“I’m back.” Michael Jordan made an emphatic announcement while coming out of retirement in 1995. While the Bulls did manage to recreate the three-peat dynasty the next season, 1995 was not exactly his year initially. During a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies, MJ was not at his best. At least not in the first three quarters. But things changed in the final quarter. Thanks to opponents like Darrick Martin, ‘His Airness’ refueled and led to the Bulls to winning the game, which was highly unlikely at one point.

“Shut up, you little bi***,” a fiery response from the 6x NBA champion, towards Darrick Martin. Recapping back to that moment, here is exactly what went down between the NBA legends. The Grizzlies were in their first year after the NBA’s expansion plan in Canada. In the game, Michael Jordan could only score 10 points and the Bulls were trailing 85-78 with just a few minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Martin’s teammate recalled the incident a few years ago and narrated it to Aaron Ross in an interview. “Hey Mike, sh*t’s not falling tonight, Mike. You having an off night.” The second-season guard did not stop there. He even poked the head honcho of the Bulls. “‘Told you, gonna whoop your a** tonight.’ Phil Jackson looks down the bench, he’s like ‘what do you wanna do?’ Michael Jordan sitting on the bench… shoes untied.” Martin recalled in another interview.

What Jordan did was tie his shoes back, return to the floor, and prove to the young team that the No. 23 was still completely down for some action. The fourth quarter was enough for Michael Jordan to prove his stature. He scored 19 in the final quarter and scored a game-high 29 points.

It was a tough game because Chicago was traveling for 6th consecutive game. At one point, it felt like Jordan was forced to rest to avoid further fatigue. But Martin’s words were enough of a fuel that the Bulls star needed. But did you know it was not the first time that the Grizzlies star had a verbal altercation with MJ.

Why did Darrick Martin feel the need to trash-talk Michael Jordan?
Martin had already briefly interacted with the 6x Finals MVP during the shoot of Space Jam. Then, to stay in shape for the upcoming season, MJ built a court and invited many players to practice. Once, the California native Martin also participated and got the better of Jordan in that session. Apart from his hooping skills, he even started dissing the Bulls superstar.

“I said, ‘Michael, you get out of my town. This is my town. You’re not even the real MJ. My man, Magic Johnson, is the MJ.‘” Even called it his “best trash talk ever,” against Michael Jordan. Ultimately, even during the practice, Michael Jordan got the better of him. Yet during the NBA game, he once again felt necessary to talk back to the No. 23.

“As much as I am a player, I am a fan too. I wasn’t a part of many good teams, but I wanted to see greatness. I had to bring that out of Michael too because I wanted to see it.” He even claimed that the Vancouver crowd was there to watch the lore of Michael Jordan because their team was in a rebuilding phase. He wanted to experience the best, and MJ never needed a second invitation to oblige. The experience for Martin indeed came at the heavy expense of losing the game.