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Clyde Drexler reveals Michael Jordan's softer side: “He let me use his golf clubs.”
Michael Jordan's ferocity on the floor is the stuff of legends. Any slight—tangible or made-up—brought out the champion in him, inspiring a no-holds-barred attack on the court. But everyone has their softer side, and for Clyde Drexler, one of Jordan's friends and greatest rivals, it was Michael Jordan's generosity that made him see the Chicago Bulls icon in a different light.
Dream Team duty
Drexler was in Barcelona, Spain with Jordan and the rest of the Dream Team to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics. It was the first time that NBA players were allowed to compete in the quadrennial event. It was a star-studded affair with Jordan, of course, being the lead attraction. Already a megastar in the United States, Jordan was also a global figure by 1992. However, it wasn't just Jordan's fame that made an impression on Drexler but also his generosity.
"I didn't bring my golf sticks because I had two young kids. I know I wouldn't have a whole lot of time with the kids, practice, and all of the things we had to do. And one day we had no practice and nothing to do. My family went sightseeing. I wanted to play golf," shared Drexler.
As fate would have it, the then-Portland Trailblazers star didn't have any golf clubs with him in Barcelona. Jordan, on the other hand, brought his set to Spain.
"Michael was playing golf every day. I didn't have any sticks. Michael overheard me talking about wanting to play. So he said, 'Clyde, I am not playing today. Take my clubs. You can play with my clubs. Have fun,'" shared Drexler.
"I used his golf clubs and had a chance to play golf that day. That tells you what type of guy he was. The clubs were almost the same specification as mine because we are almost the same size. I played pretty good with them."
Fierce rivals a few months earlier
Jordan and Drexler were bitter rivals just a few months earlier. It was Jordan's Bulls versus Drexler's Trailblazers in the 1992 NBA Finals, with MJ leading his team to its second straight championship. But here they were at the Olympics, no longer rivals but now teammates who had each other's backs.
It was moments like these that showed Jordan had a softer side, one that not many people saw. As they say, you never really know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. In Barcelona, Jordan and Drexler were teammates representing their country. It was a special moment—and one that Jordan seemed to enjoy as much as his friend did.
