"He played for respect and not to be liked" - Ex-Bull explains why MJ is different from today's NBA stars
Former Chicago Bulls forward Dickey Simpkins acknowledged the notion that most NBA players of the current era are for show. For him, it's the complete opposite of what Michael Jordan was as a player back in the day.
Simpkins joined the Bulls in 1994 and won three NBA championships with the team. Throughout that stretch, he witnessed the true character of Jordan, the one that most fans didn't get to see.
According to Simpkins, MJ set a good example to his teammates as far as having the right mentality as a professional athlete. He concluded that Jordan never did anything for the amusement of the fans or to impress his teammates. In the process, Dickey said Michael earned the respect of everybody around him.
"He just delivered it," Simpkins said of Jordan on "The Rally" last year. "And you know, MJ, he played for respect and not to be liked. And I tell people all the time, you have to choose. Either you want to be respected or you want to be liked. If you want to be liked, that can go up and down. You want to be respected. That's going to go a long way."
Jordan's trait that always stood out
Jordan was still retired when Simpkins was drafted by the Bulls. In the middle of the season, MJ famously made an epic return.
Knowing what Mike had gone through that prompted his first retirement, Dickey was in awe of how MJ managed to bounce back stronger. As Simpkins described it, he never once saw Jordan come up with an excuse for not being able to deliver, even if he had a valid one, considering his father's tragic death.
With that in mind, Simpkins noted that MJ's mental strength as a player is what always stood out to him. He believes it's what separated His Airness from other star players from all the other eras.
"I think the biggest thing was the mental fortitude he had to embrace the moment to carry the team on his back and deliver a play that was going to be a iconic play or a masterpiece of winning a game or winning a series," Simpkins added of MJ. "Just that mentality to be able to do that."
"Everybody wants to have the last-second shot or wants to be the star, but everybody doesn't really want what comes with it outside of all the accolades," he continued. "… That's something that I've never seen any player have like MJ."MJ said he wouldn't survive the social media era
Simpkins was on point in agreeing that Jordan aimed to be respected and not liked during his playing years. In fact, MJ never liked anything he said or did to be misconstrued.
That being said, Michael admittedly couldn't imagine himself playing in the social media era. He believes it's a serious struggle to avoid misconceptions and false narratives these days.
"I don't know if I could've survived in this Twitter time," Jordan once said. "Where you don't have the privacy that you would want and what seems to be very innocent could be always misinterpreted."
In conclusion, Simpkins' remarks prove that apart from the otherworldly skills, Jordan was also unique because of how he conducted himself. This certainly added another layer to MJ's ever-growing legacy.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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