordan’s fiercest rivals, had some fascinating insights into how doubling MJ didn’t just fail to stop him but often made his teammates even more dangerous.

What do others have to say on double-teaming Michael Jordan?

Thomas pointed out how sharing the court with His Airness turned Craig Hodges into a lethal weapon. Imagine being on defense and seeing Jordan commanding all the attention, only to glance over and find Hodges wide open. Teams had a choice: double Jordan and risk Hodges burying uncontested threes, or let Jordan dominate in the mid-range.

As Thomas put it, “You had to double team Michael Jordan, who was the greatest mid-range player ever. But then when you double team Jordan, you look out there and Craig Hodges is standing there with a nuclear bomb saying ‘Oh, you gonna leave me here?’ So do you wanna give up the three or do you wanna give up the 2 to Jordan?”

But here’s the kicker: even a double team wasn’t always enough to contain Michael Jordan. Michael Cooper once described just how futile it felt. “At the time I played him, Mike was so athletic, he didn’t care if the double team was coming,” he said. “He’d back you down, jump up in the air and he’s over everybody.”

The fact that the NBA had to change its rules in 1987 to prevent players from triple-teaming reflects his dominance even while being defended by two players. At this time, Mike was averaging close to 40 points per game, and the only way to bring him down was to triple-team. The rule to prevent this from happening was dubbed the ‘Michael Jordan Rule’ back then.

However, Mike never credited his calm during such intense situations solely to his experience. He pointed to Phil Jackson’s teachings on mindfulness. “He [Phil] believes it, the Zen, the poise. It comes from his meditating, gaining the ability to stay in touch with your body and your inner self, calming yourself when tension is all around,” Jordan shared. Maybe this is the kind of advice he could share with Edwards if Ant-Man did reach out to him.