Trash-talking Michael Jordan on the court was never a good idea as it fueled the competitor inside him. Many players, including legends of the game, verified it after they learned this the hard way. The San Antonio Spurs legend Avery Johnson’s wife was also one of them. In 1999, after MJ announced his second retirement, the former Spurs Avery Johnson and Tim Duncan were asked their thoughts of sharing the court with the GOAT.
As usual, Tim Duncan was unfazed as The Big Fundamental talked about losing two games to Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He did tip his hat to the Bulls legend in the end.
Johnson, on the other hand, had an amusing tale of how his wife trash-talked the former Bulls guard, leading MJ to find fuel for his fire to go out and wreck Johnson that night,
“I remember when he saw my wife earlier in the day when he was lifting weights and my wife told him, ‘Avery’s gonna score a lot of points on you tonight.’ And I don’t know why she told him that because he mentioned that to me during the game and he gave me about 38 that night. So, I told my wife she gotta learn how to be quiet.”
There have been several mentions of how MJ used to find even the slightest motivation from such incidents to dominate his opponents on the hardwood floor. And Avery Johnson’s wife gave him enough to humiliate her husband.
Johnson’s response and reaction to finding out what his wife said to Air Mike was beyond hilarious. Mentioning how he needs to tell his wife to learn where she needs to be silent is just another testament to never pissing off MJ before a game. It was a perfect opportunity to tell this story as it was the second time MJ bid goodbye to the game for several reasons, one of them being his favorite head coach Phil Jackson.
What led to Michael Jordan’s second retirement from the league?
The 1997-98 NBA season allowed Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to perform another threepeat. That season is the one that was referred to as ‘The Last Dance’, which also went on to become one of the most popular sports documentaries in recent history.
Jordan was adamant that it would be his last year with the Bulls if Phil Jackson would not be the coach. And despite winning their sixth title in eight years, the Bulls decided not to retain Jackson as the head coach amidst several controversies. Some even alleged that the head coach did not get along with the general manager Jerry Krause.
This led MJ to retire from the NBA once again and the Bulls went on to trade the rest of their remaining stars to kick off their rebuilding phase. MJ did return one last time to suit up in 2001, but in a Washington Wizards jersey for two years before finally hanging his sneakers for good.