Making Fun Of Michael Jordan's Bald Head Was Never A Good Idea

Ray Richardson | 5 Hours Ago

Phil Jackson entered the 1997-98 season knowing it would be his last with the Bulls. Michael Jordan insisted he wouldn't play for any other coach. 2020-04-19 Michael Phil / Anne Ryan, USA TODAY, USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Add Sam Mitchell to the list of NBA players who regretted a trash-talk session w ith Michael Jordan.

When Mitchell was with the Indiana Pacers, he made a bold decision to get into a conversation with Jordan during a Pacers-Bulls game in Chicago on Nov. 9, 1992. Mitchell thought the timing was right. The Pacers were up 97-90 with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter. 



As Pacers guard Vern Fleming attempted a pair of free throws, Mitchell walked
up to Jordan near mid-court. Jordan, struggling with back spasms throughout the day,
was bent over clutching his shorts.

“Hey bald head…we came in here and got that a- - tonight,” Mitchell said of his
trash-talk moment with Jordan during a recent podcast interview with Jordan’s former
teammate B.J. Armstrong. “That’s the only time I could talk trash to Mike because I still
had hair then.”

Unbothered by Mitchell’s premature celebration, Jordan had a blunt response. Mitchell recalled Jordan saying these chilling words, “Mitch, I ain’t even started playing
yet.”

Jordan was having an off night because of his sore back. He had only 14 points when Mitchell approached him and it appeared the Pacers were en route to their first win of the season. 
Mitchell, a key reserve forward for the Pacers, was having a good game that
night. His three-point play with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter had given the Pacers a 91-
84 lead.

After Mitchell tried to trash-talk Jordan, things changed in a hurry. The Pacers
didn’t score again after taking the 97-90 lead. In the final three minutes, Jordan scored
10 points in a 12-0 run for the Bulls to pull out a 102-97 win.

It was another one of Jordan’s late-game heroic performances that he was
known for when the Bulls needed to be rescued. Mitchell was understandably quiet the
rest of the game - even after the game.
“I learned after that moment to leave ‘bald head’ alone,” Mitchell said. “I never
told my teammates that I was trash-talking Mike. They would have killed me.”

Mitchell played 30 minutes that night off the bench and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. None of that seemed to matter after his fateful mistake of chatting with Jordan.

Lesson learned.

Ray Richardson is a contributor to Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at rayrich55@gmail.com

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