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How Michael Jordan Reminded a Trash-Talking High Schooler That He Is the GOAT

Published 09/13/2021, 1:30 PM EDT

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Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan is one of the greatest ever to grace the game. He has achieved every feat that any NBA player dreams of. Jordan played with a lot of confidence and never let anything affect his game. He has been involved in trash-talking many times during his playing career. And it has helped him perform even better with a lot of motivation. Jordan once revealed a trash-talking incident with former Memphis Grizzlies star O. J. Mayo.

Michael Jordan opened up on his trash-talking incident with OJ Mayo

Michael Jordan appeared in an interview for NBA 2K14’s promotional video in 2013. The old video has resurfaced and Jordan has opened up on trash talking in the video.

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“I’m playing in my camp against O. J. Mayo. He was a top high school kid coming out, and I had never met him,” Jordan said in the old promotional video.

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“In front of my camp, he starts this thing about ‘you can’t guard me, you can’t do this.’ I’ve got my campers here, so I can’t really go where I want to go because I own my camp. So, I stopped the camp, sent the kids to bed. We go back to playing, and he starts this whole thing that ‘you can’t guard me, you can’t do this’,” Jordan added.

“Finally, I just did. I said, ‘You may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world. So from this point on, it’s a lesson.’ And from that point on, it was a lesson. He never won a game. I posted him up. I did everything.”

There are many instances of Jordan trash-talking during his career. Michael Jordan’s documentary ‘The Last Dance’ has covered many instances against established NBA stars, but the OJ Mayo incident was surprising. It didn’t take long for Jordan to step up and school Mayo in the pickup game.

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No doubt that OJ Mayo was one of the best talents in the 2008 NBA draft, but his career didn’t pan out the way everyone expected. He signed with Milwaukee Bucks in 2013 on a three-year deal.

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However, after the end of his contract in 2016, the NBA disqualified him from the league due to a drug violation. In 2018, Mayo signed with a Puerto Rican club and then played for several teams in Taiwan and China. He currently plays for Liaoning Flying Leopards in the Chinese Basketball Association.

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Written by:

Abhishek Singh

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Abhishek is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with over two years of journalistic experience with Chase Your Sport and Dribl. A Football Management graduate, he has previously interned in the Indian Super League, I-League and the AFC Champions League. In addition to being a Michael Jordan fan, Abhishek is an ardent Steph Curry and Warriors guy, and believes they have a few more championships in store before the former retires.
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