Michael Jordan once humbled a Grizzlies player who mocked him mid-game: "Shut up, you little b**ch!”
Few players were brave enough to talk trash to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan during his illustrious 15-year career. Of the ones that did, most learned the hard way about the dangers of provoking Jordan.
Such was the case for former Vancouver Grizzlies point guard Darrick Martin, whose trash talk of the Bulls legend backfired severely during the 1995-96 season.
Jordan’s Bulls were in the midst of a grueling road trip and were physically and mentally exhausted. Taking on Martin’s Grizzlies on Nov. 30, 1995, the Bulls were off their game. Meanwhile, Vancouver was firing on all cylinders.
After three quarters, Jordan had just 10 points and Chicago was trailing. At that point, then-Bulls coach Phil Jackson opted to get Jordan some much-needed rest.
While recuperating, the Bulls legend’s competitive fire was quickly rekindled after Martin decided to talk trash to him while he was on the sidelines. Martin converted an and-one and as he walked past Jordan, he started rubbing in the Grizzlies' soon-to-be victory:
“Told you we were gonna whoop you’re a** tonight,” Martin said.
Following Martin’s trash talk, Jordan proceeded to check back into the game and promptly reminded Martin why he was the best player in the league. According to Martin, Jordan first warned him about what happens when people trash-talk him:
“Little man, I told you about talking trash to me,” Jordan said.
Shortly after, Jordan took the game over, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 94-88 victory. Following the comeback win, Jordan then made sure to let Martin hear about it:
“Shut up, you little b**ch!” Jordan said.
Despite having an off night for the majority of the game, Jordan finished with 29 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals on 53.8% shooting. Meanwhile, Martin finished with just seven points, one steal and one 3-pointer on 37.5% shooting.
The loss marked the 13th straight for the Grizzlies in what would prove to be a 19-game losing streak. Vancouver would go on to finish a league-worst 15-67 that season. Chicago, on the other hand, would go on to finish a then-NBA record 72-10 en route to winning the 1996 NBA championship.
Also read: Michael Jordan was once left unimpressed after Jay Leno brought up an embarrassing topic: "Why you always wanna talk about that?"
Darrick Martin on his infamous trash-talking of Michael Jordan
Darrick Martin later recounted the night he infamously trash-talked Michael Jordan, during an interview with Aaron Ross. According to Martin, he learned a valuable lesson that night about not challenging greatness:
“I poked the bear that night, and he showed me truly what greatness meant,” Martin said.
Martin also credited the lesson he learned from Jordan for helping him last 13 seasons in the NBA:
“So that was a learning lesson for me, to be able to take that lesson and carry on and eventually have 13 years in the NBA,” Martin said.
Also read: Michael Jordan once humiliated Dennis Rodman on national television: "How many dresses does he get to wear?"