Reggie Miller is known for his sharp shooting and even sharper trash talk. During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, he shared an unforgettable story from his rookie season involving Michael Jordan. The story is old, but it never really gets old, so here we go again:
Reggie’s full story
“Look, I am a nice guy,” Reggie began. “I am not the biggest of guys, I might be tall, but when I came to the league, I was only 175, 180 pounds. I wasn’t the biggest or the strongest of them, so I needed to have a little bit of an edge; my mouth was my edge.
I learned to talk trash since my childhood and carried that into the NBA. But in my first year doing it, I got a bad experience.
So in my rookie year, we are playing the Chicago Bulls. This is Michael Jordan’s third or fourth year in, and it was only an exhibition game. Most veterans don’t like these exhibition games, but I was fully energetic, wide-eyed, ready to play.
As the game is progressing, Michael is not doing well at all. Chuck Person, who was on my team and was a big trash talker, comes to me and says: ‘Man, can you believe that’s Michael Jordan, the guy everyone is talking about, the man who’s supposed to walk on water… you’re killing him, Regg. You should be talking to him!’
I look at him, I say, you know what, you are right. I turn to the man and say: ‘Michael, who do you think you are, man? The great MJ? Guess what, there is a new kid in town.’
Brother, he just looked at me, started shaking his head. So at half, I had 10 points, and he had 4 points. End of the game in the second half, he ends up with 44, and I had 12. So he outscored me 40 to 2.
And as he’s walking off, he turned to me, looked at me straight and said, ‘Be sure and be careful to never talk to Black Jesus like that again.’ I’m like, ‘Ok, Ok, Black Jesus, I am so sorry, Black Jesus.’”
Did you do it again asked Jimmuy? “Never to Michael Jordan,” said Reggie Miller. Watch it for yourself
Reggie Miller’s Indiana Pacers faced Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls numerous times, especially in the playoffs. The Bulls, led by Jordan, went on to win six NBA titles, and the Pacers were one of their toughest competitors. They met in the playoffs five times, with the Bulls winning all five series
