Four-time NBA Champ says Michael Jordan never learned to swim due to a traumatic incident -“That’s the only thing he can’t do”
Michael Jordan remained competitive in every area of his life, but not swimming. Four-time NBA champion John Salley revealed this during an appearance on VLAD TV about a month ago. Salley talked about his banter with Jordan and how he often told him he couldn’t swim, despite being the greatest player ever.
However, Salley mentioned that MJ had a bad situation that forced him to stay away from the water. Here’s what the former Piston said:
“I fought him [MJ] all the time, you know, I always said ‘greatest player of all-time,’ I said, ‘Man, I can’t believe they’re saying this about you. You can’t even swim.'”
He added:
“He had a bad situation. His best friend died drowning and all that… I watched him try to learn to swim, but I was like, he can’t even swim. That’s the only thing he can’t do.”
Michael Jordan tried his hands at multiple sports, businesses and other things, and he never lost his competitive edge. He may not have succeeded at everything, but he never quit. However, seeing his best friend pass away was certainly a big blow, one potentially nobody could recover from. MJ had a phobia due to the events that transpired inside the water. He has remained away from it since.
Details about the passing of Michael Jordan’s best friend during a swim in his own words
Michael Jordan has made limited public appearances and shared very little about his personal life through the years. The only time most fans got to know the biggest stories of his life in his own words was when Netflix released his 10-part docuseries, ‘The Last Dance.’
It covered several aspects of Jordan’s life, from his debut to the Bulls’ three-peating twice. It touched upon his personal life too. Before that, there had been very few instances when Jordan opened up about his personal life.
In 1992 during an interview with Playboy magazine, MJ revealed his phobia of water when describing the incident that led to it. Here’s what he said (h/t Marca):
“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.”
Michael Jordan revealed that he couldn’t save his friend, who died in that incident. MJ was only seven years old when this situation went down, so it’s not surprising that it had such a lasting impact on the six-time NBA champion.
