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]