Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest NBA player of all time. But while he mastered basketball, there in one sport he considers more difficult than any other.
"His Airness" won six championships during his illustrious career as well as five Most Valuable Player awards, etching a legacy that inspired future generations of NBA stars.
He also tried his hand at professional baseball during the mid-1990s, temporarily retiring from basketball to play a season for the Birmingham Barons, a feeder team of the Chicago White Sox, who were owned by Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
But in a sit-down interview for Golden State Warriors legend Steph Curry's YouTube channel, Jordan named golf as the hardest sport to play.
“I got into golf because for me, from a competitive standpoint, it is the hardest game to play," Jordan said.
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"Absolutely," agreed Curry, who is an outstanding golfer who plays of scratch and has won many celebrity tournaments during the NBA offseason.
“I can always respond to an opponent, a defensive guard, an offensive guard or whatever," Jordan continued. "But in golf it’s like playing in a mirror and you’re battling yourself consistently to try and get perfection – every swing and every put.
“For a competitive person like me, this is what keeps me sane. When I walked away from the game of basketball, that was enough to keep my competitive juices working.
“I stay in my lane. I watch these guys and they are good. It’s great to watch them under the pressure of being able to hit shot after shot – knowing you got so many thousands of people against you and so many thousands of people supporting you. You don’t want to let them down.
“I don’t have the skillset to put myself in that environment. If you tell me I’ve got a basketball in my hand that’s a different story but with a golf club in my hand there’s no way I can get comfortable to hit a 50-yard shot or 100-yard shot. Not with all these people.”
Topics: Michael Jordan, NBA, Basketball, Steph Curry , Chicago Bulls
Ryan Baldi