Trash talking to the opposing team’s players is a vital skill that can sometimes help in winning games. It could help in breaking the focus of the opponent and hence forcing them to make mistakes.
Over the years, we have seen many players who have used this tactic to tilt the outcome of the game in their favor. Among them is none other than NBA legend Michael Jordan.
There are several stories about Mike getting inside the head of opponents with his supreme trash talk. One of the examples of it was when he destroyed Clyde Drexler in front of the entire 1992 Dream Team. It certainly had some impact on Drexler.
Jordan once revealed that he learned trash talking from none other than Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. The two players had unshakable confidence, and it was no surprise that they could back their talks with stats.
So the rule of thumb during the era was to never trash talk to MJ. It would do the players more harm than good.
Even Shaquille O’Neal Never Trash Talked To Michael Jordan
MJ might be regarded as the GOAT of basketball, but when it comes to being considered the most dominant basketball player of all time, Shaquille O’Neal holds that title as per most fans and analysts.
So you’d think that the 4x NBA champions never felt the need to hold back when belittling others. Well, that’s not entirely true. In a recent podcast, Shaq revealed that MJ was the only player that he never trash-talked to, and there was a pretty good reason behind it.
(Starts at 22:00):
“Michael Jordan. You don’t want to mess with God. You got to stay away from Mike. Leave that man alone.”
Shaq mentioned that he would talk smack to anyone not named Michael Jordan. This just goes to prove what an aura Mike had around him.
Speaking of Mike and Shaq’s head-to-head battles, the two superstars faced off against each other a total of 21 times in their careers. MJ had a 12-9 record against O’Neal, including a 6-4 record in the playoffs. So it’s clear why Shaq had so much respect for Michael Jordan.
