Tipping doesn’t get him his favorite table.
He didn’t buy those drinks to be a nice guy. He bought them because his ego would not allow him to not sit at his table. I find that story utterly believable and hope there are other stories of people exploiting Jordan’s ego.

“If BJ missed two shots in a row on passes from MJ, Michael would walk by the bench and say, “get his ass out.” BJ a very vain individual.”