Another Legendary MJ Story: His Iconic Shrug Against The Blazers Had Nothing To Do With Hoops - It Was Because Magic Beat Him In Cards The Night Before

Yep. This is exactly how it should be. I've said this so many times, but I can't get enough of these Jordan stories. The shrug is perhaps one of the most memorable moments in Jordan's career and the entire NBA. 

Oh you thought this was because he hit a bunch of threes against Portland? Nope. It was because he lost a shit ton of money to Magic Johnson playing cards the night before and Magic was on the call for NBC. That makes this 100 times better knowing the backstory. 

Gambling? Yep.

A pissed off Jordan? Naturally.

A legendary moment? Always. 

He hit six threes in the first half! He finished with 39! But what was on his mind? Losing money to Magic Johnson. If I'm Clyde Drexler and hearing this story for the first time I'm fighting Magic. Legit throwing hands with him. You can't piss off Jordan when you have nothing to do with the game! This is what happens. We've seen it before: 

Remember this was GAME ONE of the NBA Finals. This wasn't just a regular game. Hell, Jordan wasn't even known as a great 3pt shooter. But when you piss Jordan off he does things like this. And to think it all stemmed from cards makes it even better. The man just loved to gamble and take souls on the court. 

The best is his quote, which looking back on it might have been playing dumb (via the Undefeated):

“Let me tell you, I surprised them as much as I surprised you and myself, the way I was shooting today,” said Jordan following Game 1.

Oh he was surprised? Guess he expected to make more after Magic took his money. MJ was always out here playing mental warfare and I fully expect that this was one of those moments. I'd be so livid if I was a Blazers fan knowing I stood no chance because of a Laker. 

Also how about Magic just casually dropping this? This is an ALL-TIME story and somehow it's just blowing up now. How did we go this long without hearing this story? How is it just making rounds a couple weeks after he talked about it? I need to know just how much Jordan lost here. Like what is his threshold for losing that causes him to do this. I'd guess $1 because he's a lunatic, but there has to be an amount here. 

MJ was and still is so goddamn ruthless.