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Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
Topics: NBA, Basketball, Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Ryan Baldi
Michael Jordan famously held his teammates to high standards during his illustrious NBA career. But there was one former teammate who was broken by MJ's brutal trash talk.
Widely regarded to be the greatest NBA player of all time, Jordan was a six-time NBA champion and was named the league's Most Valuable Player five times.
An expert scorer and an intense defender, there were few holes in Jordan's game. And the Chicago Bulls icon expected high levels of performance from his colleagues, too.
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Over the years, Jordan had enjoyed rocky relationships with teammates due to his forthright brand of leadership. He once even came to blows with Steve Kerr during a practice session.
But while Kerr and others learned to thrive within the highly charged atmosphere Jordan would create, Rodney McCray struggled.
A 6ft 7ins small forward, McCray was the third overall pick in the 1983 NBA draft – the same stage at which Jordan was selected by the Bulls the following year – and carved out a reputation as am outstanding defender across spells with the Houston Rockets, Sacremento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
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He signed for the Bulls in 1992, but despite his past pedigree, McCray failed to live up to Jordan's standards. A former Chicago teammate remembered one altercation on the practice court that saw Jordan unleash a harsh trash-talk tirade at the Bulls' new arrival.
"He's the most viciously competitive player I've ever seen. That's what makes him, I think, the greatest player ever. He has practically ruined [reserve forward] Rodney McCray for us," said an unnamed source in a story reported by Sports Illustrated.
"[Jordan] is in Rodney's face, screaming, 'You're a loser! You've always been a loser!' Rodney can hardly put up a jumper now."
McCray went on to win an NBA title with the Bulls in the 1992-93 season, as Jordan and co, completed a "three-peat" of back-to-back-to-back championships. But he was a minimal contributor, averaging just 15.9 minutes and 3.5 points per game – averages that dropped to 5.3 and 0.6 respectively in the play-offs. McCray retired at the end of the campaign, aged just 31.