Michael Jordan’s level of competition has no limits. No matter what the circumstances, he always had the determination to win. This would even go so far as to learn how to do sudoku puzzles for a meager $500 wager with Estee Portnoy, his business manager. Jordan has an innate desire to excel in every endeavor.

Wright Thompson emphasizes the depth of Michael Jordan’s competitiveness in his ESPN piece “Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building.”

“He’s currently playing an incredible game of Bejeweled on his iPad, surpassing level 100 and earning the title of Bejeweled Demigod.” He was a pro at sudoku, defeating [company manager Estee] Portnoy to win $500. He sent someone to the Atlantis hotel’s gift store in the Bahamas to purchase a word-search puzzle book, according to Tompson.

Nobody matched Jordan’s competitive passion on the basketball floor as well. In the NBA Finals, he went unbeaten and never let a series go to Game 7. The six-time champion’s obsession with victory was so well-known that he even supplied Thompson a quote for his piece.

“I am unable to resist. It’s a dependency. You begged for this unique ability to reach these heights, and now that you have it, you want to return it, but you are unable to. Jordan remarked, “If I could, then I could breathe.”

Jordan’s victory was his only means of self-expression. Jordan was in hot water off the court, though, due to his renowned competitive temperament. The six-time NBA champion faced criticism on numerous occasions for his excessive gambling.

When Michael Jackson was just starting out in Chicago, he would go to the casinos if he couldn’t succeed on the court. In an attempt to find some kind of success, Jordan quickly turned to gambling after the Bulls’ 1987 first-round loss to the Celtics, which ended Chicago’s two-year losing streak to Boston.

His mindset to win made him widely recognized as the greatest basketball player ever but turned him into a known gambler as well. However, Jordan never viewed it as a gambling addiction, but rather a hobby during his free time.

Jordan was a proven winner in everything he did and it was no secret. Even if it meant winning a $500 bet in sudoku, Jordan made sure he was the one to prevail.