Michael Jordan, Who Donated his $1 Million Earnings, Broke Down the Difference between Passion and Addiction
Michael Jordan refused to say that he was addicted to basketball and explained the difference between that and passion.
Michael Jordan grew up primarily playing two sports: basketball and baseball. As is evident from the mark he left on the NBA, it’s clear which sport he ultimately chose, from high school to college to the pros. Sure, he played minor league baseball, but he returned to the Bulls in just over a year.
Even during Michael’s press conference announcing his retirement from the NBA, he said he would always leave the door open for a comeback. During his second retirement, he missed three full seasons after the Chicago Bulls’ Jerry Krause refused to bring back Phil Jackson as head coach.
Despite not playing professional basketball for 3 seasons and landing a job in the front office of the Washington Wizards as president of basketball operations, he made a second comeback to the game. He would go on to play the 2001-02 season without a team salary, donating his million dollars to the 9/11 relievers.
Given this, it’s safe to say that Michael Jordan was obsessed with the game of basketball.
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Michael Jordan on the difference between passion and addiction.
Michael Jordan spoke with Cigar aficionado in 2005 and spoke on a variety of topics ranging from his ‘Dream Team’ to substance use and abuse in professional sports. It had been two years since MJ had hung up the J’s, so he was asked, “Do you miss the thrill of basketball?”
“Yeah. I have to stay away from it because of that. I wouldn’t say it’s an addiction, but it’s a passion. When you have a passion, you want to do it as much as possible. Addiction means you can’t help yourself. I have a great passion.” for the basketball game Jordan said in response to that question.
That first line of, “I have to stay away from him because of that,” implies that he loves the game to the point that if he were to start playing it again, he wouldn’t know when to stop.
Throughout his illustrious career, this was quite evident. Whether playing through injuries or coming back from retirement time and time again, Michael Jordan couldn’t stop playing professionally for nearly 2 decades.
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