Recently, one of the best golfers in the world Xander Schauffele revealed how his game with Michael Jordan went. During a practice session for The Memorial Tournament, while mic’d up with former golfer Cole Knost, Schaufelle noted that he was doing well against Jordan until he talked trash to him.
Like many in the past, Xander learned why it was a bad idea to anger Michael Jordan, as Jordan came back to win the game. Schauffele called the entire experience ’embarrassing’.
Interviewer: “You play with MJ yet?”
Schauffele: “I have. It’s fun.”
Interviewer: “It’s really hard to sh*t talk him.”
Shcauffele: “I did my best version of it — and then he beat me. Straight up. Embarrassing.”
Interviewer: “What?!”
Schauffele: “In the last three holes, yeah, I pancaked him on his stroke holes, and I started talking sh*t to him and he got all quiet, focused. And then he birdied 15-16, no strokes. Beat me straight up. And I was like, ‘All right.’”
Interviewer: “Weird, he came through when he needed to.”
Schauffele: “Yeah, (that’s what) I said.”
Interviewer: “He can put.”
Schauffele: “And chip.”
Interviewer: “I love how you can miss like short right every hole out there. Just perfect for him.”
Schauffele: “As soon as he heads towards the bunker, I was like ‘Please, please, stay in it, stay in it! Then it slashes out’.”
Schauffele is far from the first person to make the mistake of talking trash to Michael Jordan. Several players in the NBA did that during the prime of Jordan’s career, and came to regret it, as MJ would use their words as motivation to defeat them, and even embarrass them on the court.
Michael Jordan Always Wants To Be The Best
Recently, an old clip of the late great Bill Walton went viral where he shared the story of Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain arguing about who was better went viral. It was one of those rare instances where Jordan didn’t get the final upper hand in a tense situation.
“We’re in this one room, and it’s just 50 players. Over in the corner is Wilt and Michael Jordan. And they’re sitting at a table, arguing vociferously as to who the greatest player of all time was. They’re going back and forth and just, it’s just intense as could be. And we’re just having a great time. Bill Russell and Kareem are smiling and signing autographs and taking photographs, that’s how wonderful this all was. So now David Stern comes into the room (and says), ‘Okay guys, it’s time to go’.”
“Everybody starts gathering together, lining up. And Michael and Wilt are still going at it at this table over here. And so, David finally says, ‘Come on, Wilt, Michael, we got to get going’. So they stand up, the conversation ends. And Wilt, who always has the last word in everything, Wilt looked down at Michael and said, ‘Michael, just remember – when you played, they changed all the rules to make it easier for you to dominate. When I played, they changed all the rules to make it harder for me’. And there was no retort, no comeback. Wilt Chamberlain, oh my gosh.”
Schauffele is far from the only celebrity to experience MJ talking trash to them. Rapper Common once revealed how he and MJ were trading barbs back and forth during the 2010 NBA Celebrity All-Star game. Jordan loves competition more than anything else, and he doesn’t just limit that to basketball.
It was this competitive fire that allowed Jordan to win 6 NBA championships, 6 Finals MVPs, 5 regular season MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year award, become a 14-time All-Star, and make 10 All-NBA First Teams.
Michael Jordan’s competitive spirit, more than any of his attributes, is what made him arguably the greatest player of all time. His desire to show everyone around him that he was the best was unmatched and hadn’t really been seen since he walked away from the sport.