Remember Michael Jordan zooming into the Bulls’ practice sessions in new cars every other day? Surprisingly, his love for four-wheeled beauties began long before he became a household name. Most people may think that his first major car endorsement deal must be from those luxurious European car makers. But no. It all started from the heart of his country. It was in 1984, in his rookie year, that Jordan had struck his first major car endorsement deal with Chevrolet which would pay him $200,000 per year, and ‘His Airness’ continued to endorse the car company for years. However, one day his love for Chevy would result in a moment that one person involved remembers to this day.

In the recent episode of the “CHGO Bulls Podcast”, Ray Scarpelli, who is the third generational owner of a Chicago-based Chevrolet car dealership, was invited as the guest. During the podcast, he made a revelation about an incident that most of the fans in the NBA were not aware of. The owner of the car dealership claimed that he is one of the very few people who had made Jordan upset without suffering any repercussions. “I was a little kid, I didn’t know at the time but dude he like gave me this look dude like he’s just like ‘I will k*ll you,” said Scarpelli during the podcast.

So what was the incident? During the glory days of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, the Scarpelli dealership had delivered the Chicago Bulls legend a Chevy Blazer. At that time Scarpelli was a young kid of five to six years old, but despite being of that age, he was not short of any mischief. The young kid had pulled off a simple yet effective handshake trick on one of the famous players of that time. “We had this thing that we do like on the playground just to like mess with people right. So like we would go up high, down low like you were going for like a handshake and then you pull back and go too slow and I did that to MJ,” said Scarpelli while explaining the trick.

In the years since this incident, Jordan’s legacy has continued to grow. He remains an icon in the world of sports and business, with his Jordan Brand still dominating the sneaker market. As for Ray Scarpelli, this encounter likely shaped his perception of celebrity interactions for years to come. It’s a vivid illustration of how our idols are human, capable of both awe-inspiring achievements and jarring overreactions. However, there was a time when Jordan would fight with his wife to drive the same Blazer.

The time when Michael Jordan ‘fought’ with his wife over a Chevy

‘His Airness’ had done a commercial for the Chevy Blazer that had been well received by the people in the 1990s. Chevy, during that time, had launched the Blazer K1500 full utility sports vehicle, which had an automatic transmission and came in both petrol and diesel variants.

In the commercial, Jordan can be seen going over the different features of the car while driving it. But there was this one revelation he would make during the advertisement that no one would have thought. “When I put it in four-wheel drive, I really feel comfortable, I don’t feel the sliding and you know the spinning of the wheels. So, it’s the reassurance that you have in that bad weather. I mean, my wife and I, we fight to see who’s driving the Blazer. I do, I really do drive a Blazer,” said Jordan in the advertisement.

This anecdote offers a glimpse into Jordan’s life off the court, revealing that his legendary competitiveness extended beyond basketball into his personal life. It also gives us a glimpse of Jordan’s love for American made vehicles.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.