"N**ga that's 10-20 years ago... can't do it now": Stephen Jackson reveals how brutally he trash-talked 47-year-old Michael Jordan in practice
Tyson Chandler and Stephen Jackson played for Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats during the 2009-10 season. The two were part of a veteran core that ended the team's seven-year playoff drought.
Although Jordan was now an owner, he was known to sometimes check on players during practices and even scrimmage against them. Jackson, on SHOWTIME Basketball, told the story of how one practice became more heated than most:
“Do you remember when MJ [Jordan] came and took over practice? Me and him got into it at practice. People don’t believe that story. … He started telling me about taking off my shoes. … Telling me about I’ll never be MJ and we was going at it. They beat us! The second unit.
Chandler, who was a guest of the show, added:
“Stak [Jackson] was across the gym screaming at MJ. I was like, ‘I don’t think Stak gonna be here tomorrow.
Jackson also said:
"I was going at him and he didn’t hold back. … I’m like, “N**ga, that’s old! That’s 10-20 years ago. … Can’t do it now. … He wasn’t just killing but he put the winning attitude in the second team.
Stephen Jackson, Tyson Chandler, Raja Bell and Gerald Wallace were the leaders of that team. They finished that season with a 44-38 record to break the Bobcats’ nearly decade-long spell of missing the playoffs.
Charlotte’s first few months that year were rocky. At one point, they were 11-17 and looked like they were on their way to another long offseason.
After a big loss, Michael Jordan came after his players in practice. The Chicago Bulls legend was already 47 years old when that story happened. Still, he led the second unit to a win over the Bobcats’ best five.
Stephen Jackson, in a separate interview, said that Jordan “sonned the s**t out of me” and then later acknowledged that MJ was the GOAT.
Michael Jordan broke up the core of the 2009-10 Charlotte Bobcats that reached the playoffs
Michael Jordan couldn’t have been any happier when his Charlotte Bobcats made the playoffs in 2010. His team, however, was swept in the first round by the Orlando Magic. The six-time NBA champ decided that he needed to make some changes to improve the team.
For some reason, he traded Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks for Eduardo Najera, Matt Caroll, Erick Dampier and cash. Chandler became a key piece of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship team alongside Dirk Nowitzki.
Michael Jordan’s Bobcats finished the 2010-11 season with a 34-48 record and missed the playoffs again. They wouldn’t reach the postseason again until 2014.
By 2011-12, Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace were gone as well. The Charlotte Bobcats ended their campaign with a 7-59 mark, one of the worst records in NBA history.
Michael Jordan was still optimistic, though. He just drafted Kemba Walker, the UConn superstar who led the Huskies to the NCAA championship.