Former Bulls center says they used to wonder if Michael Jordan was human until he finally showed emotions after winning his first championship
- Michael Jordan let out his emotions and cried tears of joy after the Chicago Bulls won their first championship in 1991.
- Former Bulls center Will Perdue said in "The Last Dance" that teammates used to wonder if Jordan was human because they only saw him angry or frustrated, and were "stunned" to see his emotions come out.
- Jordan said the perception that he couldn't win until 1991 used to bother him and he let his emotions go when he finally reached the mountaintop.
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It took Michael Jordan finally reaching the mountaintop to let teammates know that he was human, according to former Bulls center Will Perdue.
In ESPN's "The Last Dance," Perdue said that when Jordan and the Bulls finally won a championship in the 1990-91 season, Jordan "stunned" teammates with his raw emotions.
"That's who we knew: the competitive Michael Jordan. The win-at-all-costs Michael Jordan." Perdue said in the docuseries.
"Sometimes we'd question whether he was human, whether he had feelings. He was just a guy that was focused on one thing and one thing only. The only emotion we'd seen out of him was anger or frustration. We were literally stunned to see those emotions."
It was a long journey for Jordan to win his first championship. Jordan admitted in "The Last Dance" that the perception that was he was great player who couldn't win at the highest level or elevate his teammates used to "eat" at him.
Magic Johnson, whose Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Bulls in the 1991 Finals, said that after the game he and Jordan met in between the lockers rooms and hugged. Johnson said Jordan cried tears of joy.
"When you get to that finish line and you know that you won, all those emotions that you had wrapped up into it, you can kinda just let go," Jordan said in the documentary.
Jordan's intensity and competitiveness became a major part of his legendary reputation. Jordan reportedly told producers of "The Last Dance" that people would "hate" him after seeing how intense he was behind the scenes.
Apparently, that visage dropped in his most triumphant moments.
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