Michael Jordan would NOT be ‘GOAT’ if not for Chicago Bulls, reveals Derrick Rose
Former Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose believes the city's culture helped shape Michael Jordan become the GOAT of basketball.
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Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose
Michael Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. Along with that, he won the league MVP award five times as well as several other accolades. All of them helped him cement his status as one of the best to ever play the game.
However, former Bulls star Derrick Rose believes the city’s culture had something to do with making Jordan the GOAT. The now-retired NBA player appeared on his first podcast since hanging up his boots and spoke about Jordan’s legacy.
MJ wouldn’t be MJ if he played anywhere else but Chicago. He would have been a great player anywhere else, but in Chicago, he became the Black Cat. He became MJ in Chicago. MJ won them 3. I guarantee he had people in his corner like ‘You just went on vacay, they ain’t going to let you win three more. I bet you can’t win another one.’
Derrick Rose said on the Club 520 Podcast
Derrick Rose credits Chicago’s culture for Michael Jordan’s success.
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) October 14, 2024
“MJ wouldn’t be MJ if he played anywhere else but Chicago. MJ won 3, I guarantee he had people in his corner like ‘you just went on vacay, no way you’re gonna win. I bet you can’t win another one” pic.twitter.com/7eVmXYvTxp
Chicago native Rose grew up in the culture he was referring to. He believes that it helped push Jordan’s competitiveness over the edge. Although a city or town’s culture can help shape a team or player’s characteristics, for the former league MVP to suggest that it spurred Michael Jordan to be the GOAT could be a bit too far-fetched as there are always a lot more variables involved than just the culture.
Hall of Famer Jordan, a player who was always thronged by fans, never stayed among the regular people in Chicago. He had a mansion in an exclusive area, with heightened security to ensure he had absolute privacy.
Michael Jordan established the Chicago Bulls winning culture
What Derrick Rose talked about might be true for the residents of Chicago, Illinois. Micheal Jordan established the winning culture that later defined the Chicago Bulls. Before Jordan’s arrival, the team never made it past the conference semifinals, despite being in the favorable Eastern side.
Jordan took the competitiveness up a notch when he won league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in his fourth year there. Three years later, he started the three-peat NBA title-winning streak that cemented his GOAT status.
All along, it was well documented that ‘His Airness’ was extremely capable of using trash-talk to heighten his competitiveness in games. Only after his six NBA titles did the Chicago Bulls start to assemble teams to contend for more, including the one Rose was a apart of. However, nearly three decades after their last title, the Bulls are still trying to win one.
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Joseph Varghese
(2268 Articles Published)