“He taught me everything I know about getting in people’s heads”—Jordan acknowledges that he borrowed Larry Bird’s trash talking style.

“He taught me everything I know about getting in people’s heads”—Jordan acknowledges that he borrowed Larry Bird’s trash talking style.

Jordan learned the basics of trash-talking from Bird.

Throughout his career, Michael Jordan acknowledged that he learned how to gain a mental edge over opponents from Larry Bird. In a 2021 interview with The Athletic, Jordan commended Bird for his ability to psychologically overpower his direct opposition.

“The best mind-gamer and trash talker of all time is Larry Bird. He gave me all the knowledge I had about entering people’s minds,” he disclosed.

Even though Michael Jordan is recognized by many as the best player of all time, he didn’t avoid learning from his predecessors. MJ has already acknowledged his admiration for the legends that came before him and said he used elements of their styles to create his own.

At the height of the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird era, Jordan joined the league in 1984. They still had a lot to learn, but Michael Jordan was displaying the ability to become the next great leader, and everyone saw a new generation in Isiah Thomas.

In this instance, it was the legendary Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, who was among the first to elevate trash talk to a recognized status within the NBA. Larry Legend acknowledged in a Sportscenter interview that the behavior was also taught on the floor.

I learned early in life to strive to take advantage of every opportunity. It boosts my confidence and makes me feel better. And because I can’t support myself as well as I used to, I don’t talk as much as I used to. It energizes me, and I’m not sure if it affects the opponent in any way,” he remarked.

Bird has a 17-11 career win-loss record versus MJ. Few athletes can claim to have defeated Jordan in face-to-face competition. However, in those 28 games, the six-time NBA champion scored 40 points six times, suggesting that although he might have won the scoring contest, the outcome was likely determined by teamwork.

When it mattered most, during their six postseason meetings, Bird dominated Jordan. Once more, in the playoffs against Bird and the Celtics, Jordan scored freely and averaged 39.7 points, but he was unable to lead his team to victory. While MJ was still learning how to succeed with the Chicago Bulls at the time, it appears that Larry Bird also imparted some knowledge to him that would benefit him later in his career.

During their brief tenure together in the NBA, MJ was the pupil and Bird was the teacher. However, after Bird’s retirement and Jordan became the world’s greatest player, His Airness reached new heights when it came to trash-talking his opponents.

There are far too many examples of Jordan mentally killing his opponents to mention here, but his ability to analyze Bird’s trash-talking and combine it with an unwavering will to win created the ideal storm that made most defenders afraid of him whenever they attempted to slow him down.

While Jordan was polite enough to acknowledge that Bird taught him everything he knew about reading an opponent’s mind, most would concur that Bird was the greatest player to have ever retired in that area.