UNC Basketball: Brendan Haywood tells awesome Michael Jordan story

Brendan Haywood has an awesome story about Michael Jordan

It wasn’t until he reached the NBA when Brendan Haywood was able to play alongside University of North Carolina Tar Heels and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

The former UNC standout Haywood was drafted with the 21st overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and was later traded to the Orlando Magic and then again to the Washington Wizards.

From there, Haywood would start his career and he’d be playing alongside Jordan.

After retiring in 1998 and leaving the Chicago Bulls, Jordan returned to the game in 2001 and played in Washington through the 2003 season. Haywood was there during that time as the young seven footer was able to pick up a few tips.

Recently, Haywood teamed up with “The Ringer” to talk about being a teammate with both Jordan and LeBron James.

In that article, Haywood tells this awesome story about Jordan’s work ethic that really shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Here’s a story he told about Jordan on the road in Washington:

"“We came back from a really long road trip, West Coast trip. We had a day off,” Haywood said. “The veterans didn’t even have to be in. The younger guys had to come in, of course. I think I got in at like 10 [a.m.]. And I got there and I heard a ball bouncing. Mike was on the court, already sweated out. He was finishing his workout.”“I got there at 10, everyone had an off day, some of the other young guys were getting there. He was finishing his workout. And I was like, “Mike, what are you doing here, man? It’s your day off.” And he was like, “You’re asking the wrong questions. The question is not ‘You’re asking what am I doing here?’ The question is, ‘Why’d I beat you?’”“It was little things like that that you always take with you. At 40 years old, he was still the guy who was showing up at 8 o’clock to get his work done and do what he needed to do even though, at that point, he was already known as the most successful player of all time.”"

Jordan’s work ethic has been documented before but this time with him being 40 and on his third NBA stint, it’s pretty impressive.

The NBA legend hated losing and didn’t want to lose to anyone. He won six NBA titles, was a six-time NBA Finals MVP and won the NBA MVP award five times.

But that stint in Washington wasn’t all roses.

The Wizards went 74-90 in Jordan’s two years there as they never really got on track. The team wasn’t very good and Jordan wasn’t capable of carrying a team anymore.

It’s a point in Jordan’s career that many fans would like to forget.

Haywood went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA, including a one-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15. The Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals that season.

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The former center now hosts a NBA radio show on Sirius XM.