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While smoking a cigar, Michael Jordan made fun of Jerry Krause
If there are two things we learned from ESPN’s The Last Dance docuseries, it’s that Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan enjoys cigar smoking and despises general manager Jerry Krause. During his Bulls tenure, the six-time champion was frequently seen smoking a cigar and poking fun of Krause.
Jordan’s “hobbies” were on show when the Bulls upset the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals in 1992.
While smoking a cigar and celebrating his second title, MJ heard Krause ask him a question and made a point of mocking him in front of everyone.
Michael Jordan mocked Jerry Krause’s height
In the 1992 NBA Finals, the Bulls defeated the Blazers in six games.
Jordan won his second consecutive Finals MVP award by averaging 35.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
Jordan was smoking a cigar in the postgame locker room, and Krause asked if he could have one.
“You can’t smoke it,” his Airness stated to his GM.
It will stifle your growth.”
This amusing interaction was featured in Episode 5 of The Last Dance.
Krause was tiny in stature and was frequently mocked by Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who disliked their general manager for a variety of reasons.
Why weren’t Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen fans of Jerry Krause?
Jordan’s relationship with Krause soured when the shooting guard fractured his foot in 1985-86.
After Black Jesus recovered from his injury, Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf limited his playing time and wouldn’t let him return to a game against the Indiana Pacers on the final possession because he had over his time limit.
Meanwhile, Pippen had issues with Krause since the GM tried to trade him multiple times behind his back and never restructured his contract.
Several times aboard the team bus during the 1997-98 season, Pippen shouted at Krause.
Jordan and Pippen collaborated in 1992 to humiliate Krause by targeting Toni Kukoc at the Olympics.
The Bulls superstars knew Krause adored Kukoc and intended to discredit Chicago’s architect by exposing Kukoc to the world.
In the 1993 Finals, Jordan did the same thing to Dan Majerle.
Because his boss was a great fan of the swingman, the five-time MVP made it a point to crush Majerle because of Krause.
Jordan and Pippen despised Krause because he prematurely terminated the Bulls’ dynasty.
Captain Marvel mocked Krause throughout his Bulls stint, but his disdain for him reached a boiling point in 1997-98.
Also, read Giancarlo Stanton, Matthew Christopher Schnell, John Daly’s Married Life:
Phil Jackson’s final season would be 1997-98, according to GM
Phil Jackson would be leaving Chicago after the 1997-98 season, according to Krause.
Even if the Bulls went 82-0 and won the championship, the controversial executive told the Zen Master privately that he would hire a new coach after the season.
Jordan and Pippen were furious because they adored playing under Jackson.
They knew they’d be kicked off the team at the end of the season because of their devotion to Jackson.
That’s how “The Last Dance” theme came to be.
Jackson handed every player a guidebook with “The Last Dance” laminated on the cover page before the Bulls’ first official meeting as a team for the 1997-98 season.
Krause was a huge distraction for the Bulls in 1997-98 because he was thinking about the future.
Jordan, Pippen, and Jackson, on the other hand, stayed in the moment and led the Bulls to 62 wins and the championship over the Utah Jazz.
Jordan and Jackson retired in the summer of 1998, and Krause dealt Pippen to the Houston Rockets.
Jordan stated in 2009 that he had no idea why Krause was invited to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The six-time Finals MVP certainly never got over the two-time Executive of the Year’s behavior in the 1990s.
