This comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone who knew anything about the man, but “The Last Dance” makes it crystal clear that Michael Jordan stoked his unmatched competitive fire by identifying and even occasionally manufacturing personal slights. He didn’t respect people who backed down to him, but if you didn’t openly accept his status as the ultimate alpha male, he would step on your neck, and enjoy it. Winning at everything was essential to him; losing was worse than death. It probably still is, although I hope not, for the sake of his mental health.
Does this sound at all familiar? The difference is that basketball genuinely is a zero-sum game, but politics isn’t. What worked for MJ and the Bulls is a disaster for the country.