Michael Jordan is undoubtedly one of the most competitive players to have ever stepped foot on an NBA court. The way players talk about having to face Jordan makes it seem as though they feared the man even before he had taken to the hardwood. Reggie Miller once said he stopped calling him by his name altogether because of what he did to him in his rookie season.
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MJ never backed down from a challenge, as evident from the fact that he won 6 championships in 8 years. He could’ve perhaps one a couple more if he hadn’t retired in both 1993 and 1998 after having just won championships both of those years.
During his first stint as a retired NBA player from 1993 to 1995, Jordan would look towards Minor League Baseball with the Birmingham Barons as a way to take his mind off basketball. Though, as everybody would figure out quite quickly, basketball was always at the back of his mind.
Also read: How Scottie Pippen Was The Mastermind Behind Michael Jordan’s Last Shot With the Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan went up against Sheryl Swoopes and got trash talked by her
Michael Jordan, while still being retired from the NBA in 1995, was challenged to a one-on-one by the woman everyone in the WNBA landscape deemed to be the ‘female Jordan’. Sheryl Swoopes is one of the greatest players in the history of the WNBA and it was only right for her to have a 1v1 against arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
While at a kids basketball camp together, the two would come together for a 1v1 that saw Jordan, who had played competitively in over a year, win quite handily. While Swoopes did get a jumper in, MJ bullied his way to the rim.
Despite the loss, Sheryl would continue to trash-talk the Bulls legend, calling him ‘old, tired, and out of shape’. In retaliation, Jordan would admit that the 1v1 wasn’t a challenge and so he looked to finish it off quickly.
https://youtu.be/d9riE4g3pXs
Sheryl Swoopes’ accomplishments in the WNBA
It wasn’t long after this one-on-one with Michael Jordan that Sheryl Swoopes went on a run for the ages with the Houston Comets. From 1997-2000, she put a deadbolt on the WNBA championship, winning 4 in a row.
To go along with her titles, Swoopes also claimed 3 league MVPs, countless All-Star and All-NBA nods, and every single Anniversary Team to date. She’s a part of the Naismith, Texas, and Houston Sports Hall of Fame and would also claim Gold in three straight Olympics.
