Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was known as an ultimate competitor who hated to lose.
But also knew when to give credit. That was the case when he lost to 1997 regular season MVP award to Utah Jazz star Karl Malone. Despite having better stats and more wins, Jordan finished a close second.
"Because of the opinions of others, they chose to give it to a guy who's been in the league just as long as I have and been just as consistent and on a team that's been just as successful this year, I can't gripe with that," Jordan said in an interview with NBC's Ahmad Rashad. "I can't have any jealously or animosity toward Karl Malone. Even though I may have had a good season, certainly from a stats standpoint, it wasn't my best season. But as long as I'm consistently thought of an MVP, I'm happy with that."
Jordan chose to take a different route instead of pouting. He viewed it as fuel when the Chicago Bulls played Malone and Jazz in the NBA Finals. Jordan led the Bulls to a 4-2 series victory, taking home Finals MVP honors. It was his fifth title of the decade. The Bulls also defeated the Jazz the following year, completing a second string of three straight championships.
"I'm the ultimate competitor," Jordan said. "I add that to the challenge that I'm presenting to myself ... Sure, I have an individual challenge that, `Yea, Karl, you won MVP this year. This is the MVP of the Finals. This is the leader of your team to the ultimate goal."'
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