Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the NBA. Jordan was an elite scorer and an elite defender. Jordan was an excellent player on both sides of the court, which is what made him so dangerous to opposition players. But Jordan doesn’t think it was his defense or his scoring that was his best skill.
Jordan is considered one of the most skillful scorers of all time, but that isn’t the skill he prides himself on. When asked about what he considered his best skill, Jordan gave an unexpected answer.
Jordan said that his best skill was the fact that he was coachable. Jordan’s hunger and willingness to learn allowed him to become the player that he was. While he was good, it was his ability to pick things up quickly that made him the best ever.
“My best skill was that I was coachable.
I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.”
— Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/t8cu4k6xbI
— Ball is Psych (@BallisPsych) December 28, 2019
“My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.”
Jordan’s answer is unexpected, but he does have a point when he made that statement. In a way, Jordan was also fortunate that he got to work with some of the best coaches in the history of the sport. Coaches like Stan Albeck and Phil Jackson are just two of the many coaches MJ played under, and they were able to bring the best out of him during their time with him.
Stan Albeck was a big part of Jordan’s development. He acknowledged Jordan’s talent as an individual play. And he also tried to protect him and stand up for him in situations. Albeck even fought Chuck Daley after Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons made a hard foul on Jordan.
Phil Jackson is perhaps the coach that had the biggest impact on Jordan, as he taught him how to play as part of a team. Under Stan Albeck, MJ was the focal point of the attack. But with Jackson, Jordan became part of the triangle offense run by the Chicago Bulls, which taught him to trust his teammates. And under Jackson, Jordan ended up becoming a champion the likes of which we have never seen before.