Michael Jordan Used A Young O.J. Mayo To Prove He Was "Best Player In The World"

Shandel Richardson | Oct 14, 2024

Steve Kerr was teammates with Michael Jordan for five seasons with the Bulls, winning three championships. 2020-04-13 Kerr Jordan1 / Anne Ryan, USA TODAY, USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

One of the biggest mistakes NBA players in the 1980s and `90s was trash-talking Michael Jordan.

He took it personal all the time. Most games ended with Jordan embarrassing the offender with a ridiculous stat line that usually resulted in a Chicago Bulls win. Nothing changed even when Jordan retired in 2003.

Video surfaced of Jordan sharing a story about how he had to teach a lesson to a young O.J. Mayo in 2007. Mayo attended Jordan's summer camp but decided to run his mouth.

"You know I’m playing in my camp, against OJ Mayo, he was a top high school kid," Jordan in an old interview. "Coming out… in front of my camp. He starts this thing, you know, ‘You can’t guard me’, ‘you can’t do this’. You know I got my campers here so I obviously I can’t really go where I want to go because of all my camp."

Jordan said Mayo continue to bark. That's when Jordan took it personal.

"So from this point on, it’s a lesson," Jordan said. "And from that point on, it was a lesson. You may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world."

Mayo learned his lesson that day. He later played one year at USC before being the No. 3 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 draft.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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