Michael Jordan Didn’t Like That Horace Grant Wasn’t Intimidated By Him While They Were Teammates On Bulls: ‘He’s Still Holding That Grudge’

According to Hall of Fame NBA writer Sam Smith, Michael Jordan didn’t like that Horace Grant wasn’t intimidated by him while they were teammates on the Chicago Bulls. 

That’s why Jordan blamed Grant for leaking stuff to Smith for Smith’s book, “The Jordan Rules.”

“Also, to suggest that one player, who was certainly not privy to a lot of things going on, can be the source of information for a 300-page book about years of a team, some of which he wasn’t even involved in, it’s just ludicrous,” Smith told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. “But Michael singled him out on the broadcast because, you know, Horace was the one who would often stand up to Michael on behalf of the players. In practice, when Jordan sucker punched Will Perdue, Will was practically crying and didn’t fight back; Horace was the one who went to fight back. Horace wasn’t in the card games with Michael, wasn’t in his group and didn’t hang around with him, but he would stand up to him. Horace was going to be a Marine before he turned to basketball; that was always his dream.

“And that’s why he was so close with Johnny Bach, the military guy on the staff. Horace wasn’t as quick-witted as Michael or as sharp, but Michael didn’t like that Horace wasn’t intimidated by him. He’s still holding that grudge, just like he is with Isiah Thomas and Jerry Krause. We’re seeing Michael’s Festivus, ‘airing-of-grudges’ thing.”

Jordan and Grant won three NBA championships together on the Bulls.

Chicago won the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Finals. 

Jordan was tough on Grant, who left the Bulls for the Orlando Magic in 1994.

MJ once told a stewardess on a Bulls plane not to give Grant food after a bad game.

“Players would come to me over the years and said, ‘You know what he did? He took Horace’s food away on the plane because Horace had a bad game,’” Smith told KNBR. “[Michael] told the stewardesses, ‘Don’t feed him, he doesn’t deserve to eat.’ They would tell me stuff like that and they’d say, ‘Why don’t you write this?’ And I would say, ‘Well I can’t write it unless you say it.’ I don’t do league sources. You can’t do that kind of stuff on these kind of things. If you want to be quoted I’ve got no problem with that. ‘No, no, no we can’t say that about Michael Jordan.’”

Grant never shied away from speaking his mind about Jordan.

Grant was upset Jordan didn’t go to the White House after the Bulls won the 1991 NBA championship.

“I’m very disappointed because it was a great honor for the whole city of Chicago as well as the Bulls organization,” Grant said in 1991. “Not to have your best player and your team leader there is just like sending somebody else besides George Bush to Saudi Arabia.”

Grant finished his career with four rings, while Jordan won six titles and six Finals MVPs.