NBA: Former Wizard Reveals Truth About Michael Jordan As A Teammate

A former Washington Wizard has opened up about what Michael Jordan was really like as a teammate.

ESPN’s “The Last Dance” revealed how Jordan instilled an unparalleled work ethic into his Chicago Bulls teammates. In the documentary, it was Scott Burrell who often received criticism from Jordan. And when MJ made an epic return in 2001, many believed that Jordan has found his new Burrell in former Wizards center Kwame Brown.

However, according to another former Wizard, Etan Thomas, the Jordan he witnessed in Washington was far from what reports claimed him to be.

In a recent interview with Syracuse.com, Thomas said that the Wizards' MJ was a lot easier than the one he saw in “The Last Dance.” Thomas also revealed that contrary to previous reports, Jordan didn’t put much pressure on Brown as a teammate.

"People think he did that with Kwame. That’s not what I saw," Thomas revealed.

Thomas then made what could be one of the biggest revelations in Jordan’s career. According to the NBA journeyman, former Wizards head coach Doug Collins did everything to cover up for Jordan and put all the blame on Brown.

"MJ didn’t ride Kwame that much. It was more (head coach) Doug Collins riding Kwame and Doug rode Kwame to protect MJ. Everything good, it was because of MJ. And anything that went wrong, it was Kwame’s fault," he added.

The Wizards drafted Brown with the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft out of high school. However, he never lived up to his draft selection and has become one of the biggest NBA busts in history.

Reports during the time Brown was playing for the Wizards claimed that MJ would make Brown cry at times. Roughly four years ago, Brown denied this rumor, which also claimed that the NBA GOAT even called him a homophobic slur.

"There was a report that Michael Jordan would make me cry in the front of the team (laughs). A guy who grew up like I grew up don’t really cry much. The report about him calling me a homophobic slur isn’t true," Brown told NBC Sports in 2017.

After four seasons with the Wizards, Brown was eventually traded to the Lakers in 2005. This time, he played alongside another legendary NBA player, Kobe Bryant. Still, Brown didn’t manage to make a mark in LA and got traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007. He ended his career with the Philadelphia 76ers after only playing 22 games in the entire 2012-13 season.