The only man Michael Jordan 'feared' on the basketball court wasn't even an NBA player

Michael Jordan feared no player in the NBA during his illustrious basketball career. But, according to a former teammate, there was one opponent the Chicago Bulls icon dreaded facing, and he wasn't even a basketball player.

Jordan reigned supreme in the NBA between entering the league as the third overall pick in the 1984 draft and his third and final retirement in 2003.

The North Carolina native won six NBA championships, was named the league's Most Valuable Player five times and is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time.

But before he became and NBA superstar, there was one player who Jordan hated facing in college.

Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants (Getty Images)

“There is one guy that I always thought, and I know to this day — I don’t know if Michael won’t admit or not, but I swear that he had a little bit of fear of — and it wasn’t a basketball player. It was a football player by the name of Lawrence Taylor. LT, phenomenal athlete,” Buzz Peterson, a former teammate of Jordan's at the University of North Carolina, told The Athletic in 2020.

“[Taylor] Could guard east to west, as quick as anybody, could jump, big hands, strong and was a bit crazy. So Michael, in the back of his mind, said, ‘S**t, I better be careful with this guy.’ And LT always wanted to guard him.”

Taylor was a standout football player for the UNC Tar Heels and, after he was drafted by the New York Giants with the second overall pick in the 1981 draft, went on to have a stellar NFL career.

The 6ft 3ins, 237lbs linebacker won two Super Bowls with the Giants. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times and in 1986 he became only the second defensive player to be named the league's MVP.

Taylor struggled with substance abuse for most of his career. But, a supreme athlete with ferocious speed and tackling power, he is still considered one of the greatest defenders in NFL history.