© RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
BJ Armstrong says competition is a lifestyle for Michael Jordan
If ever there was an image right next to the word "competitor" in the dictionary, chances are it would be of Michael Jordan. His competitive spirit and drive to win made him one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and his former teammate B.J. Armstrong was always there to witness it firsthand.
Everything was a competition
Armstrong was teammates with Jordan for five seasons and won three NBA titles together. As his teammate, Armstrong was privy to Jordan’s relentless passion for the game, and according to him, the competition was a lifestyle for Jordan.
"He's a guy who competed on every possession. We toss that around a lot, say that a lot. But whether it was practice, whose bags were going to come out first at baggage claim, every free throw, every possession to him was about competition, which made him a very unique person in that way," said Armstrong.
That kind of competitive nature was evident on the basketball floor as Jordan refused to accept anything but victory and would stop at nothing to get it. He was a leader and an inspiration who pushed his teammates to do their best every night, and woe is the man—whether teammate or foe—who dared to take it easy on him.
Competed against himself
Armstrong shared that Jordan wasn't necessarily a deadeye shooter like Stephen Curry nor was he a skilled ballhandler like Kyrie Irving. What made him great was that he found ways to outcompete himself and refine his game. Every day, he challenged himself to get better, thus raising the bar on excellence.
"He wasn't the best shooter I ever saw, the best ball-handler I ever saw. But he was very consistent in his approach of competing on every possession," shared Armstrong.
Although the two don't see much of each other anymore with Armstrong now functioning as a sports agent based in Los Angeles, he reckons Jordan to be the same, old competitive MJ.
"Everything about him was a lifestyle for him. If you see him right now, he is competing about something. A card game. A golf shot. Whatever it is there was going to be competition involved. He was a unique character. A unique player."
