At this stage, it goes without saying that His Airness was โ and continues to be โ a completely different species when it comes to competition. But if you were to ask the six-time NBA champion, six-time NBA Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star, and undisputed GOAT whatโs the โhardestโ sport to play, Michael Jordan wouldnโt respond with basketball or even baseball. Heโd hand that particular honour to golf.
โI kind of got into golf mainly because from a competitive standpoint, to me, it is the hardest game to play,โ MJ explains to Steph Curry.
โI can always respond to an opponent, defensive guy, offensive guy whatever but in golf, itโs like playing in a mirror. Youโre battling yourself consistently to try to get perfection. Every swing. Every putt.โ
โFor a competitive person like me, this is what keeps me sane. Because when I walk away from the game of basketball, that was enough to keep my competitive juices working.โ
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โNow when I donโt have that game, this game โ and it even drives me crazy then. I go fishing in between my golf because I got to show patience in fishing thatโs going to be related to golf.โ
MJโs exploits on the green are (arguably) just as legendary as his accomplishments on the court. Where golf is a hobby for most, the billionaire principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets likes to quite literally put his money where his mouth is.
A few years ago, former NHL player Jeremy Roenick recounted the time he logged a cheeky day session with Michael Jordan on the course. As it so happens, Roenick and MJ met to play 18-holes and throw back a few cold ones right before the Chicago Bulls were scheduled to face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. To make things more interesting, the two blokes thought itโd be a good idea to put some money on the action. The hockey player managed to best MJ. Unsatisfied with the outcome, MJ challenged him to another 18-holes โ but to no avail.
โNow weโve been drinking all afternoon and heโs going from Sunset Ridge to the stadium, to play a game,โ says Jeremy Roenick.
โIโm messing around. Iโm like, โIโm gonna call my bookie. All the money you just lost to me, Iโm putting on Cleveland.โ He goes, โIโll tell you what. Iโll bet you that weโll win by 20 points and I have more than 40 [points].โ Iโm like, โDone.โโฆ Son of a gun goes out and scores 52 and they win by 26 points or something!โ
This is where a dose of fact-checking becomes necessary. While Roenick never specifies which game the story revolves around, the closest fit to this incredible narrative would be the Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers game of March 28, 1992. Jordan never scored 52 as alleged, but he did sink 44 points (and right after being on the piss). This led to a decisive 126-102 victory against Cleveland with a 24 point lead, not 26. So while Roenickโs version isnโt entirely accurate, it did actually happen.
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And then thereโs the time he bet US$300,000 on a single putt. Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, Charles Barkley shed a little more light on what it was like playing golf with the man himself
โIโve never been under more pressure, and I apologise to Michael for saying this. So weโd be playing golf with certain people for a couple hundred dollars a hole, nothing big. And heโd be playing some guy for US$100,000.โ
โHeโs like, โCharles, pick that up.โ Iโm like, โThis putt is for US$200.โ Heโs like, โPick that up, Charles, get out of my way โ youโre in my line!โ Iโm like, โHow much is that putt for?โ Heโs like, โUS$300,000.โ I said, โLet me get out of your line.โโฆ It was crazy man.โ
Check out Michael Jordan and Steph Curry in conversation about golf being the hardest sport, the Ryder Cup, basketball, and more below.
