In the cutthroat world of the NBA, the name Sam Smith carries heavyweight status despite the man never having logged a single minute on professional hardwood.
A Brooklyn native and grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Smith built a Hall of Fame career as the definitive beat writer for the Chicago Bulls , peaking just as the franchise launched its legendary '90s dominance.
While crafting his groundbreaking bestseller " The Jordan Rules ", Smith pulled back the curtain on the Bulls' ascent, detailing locker room moments that Michael Jordan felt were calculated maneuvers to sow discord.
"He really exploits certain things," Jordan famously stated in a 1992 interview with "Playboy". "I've heard there was a story about how Pippen, Grant and I were talking about our sons' penises. He said we spent thirty minutes debating whose son had the biggest penis. What's the purpose of that being in the book? You know it's kidding, so what?"
According to Smith, the project was initially rejected by 90 percent of the publishers he pitched. However, it eventually exploded into a "New York Times" bestseller, moving over 200,000 copies by 1995.
While the book was a commercial juggernaut, the players railed against the exposure of private controversies. They argued that these moments were part of the sacred locker room code — standard banter never intended for public consumption.
The timing couldn't have been more explosive. Fresh off their first title in 1991, the Windy City icons were just beginning to build their dynasty when the book's release triggered a level of media scrutiny that would haunt them for the rest of the decade.
Suddenly, every facet of the team was under the microscope — from MJ's gambling habits to Dennis Rodman's mid-season vanishing acts and the toxic relationship between GM Jerry Krause and the team's cornerstones.
The Bulls had become rock stars and every step they took was dissected. Smith had effectively pulled the pin on a grenade, creating internal tension that led Jordan to believe the author was deliberately twisting stories for the sake of the narrative.
"I knew people were going to start taking shots at me," Jordan told. "You get to a point where people are going to get tired of seeing you on a pedestal, all clean and polished. They say, 'Let's see if there's any dirt around this person.' But I never expected it to come from inside. Sam tried to make it seem like he was a friend of the family for eight months. But the family talked about all this hatred they have for me."
"I mean, if they had so much hatred for me, how could they play with me? Why didn't they go to Jerry Reinsdorf and ask him to trade me? I don't know how we won if there was so much hatred among all of us. It looked like we all got along so well," MJ added.
Smith later countered that the book was meant to humanize players who were viewed as deities, showing that they were men of flesh and blood who navigated complex emotions, laughter and conflict on their road to NBA stardom.
Ultimately, the controversy didn't derail the machine. Chicago went on to capture six Larry O'Brien trophies, cementing their legacy as perhaps the greatest team to ever hit the hardwood.
In doing so, they provided Smith with endless material, carving his own path to journalism stardom. In the high-stakes world of the '90s Bulls, both the icon and the author ended up getting exactly what they needed.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
