NBA: Michael Jordan Once Asked Defender To Take His Jordans Off During Game

A former NBA Finals MVP recalled how Michael Jordan asked his defender to take his Jordans off in the middle of a game.

Some fans may not know, but aside from being the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan was also a ruthless trash-talker. During his playing years, he has rivaled with both the best and average defenders in the league.

One of the best trash-talks from Jordan occurred during Chauncey Billups’s first NBA game. In a recent episode of ESPN’s “The Jump,” Billups remembered being thrilled to be welcomed by Jordan and the Bulls. Billup’s teammate, Greg Minor, was tasked to guard MJ. And knowing that they are about to face the best player in the world, Minor played his heart out and poured on his best defense against Jordan.

“When I was a rookie, my very first game was playing against Michael Jordan and the Bulls. We had Greg Minor guarding him. There is a little dust-up, Greg is playing hard, of course, you have to play hard as you can because it’s MJ,” Billups recalled.

However, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP said that at some point during the game, Jordan and Minor had a scuffle and as the GOAT shot his free-throws, Billups heard Jordan trash-talking Minor.

According to Billups, Jordan said that he should make Minor, who was apparently wearing Jordans at the time, to take his sneakers off.

“They got into a little scuffle, MJ is going to the free-throw line, and he looks at Greg and says I should make you take my shoes off. I looked down, and I see he has Jordans on,” Billups stated.

There were several stories told by NBA players about Jordan’s trash talks. In 2015, Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller also revealed that during his rookie season, he engaged Jordan in a trash talk. Miller taunted Jordan and introduced himself to the Bulls star saying “there’s a new kid in town.”

According to Miller, the first half was all good. He recorded 10 points and Jordan only scored 4 points on his watch. However, as the game progressed, Jordan ended up scoring a whopping 44 points. If it had ended there, Miller would have known his place. But apparently, Jordan retaliated and warned him to never talk to “Black Jesus” like that again ever.

“As he’s walking off he says, ‘Be sure you never talk to black Jesus like that,'” Miller recalled.