Michael Jordan welcoming Scott Burrell to the Bulls set the tone for his tenure with the team:
“‘Hey, Scott Burrell, you thought the best part of your trade was you don’t have to play against me four times a year now? Now you have to be with me every day.”
That’s how Burrell remembered it in an appearance on Sports Talk Live, hosted by David Kaplan. Jordan’s brutal behind-the-scenes treatment of Burrell marked a flashpoint series of moments in Episode 7 of “The Last Dance” — a stretch that was highly-anticipated because of comments from Jordan that circulated before the documentary’s release expressing concern that he would be perceived as a “horrible guy” by its end.
His riding of Burrell certainly lived up to expectation. It’s apparent that Jordan pulled out every trick in the ridicule book to denigrate Burrell, from harsh name-calling to excessive defensive pestering in practice.
Jordan explained his tyrannical methods as intended to motivate his teammates to reach their highest potential as players, and prepare them for the most grueling moments of the NBA calendar (the playoffs). And no matter how out-of-line Jordan’s actions appear from an outside perspective, they worked. His six rings are evidence of that, as are the crucial contributions the Bulls received from role players up and down the roster en route to them.
Burrell, for his part, harbors no ill will at all towards Jordan. Asked by Kaplan if Jordan was a great teammate, his answer was steadfast.
“100 percent,” Burrell said. “People are afraid of getting challenged now, and they think if you get challenged it’s in a negative way, so I have to combat that or I have to find a way to attack them. Accept criticism. Accept it and use it in your favor, and learn from it.
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“It’s not like he was belligerent and coming at you to disrespect you. I mean, some of the words -- but that’s trash talk, some of the things he said… If you went to the park back in the day, you heard those things every day. And it just motivated you to get better and to prepare yourself for the challenges that were coming.”
Burrell’s only regret? That he didn’t get to the Bulls sooner. He said with more time to acclimate himself to the team’s schemes, he could have been more of a contributor than he already was. Still, his 23-point outing in the decisive Game 3 of the 1998 first round series with the Nets got a passing shoutout in “The Last Dance.”
And as for comments from some that Burrell should have confronted (or fought) Jordan with as much venom as he attacked him?
“There’s nothing wrong with being a good person.”
That speaks to Burrell’s enduring character, and the way he was able to hear what Jordan was saying to him, not just how he said it. To this day, the two remain fast friends.
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