"Be better than me" - Michael Jordan wanted children who wore his Air Jordan shoes to strive to be greater than him

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is known to be the ultimate competitor. Jordan’s competitive drive led him to win six championships with the Bulls in the 90s and become widely considered the greatest player in NBA history.

Since his retirement, "MJ" has also become a billionaire through multiple wise business investments, most notably his purchase of the Charlotte Hornets in 2010. Despite becoming arguably the most successful athlete ever, Jordan has always held others to his high standards.

This even included children who Jordan, early in his career, wanted to inspire to not only be like him but surpass him.

In an interview from 1987, he was told that children who wear his signature Air Jordan shoes aren’t going to turn into the next Michael Jordan.

“Let's be real, kids wearing Air Jordans out there on the playground aren't going to turn into Michael Jordans,” the interviewer said.

Jordan responded that wearing his shoes will give children an advantage. He then went on to explain that he always tells children that their goal should be to be better than him.

“No, but they'll have the advantage,” Jordan said.

“I tell 'em, the first lesson: Don't be like me. Be better than me. That's the goal.”

Michael Jordan’s former teammate said being competitive is a lifestyle for him

Michael Jordan was so competitive throughout his career that his former teammate B.J. Armstrong once described being competitive as a lifestyle for Jordan.

Armstrong, who won three titles with Jordan from 1991 to 1993, explained that every possession of every game mattered to the former Chicago Bulls superstar. He added that when "MJ" wasn’t playing, he would always find something else to compete at.

“He's a guy who competed on every possession,” Armstrong said.

“We toss that around a lot, say that a lot. But whether it was practice, whose bags were going to come out first at baggage claim, every free throw, every possession to him was about competition, which made him a very unique person in that way.

“He wasn't the best shooter I ever saw, the best ball-handler I ever saw. But he was very consistent in his approach of competing on every possession.

“Everything about him was a lifestyle for him. If you see him right now, he is competing about something. A card game. A golf shot.

“Whatever it is there was going to be competition involved. He was a unique character. A unique player.”

Given Jordan’s obsessive competitive nature and high standards, it’s no wonder that few have been able to challenge his GOAT status since his retirement.

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