The stories about Michael Jordan when he was an NBA player are often unbelievable, especially given how he was still able to win six NBA championships in spite of everything happening off the court. Now we’ve got a new one courtesy of Chicago Bulls teammate B.J. Armstrong.
The former Bulls guard stopped by Rex Chapman’s podcast and talked about how Jordan’s lack of sleep may have impacted his play while in the league.
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
“If he would have slept, we don’t how good he really would have been,” said Armstrong. “We didn’t see the best of Michael Jordan because he didn’t sleep for 14 years. Literally. He literally didn’t sleep.
“Watching him play 35-40 minutes, and then come to practice with the same energy… and you’re like ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t normal.’ … He was the greatest practice player I’ve ever seen. … I’ve never seen someone this competitive and it’s always on. It’s always on.”
The really interesting tidbit is that Armstrong alludes to whatever it is that Jordan might have been doing instead of sleeping but doesn’t come out and say it.
“I don’t want to tell too much,” said Armstrong. “But you’re like ‘I was at the same place he was at and I’m a little tired today.’ And then all of the sudden, when Phil Jackson would blow the whistle, this guy’s like he got 10 hours of sleep. And he didn’t eat.
So you’ve got a guy who didn’t sleep, he didn’t eat, … he’s doing whatever he’s doing at night… and you’re like ‘How?!'”
It’s pretty wild to imagine that Jordan accomplished everything in his career while also being sleep-deprived. But then again, after what we learned about him and the Bulls in The Last Dance, is anything too shocking anymore? What more could he have accomplished aside from the six titles, six Finals MVPs, 14 All-Star appearances, and 10 scoring titles? We’ll always wonder…
