How Michael Jordan encouraged Scott Burrell to keep going at him in practice, and why it didn't happen

Michael Jordan was just as fierce in practice as he was in actual games. After all, he understood how crucial proper preparation was to the overall success of the Chicago Bulls. One person he often pushed to go hard at him all the time was Scott Burrell. Burrell, a 6-foot-7 wingman out of UConn, joined the Bulls for their “Last Dance” in 1997 to bolster their bench. Although Jordan kept egging him on not to hold anything back in practice, Burrell explained why he hesitated in doing so.

Nervous about hurting the GOAT

To put it simply, Burrell knew his place. He knew how much time he was going to play and what role he would play on and off the floor. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the Bulls’ legend in practice, which would have been catastrophic. But Jordan was relentless in his pursuit of greatness, but Burrell still felt nervous.

“I was nervous about that. But MJ would tell me, ‘No, I don’t get hurt. Just keep going hard. Just keep going hard!’ But you still have that fear factor in the back of your mind,” Burrell shared.

At the time, Burrell had already played four seasons in the NBA, so he had a general idea of how quickly a things could change. An injury to the Bulls’ main man would have doomed the entire campaign, and Burrell knew it.

“It was awesome for the challenge. But I was worried about banging knees, worried about him rolling his ankle, worried about him hurting his ACL. Any day, something small could happen, or something big could happen,” Burrell added.

Burrell knew who the main man was

Burrell understood who the main man was and didn’t want to risk hurting the Bulls'—and the NBA’s—leading star.

“Here’s the thing: Everyone watched the NBA because of Michael. Every city you go to, everyone goes to the games because of Michael. Every Bulls fan is a huge Bulls fan because of Michael. I didn’t want to be the person to come in there for a year and mess something up!”