Michael Jordan had sort of gained notoriety for being particular about his bills and money. Be it for simple bets against rookies or anything related to money, MJ was always particular about his money. That’s why Charles Barkley even resorted to remark the 6x NBA champion as a ‘cheap’ person. However, these claims might seem highly contradictory from the accounts of the former New York Knicks ballboy, David Snowden.
Former New York Knicks player and veteran NBA coach Mark Jackson recently invited Snowden on his podcast, who shared his experience hosting MJ at the Madison Square Garden arena. Snowden has been Jackson’s best friend since his time with the Knicks, and he often served as the ballboy for visiting locker rooms.
According to Snowden, Jordan was quite a gracious tipper whenever he visited the MSG for road games. “
“He was always gracious and incredible every game. He would take care of all the ball boys,” Snowden told Jackson.
This is quite a startling revelation by the former Knicks ballboy about Jordan, who was otherwise known to be extremely frugal with his money.
Nevertheless, the ballboys in the NBA were quite lucky to fall on the gracious side of Michael Jordan. Other people, including waitresses and restaurant hosts, weren’t lucky enough to receive the same graciousness for His Airness the same way Snowden and his fellow colleagues did.
Charles Barkley called out both Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan for being cheap about money
Michael Jordan’s history of being gracious with money wasn’t as favorable for others as it was for the NBA ballboys. One time, when Jordan was gambling with NHL legend Wayne Gretzky in Las Vegas, he gave a waitress a $5 tip for bringing him a drink. Gretzky was surprised to see Jordan tip the waitress so measly. He went on to grab $100 chips from Jordan’s table and handed them to the waitress. Explaining his act to Jordan, Gretzky said, “That’s how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael.”
Charles Barkley has been quite critical of Jordan’s measly habits of being so frugal with his money. However, he didn’t limit his criticism just to Jordan itself. He even contended MJ’s teammate, Scottie Pippen, to be as cheap as Jordan when tipping. In an interview on the late-night show Conan on TBS, Chuck said, “There’s nobody cheaper than Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.”
Chuck recalled how Jordan used to slap his hands when he would try to give money to homeless people. In response to his actions, Jordan would explain how the homeless people could rather be McDonald’s employees if they really needed ‘spare change.’ On the contrary, Chuck always remained a charitable person and an awesome tipper throughout his playing career and later life.
