It’s not a secret that Michael Jordan was always ready to speak his mind regardless of who felt offended by his words. His Airness was a vicious trash talker, and somebody who didn’t hesitate to put people in their place whenever they went at it. During his time with the Chicago Bulls, MJ earned a reputation for talking more than necessary to get under his rival’s skin.
That didn’t change when MJ wasn’t in Chicago. The six-time NBA champion never missed a chance to tease those he beat, which was in full display during the 1992 Team USA camp. When he and Scottie Pippen arrived to get ready for the Summer Olympics, Jordan made sure to separate himself from the others when they practiced.
During a recent episode of Jackie MacMullan’s Icon’s Club podcast, she revealed some of the tactics MJ used to tease his teammates, preventing them from practicing with the same basket he’d use. Why? Because only champions should have the right to practice with that one.
Via Sports Casting:
Charles Barkley wanders over to the hoop. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are already there, knocking down jumpers. Another Dream Team practice was about to begin. … Jordan stopped his teammates short. ‘Find a different basket, Charles.’ He turned to Patrick Ewing. ‘You, too, Patrick. Scottie, you can stay.’ The future Hall of Famers looked at MJ quizzically. ‘Champions only!’ Jordan announced. ‘Not you, Clyde. Find somewhere else.’ Magic, a five-time champion, immediately picked up on it. He declared his corner of the gym, ‘the ring basket.’
At that time, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had two championships under their belt, having beat Magic Johnson’s Lakers in 1991 and Clyde Drexler’s Trail Blazers in 1992. Besides Jordan and Pippen, only Johnson and Larry Bird had won NBA titles. The next season, MJ would get his first three-peat after beating Charles Barkley in the Finals.
Just like that, Jordan trash-talked everybody in front of him. Even Magic and Bird suffered from that, as Jordan made it clear they no longer ruled the league, saying he was the new sheriff in town.
Jordan’s competitiveness was unmatched and even when he was fighting for a common goal with these stars, he tried to put them down and make clear that nobody was better than him.
Out of that team, Clyde Drexler in 1995 and David Robinson in 1999 and 2003 would become NBA champions. The rest was close to making it, but they never lift the Larry O’Brien trophy. And, to make things worse, Jordan was responsible that they didn’t win a ring during their careers.
