Michael Jordon found himself on his own as a rookie with the Chicago Bulls after refusing to party with the rest of his team who he called the "cocaine traveling circus" in the 1980s. The former NBA star revisited those years in the first episode of the 10-part docuseries, "The Last Dance."
Jordan explained to an interviewer that one night as a rookie he walked into a teammate's hotel room and was shocked at what he saw.
"I get to this one door, I knock on the door, and I could hear someone say, 'Shhh, someone's outside,'" Jordan said, according to Insider. "This deep voice says, 'Who is it?' I say, it's MJ, and they say, 'Ah, he's just a rookie. Don't worry about it.'"
Jordan recalled how "practically the whole team" was inside the room, partying up a storm.
"It was things I had never seen in my life as a young kid. You got your lines over here. You got your weed smokers over here. You got your women over here," he said. "First thing I said, 'Look, man, I'm out.' Because all I could think about is, if they come raid this place right now, I am just as guilty as everyone else in this room."
Jordan preferred playing cards and watching movies. He was not one to go out clubbing and his decisions had consequences.
"From that point, I was more or less on my own," he said.
The NBA was rife with drugs during the 1980s, but Jordan said he wanted nothing to do with that.
"I don't smoke. I don't do lines. I didn't drink at the time. I was looking just to get some rest, get up, and go play," he said.
Former Bulls star Rod Higgins attested to Jordan's claims.
"Whatever somebody else might have been doing off the court, if it was partying or whatever, that wasn't part of what [Jordan] wanted to do," he said. "Orange juice and 7-Up was his go-to."