Michael Jordan is known for being a fierce competitor — not only on the basketball court but also in his high-stakes betting habits, where his drive to win extends to every competition.
A Tricky Bet?
One notable bet he made was with his Chicago Bulls teammates at an airport. He wagered that if his luggage — bag number 23 — came off the conveyor belt first, each teammate would have to pay him $1,000.
Unbeknownst to his fellow Bulls, Jordan had a discreet conversation with a flight attendant. He arranged for his bag to be the first one off the charter plane by giving her a tip of a few hundred dollars.
During a podcast episode of “Victory Degree” from June, Bob Starkey, a longtime staff member at LSU and currently the associate head coach for the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team, shared a story about how Jordan outsmarted his teammates to win money. The story has been reposted recently on Instagram.
“Charter plane, they land. Guys start filing off but Jordan lays back and asks a flight attendant: ‘Do you have any control over which bag comes off on the conveyor belt first?’ And she said: ‘Well, I’m sure I can arrange something. What do you need?’ Michael goes: ‘We have all these big black bags and they have our numbers. I need bag number 23 to come off that conveyor belt first,'” Starkey said.
As anticipated, bag number 23 was the first one loaded onto the conveyor belt, highlighting the lengths Jordan is willing to go to win strategically.
It’s unclear how Starkey learned of this incident or when exactly it took place, but he speaks with confidence as he recounts the story: “Fast-forward, and everyone is standing around the conveyor belt, and Jordan says, ‘Ah, what the heck. I’ve got a thousand dollars that my bag is the first one to come off.’ You know how pro players are, so they all throw a thousand dollars on the bet. Boom. Here comes 23 off the conveyor belt first.”
According to The Sports Rush, the bet had to have happened between 1984 and 1998, his tenure with the Bulls, and it must have been an away game.
Jordan is no stranger to making extreme bets. He has been known to make casual wagers of $100,000 on a variety of activities, ranging from betting on pickup basketball and golf games to wagering large sums on casino games. He’s even reputed to have placed bets on games like rock-paper-scissors and a coin flip.
