Former NC State and NBA player Chris Washburn would never forget the moment he almost outplayed the great Michael Jordan. According to Washburn, he once played a charity game with MJ and he happened to be on fire that day.
Washburn and Jordan were on the same team, and they scored the same number of points in the dying seconds of the game. Their team needed a basket to win, and Washburn ended up being open for a sure two points. However, Washburn said Jordan did the unthinkable.
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As it turns out, MJ was well aware that he needed to score a basket to break their tie in points. Instead of passing the ball to the open Washburn, Mike took it straight to the hole for a winning dunk.
“After my first year in the league, and he had already been in the league for a minute, and we were playing a benefit game for Athletes Against Crime,” Washburn once recalled. “At halftime I had 12 points. Mike might have had 22, 23. But in the second half we both ended up with 38 and 38.”
“I’m on a fast break on the wing, Mike has the ball and there is only like 20 seconds left in the game,” he continued. “I’m sprinting and I’m under the basket in three or four steps. Nobody was in front of me. I got my hand up. Mike comes down, scores the last two points, and he had 40, and I had 38. He got MVP of the game simply because he didn’t pass me the ball.”
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Charities and playoffs are the same for MJ
Washburn’s story was shocking, but that wasn’t the only time Jordan displayed his insane competitiveness during a charity game. A few years back, former Chicago Bulls big man Scott Williams also witnessed firsthand how competitive MJ was as a player.
Like Washburn, Williams was on the same team as Jordan. They played alongside some professional players, but that didn’t matter to MJ. Williams revealed that Jordan threatened to kick any player on his team who didn’t take the charity game seriously.
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“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 once shared.
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Jordan’s competitiveness helped him win titles
The stories about Jordan’s extreme competitiveness sometimes seem overwhelming and shocking. However, it has to be taken into account that MJ needed that burning desire to compete and win in order to succeed.
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Throughout his illustrious career, Jordan managed to defy what was possible on the court several times because of his unwavering competitiveness. On the flip side, it’s also true that there are certain situations in which the level of competitiveness required is just low — kind of like a charity game.
All told, Washburn and Williams’ Jordan experiences serve as proof that to be the greatest player in the world, sometimes you have to think that every game is a battle that badly needs to be won. If that mindset worked on Jordan, perhaps it’s really how it’s supposed to be to succeed.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
