Michael Jordan was known for trash-talking as soon as he set foot on the NBA hardwood as a 21-year-old rookie. By the time he was 34, MJ had already gathered a long list of accolades and perfected the art of trash-talking. There wasn’t any opponent against whom Jordan didn’t display his ruthlessness. However, when the Chicago Bulls were playing against the Toronto Raptors in the 1997-1998 season, the 34-year-old Shooting Guard didn’t chirp as he was famously known for. Tracy McGrady, who was a rookie at the time, hilariously believes that Mike just didn’t want to waste his breath on the worst team in the Conference.
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Michael Jordan may have been retired from the game for almost 20 years now, but his competitive spirit is far from gone. As disclosed by the Charlotte Hornets’ #2 pick of the 2023 Draft – Brandon Miller – MJ is still intimidating people with his trash talk even at the age of 60. During the pre-draft workout, Miller and Jordan got caught in a friendly banter. As revealed by the former Alabama star, he mocked the then-Hornets owner’s air-balled free throw in response to the Hall-Of-Famer’s constant smack-talk.
Michael Jordan wouldn’t waste his energy talking trash to a horrific Raptors team
The Toronto Raptors had their franchise-worst performance during T-Mac’s rookie campaign. In that 1997-1998 season, the Canadian side managed to win only 16 games, finishing at the bottom-most position in the Eastern Conference. According to McGrady’s recent interview appearance with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the team was so poor, that Jordan didn’t even want to waste his energy talking trash.
“We weren’t a very good team at that time so I’m sure he was like, ‘There’s no need to even waste my trash talking on this sorry a** team.’”
The Bulls and the Raptors played a total of four times during that campaign. The Chicago Bulls managed to sweep the season series 4-0, with an average of 18.25 points differential. MJ laced up for an average of 32.5 minutes per game and recorded merely 19.5 points per game.
Tracy did mention how His Airness would enjoy trash-talking during the All-Star Game.
“Now on All-Star Weekend? Of course, Mike talked sh*t because we’re all there together. There’s a lot of locker room sidebar conversations and chattin’ about certain things but I can’t really pinpoint what those conversations were about but, you hear the chatter with Mike and him talking sh*t to guys.”
During the 2003 All-Star Game, after talking all night long, Jordan backed himself up by knocking down the game-winner at 39 years of age. As it was made apparent throughout his career, the Bulls legend could absolutely talk the talk before walking the walk.
Tracy McGrady only remembers smelling MJ’s cologne from their matchup
Usually, a player starts witnessing a decline in his production by the age of 35. However, Michael Jordan was one of the very few superstars in the NBA’s history who was able to play at an elite level at that age. In fact, Tracy McGrady once even revealed that a 35-year-old Jordan was still very much in his prime.
The only thing McGrady would remember is the smell of the Bulls legend’s cologne. The following is what he had to say on the matter.
“Guarding Michael Jordan always leaves you smelling like his damn cologne.”
At age 35, Jordan was toying with one of the best rookies in his class. McGrady might have averaged more points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. However, Jordan would get the final laugh, winning five out of their eight duels.
