Michael Jordan's 15 Most Epic Trash-Talking Moments

Image via Complex Original

Victim(s): Rodney McCray

According to ESPN's Rick Reilly, Michael Jordan would absolutely destroy teammate Rodney McCray. For example, in 1993, when Jordan defended McCray during team scrimmages, he would talk some trash. But maybe Jordan went a little too far. "You’re a loser! You’ve always been a loser!’ Rodney can hardly put up a jumper now," MJ would reportedly scream in his teammate's face. While the Chicago Bulls did go on to win the title that year, getting McCray his first and only ring, the poor guy was a shell of his former self, averaging only 3.5 points per game in his only season with the team.

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Victim(s): Nick Anderson

There were times when Michael Jordan was so confident in his ability to score on you that he would tell his opponent exactly what he was going to do on the next possession and even with the blueprint right there, the person defending MJ just couldn't stop him. Shaquille O'Neal remembers a time while playing for the Orlando Magic where Jordan told Nick Anderson, "I'm coming down. I'm going to dribble it between my legs twice. I'm going to pump fake and then I'm going to shoot a jumper. And then I'm going to look at you." And? According to O'Neal, "That's exactly what he did." Of course.

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Victim(s): Dikembe Mutombo

How could we not include the blind free throw? During a 1991 game against the Denver Nuggets, Michael Jordan was at the free throw with the game well in hand. After sinking his first shot, Dikembe Mutombo started jawing at Jordan. After letting him talk a little trash, Mike decided to put an end to the discussion, telling Mutombo, "This one's for you," closing his eyes and then knocking his second attempt.   

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Victim(s): Jim Jackson

During a Summer League game last year, Kendall Gill shared a story from the 1996-1997 season where his teammate Jim Jackson tried to get into the head of Michael Jordan. Little did he know that he was ripe for taking once Jordan spotted him rocking his own sneakers. Note to anyone else trying to talk shit to Mike: Don't trash talk Jordan while wearing Jordans. 

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Victim(s): Steve Smith

Steve Smith and Michael Jordan loved to get into each other's ear, but on one particular day, Smith remembers hearing Jordan just counting down. “He said something like ’38’ and I didn’t get it. Then he said ’36,’" he recalls. Eventually, Smith realized that Jordan was counting down from 40 points, which apparently was his target goal.

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Victim(s): Vancouver Grizzlies

In 1995, the 2-12 expansion team Vancouver Grizzlies went up early in the fourth quarter on the 11-2 Chicago Bulls. After extending the Grizzlies' lead, Darrick Martin ran by the Bulls' bench, saying, “I told you we were going to beat you tonight.” After hearing his comment, Jordan got right back into the game. As he made his way onto the court, Jordan shouted at Martin, “Little man, I told you not to trash-talk me.” MJ went on to score 19 of his 29 points in the final six minutes, giving Chicago the 94-88 victory.

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Victim(s): Craig Ehlo

On March 28, 1990, Michael Jordan scored 69 points on 23/37 shooting from the field. When you're in that type of a groove, there is literally nothing that is going to stop you. Just like with Nick Anderson, Michael knew he could tell Craig Ehlo what he was going to do and that poor Craig couldn't do a thing about it.

"Listen man, I'm hitting everything, so I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do this time and see if you can stop it," Jordan told Ehlo. "You know you can't stop it. You know you can't stop this. You can't guard me." Then, Jordan detailed exactly what he was going to do, saying, "I'm gonna catch it on the left elbow, and then I'm gonna drive to the left to the baseline, and then I'm gonna pull up and shoot my fadeaway." Do we need to tell you what happened next?

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Victim(s): Charles Barkley

Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley loved to jaw at one another. “Charles is not Charles with his mouth shut,” Jordan said. “That’s like me playing with hair.” While there are plenty moments of trash talk to choose from, there is one particular time that sticks out more than others. “I went by him once and told him, 'You’re an old man.' He’s two days older than me," Barkley recalls. “He told me, 'You got no chance today, and you never will.' It was all stuff like that.” It was probably true, but at the same time, no one really stood a chance against Jordan. So, join the club. 

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Victim(s): Keith Gibbs

Grantland recently published a Q&A with "The guy from every basketball movie," the former college basketball player-turned-actor, Keith Gibbs. In addition to appearing in basketball flicks like The Air Up There and Blue Chips, Gibbs had a role in Space Jam which is where things get interesting.

"When I was doing Space Jam, we played three days. I thought it was over. I had to go out of town," he said. "I get a phone call, they’re like, 'Why aren’t you here?' I was like, 'Oh, they’re still playing?' I had no idea." Gibbs describes the competition as "an NBA All-Star pickup game" with guys like Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Ed O'Bannon taking the court.

"One play, I got switched onto Jordan, because Chris was like, 'Keith, you take him,'" Gibbs remembers. "Jordan hit a 35-footer on me. I mean, it was ridiculous: leg out, tongue out, all that stuff…hit a 35-footer on me and goes, 'GET THE FUCK OFF THE COURT.'” 

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Victim(s): O.J. Mayo

In 2006, O.J. Mayo was a top high school player who was feeling himself a little too much. When he visited Michael Jordan's Summer Camp that year, Mayo was talking a lot of trash to the 43-year-old Jordan, telling him, "You can't guard me, you can't do this." Mind you, this is the first time O.J. has met MJ. 

"I got my campers here, so obviously I can’t really can’t go where I want to go because I own my camp. So I stop the camp, send the kids to bed," Jordan said. “We go back to playing, and he starts his whole thing ‘you can’t guard me.’ Finally I just said, ‘You may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world.’ So from this point on, it’s a lesson. And from that point on, it was a lesson. He never won a game." Lesson learned. 

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Victim(s): Bill Clinton

Once upon a time, Michael Jordan challenged Bill Clinton to "break 100," which suggests the number of swings it would take for a player to complete an 18-hole round of golf. Breaking 100 is seen as an amateur task as better golfers strive for the 80-90 range. After Clinton took him up on his challenge, Jordan got the former President to change from white tees to championship tees, saying, "You're going to play from the little girls' tee?" Clinton made the change and still managed to break 100. Guess this is something Barack Obama can look forward to in the future. 

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Victim(s): Washington Bullets

During 1997 NBA Playoffs, Chris Webber remembers seeing Michael Jordan walk into the Bullets' locker room prior to Game 3 at the US Airways Center in Landover, Md. With the Chicago Bulls already up 2-0 in the series and staring down a sweep, Jordan was feeling especially confident about his team's chances of closing it out that night. So confident that MJ walked into the locker room with a lit cigar—a victory cigar, if you will—and asked, "Who’s going to check me tonight?"

The Bulls finished Washington, 96-95.   

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Victim(s): Clyde Drexler

Like the title suggests, Michael Jordan had an answer for everything. One time, someone told Jordan that Clyde Drexler was a better three-point shooter than him. Jordan fired back, saying, "Clyde is a better three-point shooter than I choose to be." Dead.  

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Victim(s): Muggsy Bogues

Down by one to the Chicago Bulls, the Charlotte Hornets needed to make one more huge basket to avoid getting bounced in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. Muggsy Bogues took the ball in this important possession with Michael Jordan guarding him. Eventually, Jordan stepped back and gave Bogues the space to shoot the rock. “Shoot it you fucking midget," MJ barked. The 5-foot-3 guard obliged and didn't come close. The Bulls won the game, 85-84, and moved onto the semifinals to play the Orlando Magic. 

According to Johnny Bach, who was a coach on that 1995 Hornets team, Bogues told him that moment ruined his career.  He was never the same, averaging just 5.9 points per game for the remainder of his career after three straight years of putting up double-digit points. Cold.

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