Michael Jordan had 'one job' before basketball career took off and lasted just one week

Michael Jordan had 'one job' before his legendary basketball career took off and it lasted just one week.

Jordan enjoyed a stunning NBA career, winning an impressive six championships during his iconic spell with Chicago Bulls.

He claimed a three-peat between 1990 and 1993 before securing another three-peat between 1995 and 1998.

'MJ' was inducted into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and is widely regarded as the NBA GOAT.

But before his incredible exploits on the court, Jordan had another job away from basketball that he hated.

According to biographer Roland Lazenby via the Basketball Network, his lone job before his basketball glory was cleaning swimming pools.

But he hated the job. That's because Jordan hated water because of a 'drowning incident' he had witnessed in his youth.

Michael Jordan hated water following an incident in his upbringing. Image: Getty

In an interview with the Washington Post in 2014, he revealed: "Jordan had never held a job. He infuriated his father - he refused to do any work. If he had to mow the lawn, he would take his allowance and pay someone else to do it. He only had a job for one week of his life. And he quit it."

Aged just seven, Jordan's friend lost his life after an accident in the sea. He held his companion's hand as tightly as possible, but could not compete with the current and had to make the difficult decision to release.

Recalling the tragedy to Playboy magazine in 1992, he explained: "I went swimming with a very good friend one day, and we were having fun catching waves.

"At one point, the current was so strong that it swallowed him, and he grabbed onto me. It’s called 'the death lock' when someone can die. I practically had to break his hand, he was going to take me with him."

In his autobiography 'For the Love of the Game: My Story', Jordan opened up about suffering from hydrophobia - a phobia of water.

"I'm not going in the water anymore," he said.

"Everyone has a phobia about something. I stay away from water."