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“Will Never Be Able to Live With Himself”: Mr Competitive Michael Jordan Tore Apart Knicks Legend Patrick Ewing With His Skin Piercing Trash Talk Even on Retirement in 1998

Published 01/18/2023, 6:30 AM EST

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No force could stop the 6x NBA champion Michael Jordan from winning. Possibly only MJ could slow himself down. In his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan gave his opponents a very hard time. Both in offense and defense, he was arguably unstoppable. In addition to his flawless performances, MJ was unbeatable in trash-talking too. He never failed to get into the head of his opponents. Not just on the court, but also off the court. 

Post his second retirement in 1998, MJ would still trash-talk his former rivals even though he did not play the game. 

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Michael Jordan shares how he trash-talked his opponents

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MJ could easily penetrate through the mindset of his opponents and make them weak. With one of the most impeccable playoff records, Jordan had every right to do it. In fact, it helped him. After winning his sixth championship with the Chicago Bulls, MJ announced his retirement for the second time. In addition to his favorite coach Phil Jackson retiring, MJ had cut his finger with a cigar cutter at the start of the 1998-99 season. MJ wanted to put a full stop, rather than a pause to his career, with things getting out of hand. 

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Though MJ was not giving a tough time to his opponents on the court, he still managed to get at them with his trash-talking. Patrick Ewing, an 11-time All-Star from the New York Knicks was perhaps MJ’s favorite rival. Michael Jordan and the Bulls defeated Patrick Ewing and the Knicks in five different playoff series. The one time Ewing and the Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls, MJ had retired from the NBA.

When both teams crossed paths in playoffs again in 1995, MJ and the Bulls thrashed the Knicks 4-1, not giving Ewing a single opportunity. At his going away party, MJ did not forget to mention Ewing. MJ said, “Patrick will never be able to live with himself because he can’t beat Michael Jordan in a playoff series”. Not just Ewing, Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns was given a shoutout too. He added “And I always told Charles he never was dedicated enough to winning.” mocking the 11-time All-Star. 

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Does the trash talk continue?

The trash talk never stopped. In an interview with Rachel Nichols for ESPN, Patrick Ewing admitted that Jordan would never stop trash-talking.

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Ewing said, “He’s been talking trash from the first day that I met him, and he continues to talk trash,”. He added, “Telling me that I have never beaten him when it counts. It still hasn’t stopped. Even today, if I called him right now, he’ll still be talking trash to me.”  

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Written by:

Rohan Dharmalingam

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Edited by:

Veer Badani