Michael Jordan was offered 6x his salary to join Knicks but turned down money because of one thing

Michael Jordan built a legendary NBA legacy but his career could have been wildly different.

The Chicago Bulls legend nearly left the franchise in 1996 but one crucial thing held the six-time NBA champion back.

Getty

The Bulls were hailed for the slick financial advantage over their players.

During the 1990s, they paid players below their market values.

For instance, in the 1995-96 season, Jordan had 31 players earning a better salary than him – he didn’t even make $1 million annually in his first four seasons.

Furthermore, even after winning multiple Finals MVP honors and titles for the Bulls, the most he earned was $4 million per year.

However, such an approach from the Bulls nearly cost them their biggest star.

Michael Jordan could have become a New York Knick

Jordan, after securing his fourth NBA championship in 1996, wanted a salary hike and was reportedly willing to leave Chicago.

The franchise who were willing to offer Jordan a pay raise was the New York Knicks.

The Knicks are one of the NBA’s most iconic franchises and in that summer they thought had their man.

Jordan wanted a one-time ‘balloon payment’ identical to the one Knicks’ legend Patrick Ewing received – a one-year deal worth $18 million, which was the largest in league history at the time.

This was a deal that the Knicks were reportedly willing to offer as the idea of Jordan in their jersey was worth every penny.

Getty

Getty

Getty

The five-time NBA MVP had a grip on sports in America at the time, and in New York he would have been the biggest star in the biggest media market in the world.

The Knicks were confident they could steal Jordan for several reasons, as their own star Ewing was close to Jordan and had been trying to recruit him to New York for years.

They also believed that with a line up in Ewing, Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley, and John Starks. joining this team would have been lucrative enough for Jordan.

However it wasn’t, and the prospect of Jordan heading to New York collapsed because of the 14-time All-Star’s reservation about their head coach.

It was reprorted at the time, Jordan believed Phil Jackson, the head-coach who oversaw all of his NBA championships, brought the best out of him.

Jordan did not believe Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy could do the same.

This was for good reason, too, as Van Gundy took over the Knicks midway in the ’95-96 season and led them to victory in just 13 of the first 23 games.

“My coach is everything,” Jordan told Knicks fan Spike Lee. “Don’t know what kind of coach (Jeff) Van Gundy is. I know Phil.”

When Spike Lee asked Jordan if he was sure that a move to New York would guarantee more championships, the ever-confident guard hesitated, stating, “I don’t know.”

NBA's Greatest

Greatest NBA players in the world right now – from Luka Doncic to Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama

Best players in NBA history to never win a championship – James Harden and Carmelo Anthony to Allen Iverson and Karl Malone

10 richest owners in the NBA – family empires, media moguls and investment gurus

Michael Jordan’s top 10 scoring games – counting down MJ’s most extraordinary totals

AFP

Jordan’s contract issues would end when the Bulls handed him a one-year deal worth $30 million, the largest single-season contract in NBA history at the time.

The NBA legend would then go on to win two more championships with the Bulls before retiring for the second time in 1999.

2026 NBA Finals a repeat of 1999 involving Knicks

The Knicks made the Finals that same year, largely without an injured Ewing.

However, they were easily beaten by Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and the San Antonio Spurs, who won the series, 4-1.

1999 was the last year the Knicks made the Finals, that is, until this year, where Jalen Brunson has led Mike Brown’s team to the championship series after a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Standing in the way of the Knicks’ first championship since 1973 is once again the Spurs, in what will be a rematch of the ’99 Finals.

This time, instead of Duncan, the Spurs are led by the 7ft 4in ‘Alien’ from France, Victor Wembanyama.

Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the Spurs and Knicks gets underway on Wednesday night in San Antonio.