Learn English Michael Jordan The fire of my competitive nature with BIG subtitles

I told all my friends I’ve come up here

and say thank you and walk off I can’t

there’s no way I got too many people I

can think in all the videos you never

just saw me so Scotty different every

chance if I want

[Applause]

I’ve had a lot of questions over the

last four weeks and everybody’s saying

well why did you pick david thompson

i know why david knows why and maybe you

guys don’t know why but as I grew up in

North Carolina I was 11 years old 1974 I

think when you guys won a championship

and I was anti Carolina guy hated UNC

here I ended up at UNC but I was I was

in love with David Thompson not just for

the game of basketball but in terms of

what he represented you know we all as

Vivian say I said we go through our

trials and tribulations and he did and I

was inspired by him and when I called

him and asked him to stand up for me I

know I shocked the out of him

I know I did

[Applause]

but he was very very kind and said yeah

I do it and now that wasn’t disrespect

or into my Carolina guys they all know

them I’m true blue Carolina guy to the

heart you know Coach Smith Larry Brown

Sam Perkins James Worthy you know all of

those guys well it all starts with my my

parents you guys see all the highlights

what is it what is it about me that you

guys don’t know as I set up here I watch

all the other recipients stand up and

they give their the history and so many

things I didn’t know about Jerry Sloan I

know he lived on the farm but I didn’t

know he was in a you know small

classroom of from first grade to the

eighth grade even David Robinson I was

I’ve known David for some time and you

know I found some some things out about

him and even with John I found some bad

things or good things about him and it

even did did I know him dead for years

and her and my father and my mom spent a

lot of time on the nightkin trips and

you know I found out a lot of good

things about her but what about me that

you guys don’t know I got two brothers

James and Larry their five four or five

five in heights

they gave me all I could ever ask for as

a brother in terms of competition you

know you would think that you know he’s

my brother Larry is a is ideal the

situation with small things come in

small packages

this dude fought me every single day and

to the extent that my mother’s to come

out and make us come in because we were

fighting way too much and my older

brother was always gone he served in the

Army for 31 years

[Applause]

and the competition didn’t stop there

my sister who’s when you’re younger than

me Rob never wanted to be home by

herself she took classes extra classes

to graduate from high school with me to

go to University of North Carolina with

me and to graduate prior than me and you

guys didn’t ask me where my competition

or my competitive nature came from it

came from them it came from my older

sister she was not here today and my

father he was not here today

obviously he’s with us in all of us I

mean my competitive nature has gone a

long way from the first time I picked up

any sport baseball football ran track

basketball anything to miss class I

played it when you think about you know

so they started to fire me you know that

fire started with my parents and then

you know as I moved on in my career

people had it would to that fire coach

Smith and what else can I say about him

you know he’s a legendary

and then there’s Leroy Smith now you

guys think that’s a mess

Leroy Smith was a guy when I got cut he

made the team on the varsity team he’s

here tonight he’s still the same six

seven guy he’s not any bigger

he’s probably his game is about the same

but he started the whole process for me

because when he made the team and I

didn’t I wanted to prove not just to

Leroy Smith not just to myself but to

the coach who actually picked Leroy over

me I want to make sure you understood

you made a mistake dude

[Applause]

and then there’s Buzz Peterson my

roommate now when I first met buzz all I

heard about was this kid from Asheville

North Carolina who’s Player of the Year

I’m thinking well he never played

against me yet so how did he become

player of the year is that uh is that

some type of media you know exposure and

I came from Wilmington

you know we had two channels channel ABC

and channel 7 channel NBC that was it I

never saw NBA sports at all when I grew

up you didn’t have CBS affiliate in

North Carolina in Wilmington so Buzz

Peterson became a dot on my board and

when I got the chance to meet Buzz

Peterson on the basketball court play

the person buzz was a great person is it

wasn’t a fault of his it was just as my

competitive nature is I didn’t think he

could beat me or he was better than me

as a basketball player and he became my

roommate and from that point on he

became a focal point not knowingly he

didn’t know it but he did and coach

Smith the day that he was on the Sports

Illustrated and he named four starters

and he didn’t name me that burned me up

because I thought I’d be long on that

Sports Illustrated now he had his own

vision about giving a freshman that

exposure and I totally understand that

but from a basketball sense I deserved

to be on that Sports Illustrated and he

understand

and it didn’t stop there you know my

competitive nature went right into the

pros I get to the Bulls which I was very

proud that at the time Jerry Reinsdorf

didn’t own the team

it was another organization and Rob

thorn drafted me Kevin Locke he was my

first coach Kevin used to take practices

and put me in starting five and we you

know he’d make it a competitive thing

where the losing team have to run so now

we are on the winning team and halfway

in the game halfway in the situation he

would switch me to the losing team so I

take that as a competitive thing but you

trying to test me and by nine times out

of ten the second team would come back

and win no matter what he did so I

appreciate Kevin lock you for giving me

that challenge you know providing that

type of fire with him and he threw

another log on that fire for me Jerry

Reinsdorf I mean what else can I say the

next year I come back I broke my foot I

was out for 65 games and when I came

back I want to play you know in and

doctors that came up with this whole

theory that you can only play seven

minutes a game but I’m practicing two

hours a day you know I’m saying well I

don’t think I don’t know that I don’t

agree with that math you know and back

then it was about whoever had the worst

record get the most balls and the

ping-pong balls and you know you can

decide what pick you’re gonna have but I

didn’t care about that I just wanted to

win I wanted to make the playoffs you

know I wanted to keep that energy going

in Chicago so I had to go in his office

and sit down with him I said Jerry you

know I feel like I should play more than

14 minutes in practice in two hours he

says MJ I think I have to protect the

long term of investment that we’ve

invested in you that’s a Jerry I said I

really think I should be able to play he

said let me ask you this you say if you

had a headache and you know at that time

it was about ten percent chance that I

can reinjure my my ankle or my foot he

says if you have a headache and you got

a ten tablets and one of them is coated

with cyanide would you take the talent

on and I looked at him I said how bad is

the headache

depending on how bad the headache

Gerry looked that means are you okay I

guess that’s a good answer you can go

back and play he let me allow to go back

and fly and you know Gerry provided a

lot of different obstacles for me but at

the same time the guy gave me an

opportunity to perform at the highest

level in terms of basketball and the

Bulls whole Bulls organization you know

they did a great justice for me and for

all my teammates believe me I had a lot

of teammates over the 14 years that I

played for the Bulls and you know I

respected each and every one time I just

wanted to win you know about how you

look at it and then Along Came Doug

Collins who was caught in the whole mix

of this Jerry Krause and and Jerry

Reinsdorf and you know at the same time

he you know when I was trying to play in

the summertime he said well you know

you’re a part of the the organization

and all the organizations said you can’t

play in the summertime I said Doug he

hadn’t read the fine print in my

contract in my contract say I had to

love the game clause that means I can

play anytime I want anyplace I want and

Doug looked at me and said yeah you

write you write and that’s how we became

you know a little closer in terms of

Doug Collins in myself and you know

Jerry cross is right there and Jerry’s

not here obviously I don’t you know I

don’t know who invited him I didn’t but

uh I hope he understands I hope he

understands it goes a long way and he

was a very competitive person I was a

very competitive person

he said organization wins championships

I said I didn’t see organization playing

with the flu in Utah I didn’t see them

playing with you know with the bad ankle

granted granted I think organizations

put together teams but at the end of the

day the teams got to go out and play you

know so in essence I think the players

win the championship and the

organization have something to do with

it don’t get me wrong but don’t try to

put their organization above the players

because at the end of the day the

players still got to go out there and

perform you guys got a pass but I still

gotta go out and play obviously you see

my kids you know Geoffrey Marcus Jasmine

I love you guys

you guys represent a lot of me a lot of

different personalities your mom you

represent them as well you know I think

that you guys have a heavy burden I

wouldn’t want to be you guys if I had to

you know because of all the expectations

that you have to deal with I mean look

around you in charge of thousand dollar

tickets for this game for this whole

event and it used to be 200 bucks but I

paid it you know I had no choice I had a

lot of family a lot of friends I had to

bring in so thank you all the frame for

the raising ticket price I guess but you

guys I love you guys you guys just don’t

know you got a whole host of people

supporting you family friends people

that you don’t know relatives coming out

of the Woodworks you know no matter how

you look at it but I think we taught you

right your mom and I and I hopefully you

can make the right decision when the

time comes my mom what else kind of see

my mom my mom never stays still you

think I’m busy she’s always on the go

and without her

she’s a rock she’s unbelievable she’s

right now she takes over two job

she’s unbelievable woman I mean if I got

anybody’s nagging each and every day it

is her and she she constantly keeps me

focused on the good things about life

you know how people perceive you how you

respect him you know what’s good for the

kids what’s good for you you know how

you perceive publicly the second thought

take a pause and think about you know

things that you do and it all came from

my parents you know came from my mom and

she’s still at this stage I’m 46 years

old she’s still parenting me today and

that’s a good thing about that lady I

love her to death I love her to death

and I’m gonna thank a couple people that

you guys probably wouldn’t even think

that I would think Isiah Thomas

Magic Johnson George Gervin now they say

it was a so-called freeze out in my

rookie season I wouldn’t have never

guessed

but you guys gave me the motivation to

say you know what everything I haven’t

proved enough to these guys I got to

prove to them that I deserve what I’ve

gotten on this level and no matter what

people may have said if it was a rumor I

never took it as as truth but you guys

never froze me out because I was just

happy to be there no matter how you look

at it

you know and from that point forward you

know I wanted to prove to you magic

Larry George everybody that I deserve to

be on this love as much as anybody else

and I hopefully over the period of my

career I’ve done that without a doubt

you know even in the Detroit years we’ve

done that

Pat Riley I mean you and I we go way

back I still remember in Hawaii you

remember in a white with you and I I was

coming in you would I guess leaving and

you decided to stay a couple extra days

but you’re in my suite and they came and

they told you you had to get out of my

suite and you slit a note underneath my

door although you had to move you didn’t

move this little note saying I enjoyed

the competition congratulations

but we will meet again and I take the

heart in that because I think in all

honesty you’re just competitive as I am

you know even from a coaching standpoint

and you’ve challenged me every time I

play the Knicks the heat and I’ll take

you with the Lakers but any time I

played against you you had your Jordan

Stoppers on your team yeah John Starks

who I loved

you even had my friend Charles Oakley

saying we can’t go to lunch we can’t go

to dinner because Pat doesn’t believe in

fraternizing between the two of us and

this guy hit me harder than anybody else

in the league and he was my best friend

Patrick Ewing we had the same agent we

came at the same time but we couldn’t go

to lunch why is this you think I’m gonna

play against Patrick any different I

play against anybody else no no and then

you had your little guy who was on your

staff who became the Knicks coach after

you Jeff Van Gundy

he said I conned the players I

befriended them and then I attack him on

the basketball court where did that come

from I just so happened to be a friendly

guy I get along with everybody but at

the same time the light comes on I’m

competitive to anybody you know you know

so you guys I must say thank you very

much for giving me that motivation that

I desperately needed

Phil Jackson Phil Jackson is uh to me is

that he’s a professional Dean Smith you

know he challenged me mentally not just

physically you know he understood the

game along with Tech’s winner they

taught me a lot about the basketball

game text being the specialist you know

I could never please text and I love

text Texas not here but you know I know

he’s here in spirit he is I can remember

a game coming off the basketball court

and we were down I don’t know five to

ten points and I go off about

twenty-five points we come back and win

the game

and we’re walking off the floor and Tex

look at me and said you know there’s no

I in team

I say Tex is not it’s not a nineteen but

it’s I and win

I think you got my message I’ll do

anything to win you know if that means

we play team format we win that means I

have to do whatever I have to do you’re

gonna win no matter how you look at it

and then you had all your media and they

says Oh scoring champion can’t win it

can’t win at an NBA title

well you know you just you know as good

as Magic Johnson not as good as Larry

Bird you’re good but you’re not as good

as those guys you know I had to listen

to all this and that puts so much wool

on that fire that it kept me each and

every day trying to get better as a

basketball player now I’m not saying

they they were wrong I may have looked

at him from a different perspective you

know but at the same time as a

basketball player I’m trying to become

the best that I can you know and for

someone like me who achieved a lot in

over the time of my career you look for

any kind of messages that people may say

or do to get you motivated to play the

game of basketball at the highest level

because that that is when I feel like I

excel at had my best and my last example

of that and the last one that you guys

probably have seen I hate to do it to

him but he’s such a nice guy and when I

first met Bryon Russell

John and John in college remember this I

was in Chicago in 1994 we I was working

out for baseball they came down for a

workout and shooting around I came over

to say hello and at this time I had no

thoughts are coming back and playing the

game of basketball and Brian Russell

came over to me and say you know what

man why’d you quit why’d you quit you

know I could guard you if I ever see you

in a pair of shorts if I ever seen a

very sore

you reminisce Johnny and so when I did

decide to come back in 1995 and then we

played Utah in 96 I’m at the center

circle and we and and Brian Russell

sitting next to me and I look over to

Brian hmm but it’s all conversation you

made in 1994 about when you I wish I

think I can guard you I can shut you

down I would love to play against you

were you about to get your chance

and believe me ever since that day he

got his chance I don’t know how to

succeed in these worlds but I think he

had his chance and believe me I relished

on that point

and from this day forward if I ever see

him in shorts I’m coming at him I know

you guys gotta go I know I’ve been up

here a lot longer than I told my friends

I was gonna be up here I cried I was

supposed to get up there and say thank

you and walk off and I didn’t even do

that so I appreciate it thank you very

much I appreciate it

as I close the game of basketballs been

everything to me my refuge my place I’ve

always gone when I needed to find

comfort and peace it’s been a source of

intense pain and source of most intense

feelings of joy and satisfied

satisfaction and one that no one can

even imagine it’s been a relationship

that has evolved over time and it’s

given me the greatest respect and love

for the game it’s provided me with a

platform to share my passion with

millions in a way I neither expected nor

could have imagined in my career I hope

that it’s given the Mane’s of people

that I’ve touched the optimism and the

desire to achieve their goals through

hard work perseverance and positive

attitude although I’m recognised with

this tremendous honor of being in the

Basketball Hall of Fame I don’t look at

this moment as a defining end to my

relationship with the game of basketball

it’s simply a continuation of something

that I started a long time ago one day

you might look up and see me playing the

game at 50 oh don’t laugh

never say never because limits like

fears are often just an illusion thank

you very much

you

[Music]