Voshon Lenard witnessed firsthand Michael Jordan's ability to remember everything from previous games and use it as motivation for the next time they would face off.
It started in the playoffs
The 1997 Eastern Conference Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat was a series between the top two seeds. The Bulls had a 3-0 series lead, and it looked like they were going to sweep their way to the NBA Finals, but MJ went 0-of-11 from the field in the first half of Game 4. As a matter of fact, it took him 15 field goal attempts before he finally scored a bucket from the field.
Lenard thought he had something to do with Jordan's struggles, and while MJ turned it up a bit towards the end and finished with 29 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-35 shooting, the Heat's lead was just too big for the Bulls to come back from. The Heat won 87-80 to avoid getting swept, but the Bulls bounced back in Game 5 to close out the series with a 100-87 win.
Jordan had 28 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks on 11-of-31 shooting in Game 5, but his revenge on Lenard didn't occur then. MJ got his payback in 1998.
Lenard upset Jordan again
Lenard sealed his fate when the Bulls visited the Heat on January 7, 1998. At one point, the Heat had a 25-point lead, and he trash-talked Jordan once the game was out of reach for the Bulls.
The Heat beat the Bulls 99-72 in Miami, but as Jordan is known for taking mental notes on his opponents, on March 10th, 1998, Lenard learned the hard way not to trash-talk Jordan.
Jordan gave Lenard an earful from the jump, telling him "You can't guard me, not tonight! Why are you even trying?"
MJ backed up that trash talk, leading the Bulls to a 106-91 home win. He had a game-high 37 points with four rebounds and four assists on 17-of-30 shooting, while Lenard finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists on 2-of-8 shooting and 0-of-3 from three-point range.
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