You might have heard that Michael Jordan was the best trash talker in the NBA during the ’90s era, but did you know it was not just on the court? It was Jordan’s hobby to pull the legs of his opponents. But it looks like he did it during the sets of ‘Space Jam’ as well. That sounds like a nightmare. Sadly, no one is escaping the Chicago Bulls legend’s antics. New York Knicks icon Patrick Ewing, who was a part of the multi-million movie venture, shared how the time away from the camera went with his fellow opponents, and especially MJ, in his interview with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
The Knicks and the Chicago Bulls had one of the biggest rivalries in the NBA back then. Ewing vs Jordan was always a heated match-up. Looks like that was the case in the sets of ‘Space Jam’ as well. Ewing shared to Hart and Brunson, “We went out to LA, you know I think for our scenes, mine, Charles [Barkley], Larry [Johnson], Muggsy [Bogues]. It took us about a month to do. It was a lot of fun.”
“We would play pick-up ball after the shoot was over, we go out to dinner, we play pool, talk trash, talk about everybody’s career“, said Ewing about the BTS. And here comes how MJ managed to become the best trash-talker. Ewing continued, “Of course Michael, he is one of the biggest trash talkers that, you know, you ever had the opportunity to meet or play against.”
Trash-talking was a natural talent for Jordan. When it comes to Barkley or Ewing, it was even easier, because they didn’t win a championship. The Knicks legend said, “He was always riding Charles and myself that we hadn’t won anything as yet.” Well, that’s a regret that Barkley and Ewing will always have for the rest of their life, but they love ‘Space Jam’ a bit too much.
Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing would never give up on ‘Space Jam’
Although MJ might have given the above two some bitter moments on the sets of ‘Space Jam‘, their love for the movie did not reduce one bit. While speaking about his performance in the $250,000 million venture, Barkley termed it ‘The greatest sports movie ever’ to Stephen Colbert. Barkley also showed strong disapproval for the sequel of ‘Space Jam‘, which eventually was released, starring LeBron James.
On the other hand, Ewing loved the experience of working in a movie alongside MJ. He said in the above interview, “I enjoyed the opportunity to be around those guys, learning from those guys…learning that job“
“More people know me from the movie than me being a player“, said Ewing. It’s not easy to get close to his Airness. But if you do so, make sure you bear all the trash talk that comes from his mouth every other minute. Space Jam, after all, worked out great for Ewing.