“You had my poster on your wall in college!” - When a former Milwaukee Bucks player got the best out of Michael Jordan in a trash talk battle

A big reason for Michael Jordan being widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, aside from his unmatched basketball prowess and winning insatiableness, was the fear and aura MJ brought to the floor. The trash-talking was a massive part of it, as not many opponents could scramble a response or fire back at the Bulls legends jawing at them. But a Milwaukee Bucks legend did precisely that once upon a time.

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In a recent interview on the No Chill podcast with Gilbert Arenas, Bucks legend Marques Johnson shared a great story from 1996, in which he explained how he managed to get the best out of Jordan in a trash-talking battle.

"At the end of the run I like did a little dunk, so Michael Jordan said, 'Hey, old man, don't be trying to dunk, that wasn't part of your game, that wasn't part of your game.' I was like, 'man, whatever I was doing, you had my poster on your wall in college. So I was doing something right.' He goes like, 'Ok, you got me there, you used to be my favorite player,'" Johnson shared.

Johnson was a part of the group of NBA players that spent the 1996 offseason playing pick-up games at the notorious Jordan Dome, and this obviously led to MJ clashing with one of his favourite players growing up.

But being the ultimate competitor, Michael didn't even spare the Bucks legends from getting a few slight jabs. But Marques had a couple of aces in his sleeve, giving the perfect response and ending up as one of the rare people that can say they shut up the great Michael Jordan.

'The Slammer'

Of course, MJ was a big fan of Johnson's game, as the 6'7'' guard/forward played his best years in the late 70s and early 80s' when the legendary Jordan was just a teenager.

Marques played for 11 years in the NBA and spent the majority of his career in Milwaukee. In 7 seasons donning a Bucks jersey, Johnson would average 21.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 3.7 apg, solidifying himself into franchise history.

A 5x All-Star and 3x All-NBA player, Marques Johnson is one of the old-school players you don't hear a lot about, but the guys that watched the NBA closely at that time know how good 'The Slammer' was in his heyday. It's nice to hear even the great Jordan was aware of that and humble enough to admit it.