“Michael Jordan’s Got A Deal With The Devil”: David Robinson Couldn’t Fathom The Bulls Legend’s Greatness According To Will Perdue

Jul 3, 1992; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; USA dream team guard John Stockton – David Robinson – Michael Jordan – Magic Johnson – Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley on the bench against Puerto Rico during the 1992 Tournament of the Americas at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

David Robinson could not fathom Michael Jordan’s greatness and relentlessness during the 1992 Dream Team era. An Instagram user shared a video of former Chicago Bulls center Will Purdue’s interaction with San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson after he got traded to the team. In the clip, Robinson was awed by ‘His Airness’ so much, he was convinced that he had a deal with the devil.

During the 1992 Dream Team era, Will Purdue revealed the schedule of the stars selected to represent the country. They would start by going to practice before promptly hitting the golf course.

After their session at the golf course, the players would then go to the casino and stay there till it was time to go to practice again. David Robinson tried his hand at this lifestyle, trying to keep up with Michael Jordan but, rather expectedly, fell woefully short.

When Will Purdue arrived at the San Antonio Spurs, one of the first things that David Robinson mentioned was how difficult, and next to impossible it is for a normal human being to follow MJ’s lifestyle and still be that amazing on the court.

“One of the first things David Robinson says to me, ‘Michael Jordan’s got a deal with the devil. There’s no way you can do the things that he does and live the lifestyle that he lives and be as effective as a player.’ And I just started laughing because then those stories from the Dream Team came out.”

Purdue also went on to add, “Those guys would, basically just start with practice. They get on the bus to go to practice, come back from practice, and go straight to the golf course. Come back from the golf course, go straight to the casino, and stay there until it’s time to go to practice. So, Dave said, ‘I tried to keep up with these guys. I just physically couldn’t do it. That guy’s got a deal with the devil. There’s no way you can do all these things outside of basketball and still step foot on the basketball court and drop 50 on somebody.”

Despite being from the Navy, David Robinson was not able to keep up with MJ’s lifestyle off the court. Despite a grueling schedule, Jordan had the energy to go onto the floor and dominate every single night, something that amazed D-Rob even more. It’s hard to blame him for being shocked either. After all, even out of the best athletes in the world today, it’s hard to think of anyone who’d be able to pull that lifestyle off past a single day. And even then, they’d likely want to never think of the schedule again.

What was the reason behind Michael Jordan’s lifestyle?

Michael Jordan was easily the most popular man in the league during his time in the NBA. And due to that reason, MJ was always swarmed with media and paparazzi, trying to get a glimpse of him.

Jordan’s lifestyle of being occupied outside the court stems from his need to avoid the media and the public at times. MJ turned to indulging in golf, gambling, and going to movie theatres as a way of avoiding the public eye and the constant camera pointed at him.

Even Michael Jordan’s memoir went on to describe what led to MJ’s extravagant lifestyle. It stated, “People simply felt compelled to approach the sports world’s newest magician, and it usually wouldn’t take long before he was mobbed.”

And that is how MJ’s lifestyle, which got too much for David Robinson, came to be.