There are famous stories of Michael Jordan taking things personally and destroying the competition. MJ has always been the type of player you don’t talk trash to unless you want to see your team get destroyed.
Gary Payton was one of the best trash-talking players to ever suit up in the NBA. He wasn’t afraid of any player, no matter who it was. This was true even when he was a rookie.
In today’s article, we will revisit the time a rookie Gary Payton trash-talked Michael Jordan in a preseason game, and MJ got his revenge in the regular season.
Jordan Gets Revenge On Payton During The Regular Season
It was the preseason of the 1990-91 season, and rookie Gary Payton was excited to face off against the best player in the game, Michael Jordan. It was a preseason game, however, and most star players only played a little of the preseason, and they wouldn’t go “all out” as they didn’t want to risk injury in a meaningless game.
Jordan was no different from any other star player. But don’t tell this to Payton. In his mind, this was his first meeting with Air Jordan, and he wanted to send a message.
In the preseason game, Payton was doing great, scoring 19 in the game as MJ sat most of it, watching this brash rookie do his thing.
“It was a preseason game against the Bulls my rookie year,” Payton explained in an interview with The Players’ Tribune. “So it’s 1990. It was the Bulls but not the Michael Jordan Bulls yet, know what I mean? It’s before the first three-peat. They were still getting beat in the playoffs by Detroit, in like ’88 and ’89.
“And so I’m coming in there, preseason, second pick in the draft. I don’t care who the hell Michael Jordan is. I’d seen him when I was coming up. To me it was like, O.K., he’s good … but he’s not all that.
“MJ was on the bench most of the game — I didn’t understand that it was just preseason and MJ doesn’t play hard like that in a preseason game. So B.J. Armstrong had me. I gave him 19 points. And I’m a rookie, so of course I’m talking crazy. I’m talking sh*t to B.J. I’m running by the bench, saying sh*t to MJ. I’m staring guys down. I feel great.”
If you know anything about the great Michael Jordan is that you do not trash-talk him. In fact, you are not supposed to say anything to him or even look him in his eyes. That’s how much other players feared The G.O.A.T.
Now, if you know anything about Gary Payton, he doesn’t care about any of that. Payton famously jawed with MJ in Game 2 of the 1996 NBA Finals between his Seattle SuperSonics and Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
Payton also famously said how once he switched onto Jordan in Game 4 of the Finals, he held Jordan in check. The facts back this up, as Jordan averaged 31 points per game on 46% shooting in the first three games when Payton was not the primary defender on MJ.
In the last three games where Payton guarded Jordan, MJ’s averages dropped to 23.7 points per game on 36.7% shooting. That’s over seven points less per game scoring while shooting about 10% less than when Payton was not MJ’s primary defender.
Of course, made famous in The Last Dance Documentary, Jordan famously laughed and explained how Payton was “not a problem” for him.
The confidence in Payton is something to behold. The problem, though, was Jordan’s confidence was arguably higher, and his skill level was no doubt unmatched by anyone in the game.
The first time the Bulls played the SuperSonics during the 1990-91 season would be memorable. Jordan would not forget the brash-talking rookie, and he was ready to give Payton his “welcome to the NBA” moment.
The date was November 17, 1990, and the Bulls were in Seattle, ready to take on the SuperSonics. Payton felt ready to duplicate his preseason performance, but MJ was also ready for the game.
“So we go out there before the game, and everybody is shaking hands at the circle. MJ wouldn’t shake my hand,” Payton explained. “He turns to B.J. and he says, ‘Leave the f*cking rookie to me,’ so everyone can hear it.
“Sh*t, O.K., I’m thinking. Well f*ck it then. Bring it on. The game gets going. I’m checking Michael, and I see Phil Jackson start calling plays — four, five, six times in a row, he’s calling plays for Michael. And Michael is scoring four, five, six times in a row. Michael is on a different level than I knew there was.
“In a matter of minutes, I’m in foul trouble. K.C. benches me. I didn’t really go back in the game much more after that. I remember I finished with no points — played about seven or eight minutes. MJ ended up going for 33. But that wasn’t the end of it. Near the end of the game, I’m sitting on the bench, and MJ comes over to our bench — comes right up to me while the game is still going on. Coach is standing right there. Everyone on the bench is staring at him.
“Looks right at me. ‘That sh*t you talking in preseason?’ The wild thing is, MJ isn’t even mad or nothing. He’s chewing his f*cking gum. ‘This is the real sh*t right here. Welcome to the NBA, little fella.’ The Bulls won the title that season, and then five more before he was done.”
Michael Jordan truly was not the player you would want to engage in talk trash, and Payton understood this very quickly. Of course, this didn’t stop Payton in the future, but MJ always got the best of The Glove.
Oh, and in that MJ revenge game, Payton was a little off. He did, in fact, score… He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting, but he did commit 4 fouls and 4 turnovers in 21 minutes of playing time.
Jordan scored 33 points on 13-20 shooting. He also recorded 7 steals in the game as the Bulls won 116-95. This season would be the year Jordan and the Bulls would win their first title, and they never looked back.
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