Michael Jordan’s former teammate explains why the Bulls got in so many fights at practice

Will Perdue said he “wasn’t the only one” who got into it with Michael Jordan at practice.

ESPN’s 10-part documentary The Last Dance repeatedly expands on and reveals details about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on and off the court, and the fifth and sixth episodes, which aired Sunday night, were no different. To outsiders, the most recent episodes continued demonstrating the incredible extent of Jordan’s competitiveness and pettiness and how that translated to his playing ability.

Now-Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has repeatedly discussed the time Jordan punched him in the face at practice — he said the fight reminded him of a violent scene from Jurassic Park — and The Last Dance has touched on other altercations involving Jordan.

Following the latest episodes airing Sunday night, Jordan’s former teammate, Will Perdue, spoke to CBS Sports and confirmed that not only did Jordan punch him once, but the superstar had a penchant for ultra-aggressive behavior like that. And it’s just how it was back then.

When asked to confirm or deny whether or not Jordan punched him, Perdue said:

“He did, and I wasn’t the only one. But also — and Scottie will second this — that’s how competitive our practices were. That wasn’t the only fight. That was one of numerous, but because it involved Michael Jordan, and it leaked out, that it became a big deal.

“And the funny thing was, in that practice that it happened, we basically separated, regrouped and kept practicing. It wasn’t like that was the end of practice. Stuff like that was common, because that’s how competitive our practices were.”

When Kerr previously discussed getting into it with Jordan, he explained how it “definitely” helped their relationship, which may have also been the case for other players if this intensity at practice was so common.

Detailing why the context of the situation matters too, Kerr said about his scuffles with Jordan:

“One thing that was more prevalent back then than now is the intensity of practices back then. I think we’re smarter now with preserving our players. We don’t have as many practice days now; it’s more about rest and recovery, so there’s not as much competition. …

“My point is practices were really intense, and they were a huge part of the Bulls and Michael setting a standard for our play. So practice fights, not only on that team — there were probably three of them during the year on that team — on every team I played on [in the] late 80s, early 90s, there were a few practice fights. There was just a lot of competition, things would get out of hand, and it really wasn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. But for me in that case, Michael was definitely testing me, and I responded, and I feel like I passed the test and he trusted me more afterwards.”

[jwplayer eY1qTYOG-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=914905]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393248]