“He was pissed” – Michael Jordan was mad after losing in a charity game following his 6th NBA title

While most of the Chicago Bulls players were still celebrating their second three-peat and sixth NBA championship, Michael Jordan was already at Texas State, formerly Southwest Texas State, hooping in a charity game.

The event took place just a little over a week after MJ knocked down the game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in what was his final game as a Bull. It was part of the fundraising campaign for “Let Me Play,” a charity that encourages kids to get involved in sports.

It was organized by MJ’s friend and former NFL player Eric Martin. Among the players were Olympic gold medalist and Texas State alumnus Charles Austin, who insisted on playing against Jordan’s team.

According to Austin, they beat MJ’s team, and the game was truly entertaining. Everybody had a great time, but not the NBA superstar.

“I chose not to play with Jordan,” Austin once remembered. “I was originally supposed to play on his team, but I chose never to play with him. I always wanted to play on the opposite team.”

“[Jordan] He was pissed,” he revealed. “He didn’t expect to lose.”

Jordan came to compete

Even though Austin liked the idea of taking on Jordan on the court, for him, it was just a friendly game. For MJ, it wasn’t. From the way Mike played the whole game, Austin could tell that the six-time champion did not come to entertain. He came to compete.

Austin had his moments in the game. As expected, MJ got right back at him every time. At the same time, Austin said Mike was talking a whole lot of trash.

“When I got it, I faked like I was gonna throw it back to [Michael] Finley, and Jordan bit on it, and I pulled it back and laid it up with the left and scored,” Austin vividly recalled. “(Jordan) kinda like stumbled on his feet with his paws out like, ‘What happened?’”

“I was just gonna do an easy little dunk. As soon as I got off the ground, (Jordan) was behind me. He jumped up and he blocked it,” he added. “Of course, being himself, (Jordan) and (Martin) were talking (expletive). So that was funny, I enjoyed that; I take that as a sign of respect.”

MJ had to win every game, even the charity ones

It wasn’t the first time Jordan took a charity game seriously. In fact, he really competed hard whenever he stepped onto the court, regardless of what the event was.

According to former Bulls big man Scott Williams, MJ also once invited him to play for a charity game in Charlotte. Williams was all for playing ball for a good cause, but to his surprise, Jordan told every player on his team to play hard or just leave just before the game started.

“So Jordan, the Carolina guy, he put me on his squad and I got a good physical strong game. Jordan addresses the squad, and he says, [if] you’re not here to play a real, physical brand of basketball, there’s the door you can leave. It’s kind of funny because all these guys were pro guys, but we’re not getting paid for this. It’s just to support him,” Williams told HoopsHype.

To sum it all up, these epic tales only serve to show why Jordan’s extreme competitiveness set him apart from other elite players, even when it came to simple charity games.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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