Tracy McGrady Recalls Michael Jordan Paying Him $20K in Cash for Roy Jones Jr.-Antonio Tarver Bet

Michael Jordan is famously a very intense competitor and enjoys making a wager every now and then, so it's not a surprise that he would carry a lot of cash around to pay off a bet when he doesn't win.

On the latest episode of the Cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady podcast, an AMP Sports Original Series (starts at 54:10 mark), Tracy McGrady revealed that Jordan "handed me a bag of him $20,000" in cash stemming from a bet they made on one of the Roy Jones Jr.-Antonio Tarver boxing matches.

McGrady explained that Jordan was in attendance for the fight because Jones was part of the Jordan Brand family at that point:

"The second time [I met MJ] was in Tampa. We were at a fight, I'm sitting directly behind MJ in Oak. At this time, Roy Jones Jr., he is a Jordan athlete. That is why Mike is in the building. They turned around and asked me who I had in the boxing match. I was like, 'I got [Antonio] Tarver.' Of course, these two jokers, they want a bet. So Mike was like: 'Put some money on it. 'He was like, 'All right, whatever you want to bet.' I said, 'I'll do 20. I'll do 20,000.' When I said that… I got tough boy talk… you know he wanted his money that night."

As the fight was going on, McGrady said that he was "praying to my Lord and Savior" for Tarver to win because he didn't have that much money on his person at that moment:

"I don't want to deal with these dudes. Man, Tarver knocked that [man] out. Give me my money. .... We went to the club that night. Me, Oak, MJ, we all went to the club. I had some of my boys from Polk County… [At the club] he called me over and I sat down. He's like: 'You got me [motherf--ker].' Excuse my language. That is what he was saying. You got me. Bro, he handed me a bag of 20,000. Cash."

It's unclear exactly which of the trilogy of Jones-Tarver bouts McGrady and Jordan had the wager on. The first one can be ruled out because Jones won via majority decision.

McGrady referenced meeting Jordan in Tampa, which is where the third bout was held in October 2005, but Tarver's stoppage win came in the second encounter when he scored a second-round TKO. The bout in Tampa ended with Tarver winning via unanimous decision.

Regardless, McGrady does hold some bragging rights over Jordan for his triumph. For Jordan, though, losing $20,000 on a bet is far from the worst wager he has made. He famously took a road trip to Atlantic City prior to Game 2 of a playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers in May 1991.

The trip didn't seem to impact Jordan's on-court game very much. He finished with 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a 112-100 win en route to leading the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA title.