Michael Jordan was a man of competitive spirit, which drove his passion for literally anything he would do. His gloried successes in basketball, all came from his intense competitive drive and striving for the best. However, sometimes, one may feel that Jordan might have gone overboard with his ultra-competitiveness on certain occasions. Perhaps Chicago Sun-Times journalist Lacy Banks might have felt this way when Michael refused to pay $175 after losing to Banks in a game of ping-pong.
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Losing was a word one would never find in Jordan’s dictionary. Michael Jordan would never accept defeat in any aspect and would work harder to get back at his opponents. This is precisely how Jordan reacted after being defeated by journalist Banks. He refused to pay his bet of $175 and instead bought a ping-pong table to practice being undefeated in the game. Roland Lazenby, the author of Michael Jordan: The Life, duly noted this incident in detail in his book.
Michael Jordan refused to pay a Chicago journalist for losing a ping-pong match
Aside from basketball, Michael Jordan had a vivid social life, engaging with imminent personalities and journalists in Chicago. While spending time with Chicago Sun-Times journalist Lacy Banks, Jordan challenged the veteran sportswriter to a game of ping-pong. At that time, an overconfident Jordan ridiculed Banks, believing he could not play the game and bet $25 per game.
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Jordan lost seven games in a captivating series of ping-pong, which warranted him to pay $175 to Banks. But Jordan was reluctant to do so. He instead asked the Sun-Times reporter if they could keep playing and run a tab of their bets. As Roland Lazenby noted, Banks revealed how Jordan never really paid him the bet and bought a ping-pong table to hone his skills. Here is an excerpt from Lazenby’s book that vividly describes this incident.
“‘You can’t play Ping-Pong,’ Jordan told him [Lacy Banks]. They picked up the paddles to play, and Jordan said, ‘Let’s make this interesting, twenty-five a game.’ Banks won the first seven games and ran up some healthy winnings.He immediately noticed Jordan was reluctant to pay up, saying instead they’d keep playing and run a tab. ‘He never really paid me,’ Banks recalled. “Michael is a welsher. He bought a table and started practicing.'”
That’s not all. Jordan was pretty serious about every aspect of himself, even beyond basketball. From losing golf to ping pong, Michael would look visibly frustrated upon losing, just like one would expect of him after losing Game 6 of any series. Many even recall MJ reacting maniacally or throwing fits after losing in recreational games with peers or fellow basketball colleagues.
MJ once trained hard to beat Dream Team teammate Christian Laettner in ping-pong
The more one reads stories of Michael Jordan’s competitiveness and striving, the more enjoyable it gets. Jordan’s saga with ping-pong does not end with Lacy Banks right here. When Dream Team teammate Christian Laettner defeated the Bulls legend in a game of ping-pong, His Airness threw his paddle and didn’t talk to anyone for two days.
After the defeat, Michael had a ping-pong table delivered to his room. For two days straight, MJ practiced hard for a rematch against Laettner. When the two faced next, MJ destroyed Laettner in a 21-4 scoreline. While no stakes were involved in this game, Jordan could not bear losing to anyone. Perhaps, this mentality carried MJ’s legacy forward to become arguably the greatest player of all time.
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