A simple bet drove Michael Jordan to master sudoku.
Michael Jordan's insane competitive drive is as legendary as his career. Ask anyone who has rubbed elbows with His Airness, and they sing the same song: This guy wants to beat you at anything.
Another interesting tidbit about Jordan's rivalrous nature is mentioned in Wright Thompson's ESPN feature story Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building. Thompson said that since MJ had run out of games to dominate, he devised ways to beat everyone at anything, including Sudoku.
"He mastered sudoku and won $500 beating (Estee) Portnoy (his business manager) at it," the article reads.
The same piece said Jordan fed his competitive fire by racing his lawyer and business manager to the hotel room and achieving demi-god status on Bejeweled. But nothing underscores the six-time champion's maniacal drive more than mastering, not just learning, a game like Sudoku. While the rules are uncomplicated, advanced-level players need highly trained problem-solving techniques.
Thompson did not discuss Jordan's real skill at Sudoku, but we can fill in the blanks. Portnoy has a Master's degree in Business Administration, so she knows her way around numbers and puzzles. She must be outstanding for Michael to go to such lengths.
"I can't help myself"
Jordan's competitiveness is something etched in his DNA. When it calls, he can't do anything about it.
"I can't help myself," Jordan said. "It's an addiction. You ask for this special power to achieve these heights, and now you got it and you want to give it back, but you can't. If I could, then I could breathe."
Mike calls himself 'his own worst enemy.' He needed to find challenges, or else he'd lose. Channeling those competitive juices while playing was easy, but MJ had to find creative ways to satisfy the thirst. Whether it's Sudoku or a silly phone game, it didn't really matter.
The one thing Michael Jordan was never good at
Jordan hated losing, but according to actor Will Smith, the five-time NBA MVP was never really good at one thing.
"I love being around people who have that competitive energy, but Michael compete with anything, though. Like we're drinking water, you know. Mike will be, 'I'll race you,' Smith revealed on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
"When you go to dinner with Michael Jordan, is he racing you to pick up the check?" Kimmel asked.
"No, he's not good at that," Smith hilariously answered. "Somehow you always got your hand on the check before he does."
It's amusing that picking up the check was the one "game" Jordan opted to sit out. But knowing him, he'd rather grab your money than spend his own—classic MJ all the way.
