Michael Jordan Recalls Bulls’ ‘Traveling Cocaine Circus’ on ‘The Last Dance’

The ESPN Michael Jordan docuseries The Last Dance premiered on Sunday, and the first two episodes featured Jordan’s early years with the Chicago Bulls. During that time, there was rumored widespread drug use by NBA players, although Jordan said he didn’t take part in any of that, and that it didn’t happen when he was around. However, in the first episode of The Last Dance, Jordan was asked about the Bulls being a “traveling cocaine circus.” He started laughing, and he then talked about a time when he was a rookie in 1984, and he caught his teammates doing numerous drugs.

“I think we were in Peoria, it was in a hotel, and I was trying to find my teammates,” Jordan said. “I start knocking on doors, I get to this one door, and I could hear someone say, ‘Shhh, someone’s outside.’ This deep voice says, ‘Who is it?’ I say, ‘It’s MJ,’ and they say, ‘Ah, f—, he’s just a rookie. Don’t worry about it.’ So they open up the door. I walk in, and practically the whole team is in there. 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.”

Jordan continued: “The first thing I said is, ‘I’m out.’ Because all I can think about is if they come raid this place right now, I am just as guilty as everyone else in this room. From that point on, I was more or less on my own.” From there, Jordan spent his free time watching movies and playing cards. He said he didn’t go out to clubs and he didn’t drink at the time because he was focused on basketball.

“Whatever somebody else might have been doing off the court, if it was partying or whatever, that wasn’t part of what he wanted to do,” Rod Higgins said, who played on the Bulls from 1981 to 1985. “Orange juice and 7-Up was his go-to.”

Before Jordan was drafted by the Bulls, the team was struggling to win games and attract fans. That changed as soon as No. 23 hit the scene as he finished his rookie season averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists per game. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1985, and the rest is history.