MJ betting theories put to rest in ‘Last Dance’

It’s well known Michael Jordan had a bit of a gambling habit, but Sunday’s episode of “The Last Dance” showed just how big the story got — with some even speculating it had something to do with his father’s murder.

James Jordan was killed in July 1993 by two teens, Daniel Green and Larry Demery, after he had pulled over on a North Carolina highway to take a nap.

Just two months earlier, Jordan made headlines when he went to Atlantic City the night before an Eastern Conference Finals game against the Knicks. In combination with the release of Richard Esquinas’ book “Michael and Me,” which alleged Jordan owed Esquinas more than $1 million from betting on golf matches, the narrative quickly formed that Jordan had a gambling problem.

He steadfastly denied it: “I can stop gambling,” he said at the time. “I have a competition problem, a competitive problem.”

Orlando Sentinel columnist Brian Schmitz wrote an article with the headline, “Is Michael somehow tied to dad’s bizarre death?” The Daily Press of Newport News, Va., wrote that a “lack of motive leads to speculation about son’s gambling habit.” Another column in the Journal Times in Racine, Wisc., suggested it could be “more than a coincidence” and that “there is evidence of the son’s gambling problem.”

All investigations at the time came up with the same conclusion: It was nothing more than “brutality and greed” that led to James Jordan’s death, as a news report from the time put it.

Jordan retired from the NBA not long after his father’s death, a decision he said he had already made before the tragedy. But that decision, of course, led to even more speculation: Some thought his “retirement” was a secret suspension by David Stern due to his gambling.

Stern himself put those rumors firmly to rest: “There’s no basis in fact. It’s just not true.” McIntyre was even more direct: “How do I phrase this delicately? Total bulls--t.”