14/05/2026
Brendan Haywood recalls how a retired Michael Jordan humiliated everyone in a pickup game at North Carolina: “There’s levels to this”
MJ still embarrassed everyone the moment he stepped on the court.
When people say Michael Jordan‘s hate for losing was absolute, they meant every word of it. And it didn’t matter what game it was — cards, golf, or table tennis — MJ just wanted to win and was willing to do whatever to sn**ch that victory. So, one can imagine how badly Jordan wanted to win at the game he loves most: basketball.
According to his former teammate and fellow North Carolina alumnus, Brendan Haywood, Jordan’s intense competitive nature was on full display when he returned to Chapel Hill to play pickup games with Tar Heel pros and the best collegiate players in the area at the time.
For one, it was already surprising to Haywood that His Airness himself came to play; it was more stunning to see him dominate the court despite not playing for two years.
“Mike walks in. He’s got the Mike gear on to a tee. Like, it’s the Jordan gear tucked in tight up to the belly button. Y’all know how Mike gets down,” Haywood recalled. “So when Mike came in, he’s like, ‘Yo, y’all mind if I play?'”
“Right away, he looks just like Mike,” Brendan said. “Like, he looks just like three-peat Michael Jordan. Which was incredible for that time because he’s going up against Jerry Stackhouse. And this is a young Jerry Stackhouse.”
“We talking about Jerry Stackhouse that was still getting to it. People really sleep on how cold Jerry Stackhouse was from a scoring standpoint, especially some of those years he had in Detroit,” he continued.
“When Jerry Stackhouse used to come back to play pickup, he would dominate the run because he was just so big, so strong. Like, he was like that to us. He was the man in them streets. And then MJ walks in and immediately the day goes differently. Jerry Stackhouse’s team isn’t winning anymore. MJ’s team is winning.”
“He’s guarding Stack. He’s telling guys which way to force him. ‘Hey, hey, force him left every time.’ Like, he’s out there orchestrating,” Haywood shared. “Offensively, he’s scoring. He’s hitting the fadeaways, pump fakes, step-backs, step-throughs. Like, he looks like MJ. He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.”
Right then and there, Haywood’s belief that Jordan was the game’s GOAT was reinforced by what he saw with his own eyes.
“He walked in right away, stretched a little bit and took over. His team didn’t lose. He just kept winning and winning. He’s making the reads. He’s just doing everything,” Haywood conveyed.
At that point, Haywood was convinced that MJ had to consistently work out or play in a men’s league to stay in shape. With his interest piqued, he couldn’t help but ask the man as they shared a moment on the sidelines.
“I’m just like, ‘Yo, Mike. Are you in a men’s league? Are you still doing basketball workouts?'” Brendan said. “And if you could have seen the laugh on his face, he was just like, ‘Nah, I ain’t played basketball in two years.'”
“And then he had his little cigar, grabbed it and said, ‘There’s levels to this, big fella.’ Tossed me the ball and walked out.”
