At this point, it’s not a secret that Michael Jordan was an incredible trash-talker. The Chicago Bulls legend knew very well what to tell rivals to get under their skins, and not even rookies were safe from him.
Charlotte Hornets idol Larry Johnson suffered that the first time he faced Jordan. A 22-year-old Johnson went against one of the best players in NBA history with confidence until MJ mentioned one name the really affected Larry.
Talking on the Knuckleheads podcast, Johnson recalled the time Jordan asked him for his mother, ruining his mood for the rest of the night, affecting his performance on the court.
“The first time I met him, we walked out on the court docket, and he walks straight as much as me and goes, ‘How’s Dorothy?’
“He said, ‘How’s Dorothy? I couldn’t play the whole game. He walked up to me and asked me how my mom was. Used her name. Used her name. He done went in the program and saw my mom’s name was Dorothy. Went in the program, used my mom’s name. I think I scored eight points. I was averaging 24.”
MJ’s never hesitated to use every trick in the book to mess with his rivals. If you meant danger to him, he would go at you and Johnson saw that firsthand. As Larry said, that really worked, and the Bulls didn’t have to worry about him.
