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Michael Jordan may well be the greatest basketball player of all-time.
That depends on who it is that you ask.
But one thing that’s certain is that the myth of Michael Jordan is every bit as famous as the reality of Michael.
Similar to Bo Jackson, stories of Jordan’s incredible abilities are part of what makes him such a fascinating player.
Take, for instance, his legendary “Flu Game” against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. Or the infamous 1985 All-Star Game “Freeze Out.”
But Jordan is also famous for some other things as well, such as his legendary drinking ability and his penchant for gambling.
One story in particular from former NHL All-Star Jeremy Roenick involved both, and showed just how incredible Jordan was. The story first went viral back in 2019.
.@McNeil_Parkins asked Jeremy Roenick for his best Michael Jordan story. It was incredible.
It involved golf, beers and basketball. (We can't verify that every detail lines up, but that's not what we're here for. This is about MJ's greatness.)
Podcasts: https://t.co/k7yHNc6btN pic.twitter.com/2myY2M1EYw
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 8, 2019
“‘Meet me at Sunset Ridge, early. We’re gonna go play 18 holes,’” Roenick recalled Jordan saying. “We played a round, I beat him for a couple thousand and got ready to leave … Now, the Bulls are playing that night. They played Cleveland that night. I’m thinking he’s leaving, it’s 10 o’clock. He goes, ‘No, let’s go play again.’
“So we go and fill up a bag full of ice and Coors Light and walk again. We roll around another 18 and I take him for another couple [thousand dollars]. Now we’ve been drinking all afternoon and he’s going from Sunset Ridge to the stadium, to play a game. I’m messing around. I’m like, “I’m gonna call my bookie. All the money you just lost to me, I’m putting on Cleveland.’
Makes sense. Surely a drunk Michael Jordan who just played 36 holes of golf is in no condition to play in an NBA game.
Well, as Roenick tells it, that was not the case.
“He goes, ‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll bet you that we’ll win by 20 points and I have more than 40 [points].’ I’m like, ‘Done.’ Son of a gun goes out and scores 52 and they win by 26 points or something.”
The story resurfaced on Instagram recently.
And fans couldn’t believe Jordan’s feat. But hey, that’s why there’s only one Michael Jordan.