Jerry Krause names the only NBA player who "competed as hard as Michael Jordan"

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Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but his incredible competitive drive was what truly set him apart from the pack. While many believe that it made Jordan such a unique player, former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause once said that there was another player who possessed the same level of competitiveness.

According to Krause, Bulls legend and former longtime Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan was the only player who had matched Jordan’s insane competitive drive. MJ and Sloan may have had different attributes, but for Jerry, both competed as hard as they could whenever they stepped on the court.

“The only person that I can say that I know, personally, that competed as hard as Michael Jordan was Jerry Sloan,” Krause said as part of an ESPN Vintage documentary on Sloan.

Jerry enjoyed the pain

Sloan played 11 seasons in the NBA and earned two All-Star selections as a physical two-way guard/forward. His aggressive style of play and competitive mindset often resulted in nicks and minor injuries.

Despite the physical toll these injuries took on his body, Sloan never let them deter his determination and passion for the game. In fact, Jerry even enjoyed getting banged up, believing that those injuries spoke volumes about how tough a player he truly was.

“Ankles swollen up, broken noses, fingers, this and that,” Sloan once said. “That’s the fun part, seeing who’s tough enough to fight through a little bit of adversity.”

Before MJ, there was Sloan

From the mid-60s to the mid-70s, Sloan was the face of the Bulls, hence the moniker “The Original Bull.” He may not have led Chicago to multiple championships the way Jordan did, but many recognize Jerry as the first Bulls superstar before MJ.

“I loved everything about Jerry Sloan, from the way he played to the way he coached. He was a tenacious competitor who represented the Bulls of the 70s so well. Jerry became one of my favorite coaches when he was on the 1996 Dream Team staff, and it was an honor to learn from him,” ex-Bulls forward Scottie Pippen once remarked.

In retrospect, Krause made a good point in comparing Sloan’s competitiveness to Jordan’s. When we look back at the history of the Bulls franchise, Jerry and Michael are considered the fiercest competitors to ever represent the team.