Michael Jordan’s legendary competitive spirit has produced countless stories over the years, but one particular story from Charles Barkley might be the wildest. According to Barkley, Michael Jordan once played 36 holes of golf on the morning of a Team USA game and then spent the entire game tormenting Puerto Rico’s point guard simply because of a newspaper quote.
Speaking on the Unfiltered with Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo podcast, Barkley recalled the incident from the 1991 Tournament of the Americas in Portland, the event that Team USA used to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“So we’re playing on the Dream Team in the Tournament of the Americas in Portland, Oregon. That morning, me, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, and Michael Jordan went out and played 18 holes of golf. Afterward, Chuck said, ‘Let’s go back and get some rest.’ Michael said, ‘I’m going to play another 18.’ I was like, ‘What? We’ve got a game tonight.’ He just said, ‘I’ll be fine.'”
“That night, we’re playing Puerto Rico. We’re assigning matchups. I tell Charles, ‘You’ve got this guy.’ David, ‘You’ve got this guy.’ Chuck, ‘You’ve got this guy.’ Then Michael says, ‘I’ve got that guy.’ Chuck says, ‘But he’s the point guard.’ Michael looked up and said, ‘I’ve got the point guard.’ He said something about me in the newspaper.”
“Guys, let me tell you something. Michael was screaming at this little kid. ‘Don’t you ever mention my name again!’ We’re all looking at him like, ‘Yo, man, something’s wrong.’ This kid from Puerto Rico couldn’t even dribble the ball. Michael was all over him, yelling the entire game. ‘Don’t you ever talk about me again! I’m Michael Jordan. I’m the best damn player in the world. And you’re from Puerto Rico. You better not ever mention me again.'”
“We’re all looking at each other like, ‘Yo, man, what the hell?’ He was guarding this dude and screaming at the top of his lungs. All because the kid had said he was excited to see how great Michael Jordan was. He said, ‘I think he’s a great player, but I think I’m a great player too.’ Michael took offense to everything. He spent the whole game screaming at a kid from Puerto Rico after playing 36 holes of golf.”
The identity of the Puerto Rican guard has long been known as Federico “Fico” López. Team USA defeated Puerto Rico 119-81, with Jordan scoring 10 points off 4-9 shooting from the field. But he held Lopez to zero points, limiting him to just one shot in 16 minutes. This story has become one of the most famous examples of Jordan’s ability to find motivation out of thin air.
That was the mentality of the Dream Team. Whether it was Jordan and Scottie Pippen taking Toni Kukoc head-on after his contract with the Chicago Bulls, or the legendary scrimmages in Monte Carlo, the Dream Team competed against one another even when they were the favorites.
Jordan’s trash talk was every bit as famous as his scoring. Former teammates and rivals say that Jordan looked for any comment or jab to fuel his intensity. That’s why so many players who shared the court with him have called him different.
It’s a type of story that is at the crux of his legacy. Jordan wasn’t just supremely talented; he was unbelievably competitive. And it took just one newspaper comment to bring out the beast in him, even after 36 holes of golf.
