Back In The Day NBA, April 16, 1987: Michael Jordan Trash-Talks Atlanta Hawks In Pregame Before Dropping 61
Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan was among the NBA's biggest trash-talkers.
From closing his eyes at the free throw line to wagging his finger at Dikembe Mutombo after a dunk, Jordan could taunt with the best of them. His best performance perhaps may have came against the Atlanta Hawks in 1987. Jordan did not even wait until getting on the court to start talking.
In an interview with The Athletic, former Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins said Jordan came into their locker room to let them know what was going down.
"I'm like, what the hell is he coming in our locker room for," Wilkins said. "He tapped Randy Wittman on the leg and he said, `Lace em up, it's going to be a long f-ing night' and he walked out. He had 60 that night."'
Actually, Jordan went for 61 points on 22 of 38 shooting and made 17 of 21 from the foul line. It was the ultimate showing of cockiness but Jordan could back it up.
He is often called the greatest player in league history because of individual and team accomplishments. He has the most scoring titles (10) and also won all six of his NBA Finals appearances. Those are the main ingredients that keep him above LeBron James in the G.O.A.T debate.
On this night, at least the Hawks got the better of Jordan. This was before he became a champion. The Hawks won 117-114. It was just one of the many battles Jordan had against Wilkins and the Hawks.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com