“Michael Jordan did not ruin my career by saying ‘Shoot it, midget'”: Muggsy Bogues slams NBA media and fans for twisting the narrative around his career decline

Muggsy Bogues is one of the gutsiest players in NBA history. He shot down a rumor that claims some Michael Jordan trash talk altered his career.

As NBA fans, we’ve all heard tons of stories of Michael Jordan talking trash to his opponents. ‘The Last Dance’ opened a window into his world and how the legend of Michael Jordan, the consummate competitor, was written.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that a ton of contrarian stories about his trash talk have also spawned. There’s hyperbole, there are made-up stories and there certainly are unfounded rumors about his demeanor.

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Muggsy Bogues was the subject of one of these rumors, and for good reason. The decline in his career coincided precisely with the last time he faced Michael Jordan in the playoffs.

Muggsy Bogues denies that Michael Jordan ever affected his psyche

Muggsy recently joined Earl Cureton and Charles Oakley on the 3LeagueOGs podcast. The trio talked about their experiences in the NBA at length while also addressing some rumors and stories.

Bogues took the opportunity to finish the rumor about Jordan calling him a midget, once and for all:

“MJ supposedly called me a midget, ‘Shoot the ball, midget!’ and I shot the ball. And I supposedly had missed and that supposedly had an effect on my entire career? That’s one of the craziest, most asinine stories that you can hear.”

“I think about all the stuff that I’ve been hearing all my life. And here it is, I’m what – I’m 10 years into my career already? And somebody says something and it’s gonna affect my career? It don’t make no sense.”

I heard trash talk all the time in the NBA, that was and still is a big part of the game. The rumor that MJ ruined my career with an insult is simply not true. We were competitors, we threw around insults during games but it was never personal. @3LeagueOGsPod link in bio. pic.twitter.com/dthnn1mv2w

— Tyrone Muggsy Bogues (@MuggsyBogues) March 22, 2021

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“But what really happened was that my knee, they looked at some of my numbers after that series and I started having surgery on my knee and I had to stop playing.”

“And when I missed the year and then I came back, my numbers had went down. And I guess they felt that my role had changed. I started now coming off the bench for certain teams. I was 10 years into my career already and going forward.”