'Don't you ever talk about me publicly again' - When Michael Jordan dominated trash-talker after playing golf all day

For most fans, the legendary tales of the Dream Team began when they arrived in Barcelona, but for the players, the story started much earlier—during the Tournament of the Americas. Held in Portland that year, the tournament brought together 10 teams from the Americas region to compete for the four final spots in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Unsurprisingly, while some stars on Chuck Daly's team saw those initial games as a warmup contest, for Michael Jordan, they were much more intense—an opportunity to showcase his zeal to be the best. Charles Barkley later shared a striking example of how seriously MJ took that tournament, recalling how the five-time MVP even exacted revenge on a Puerto Rican player.

Barkley's story about Jordan

Given the sheer star power of Daly's team, every scrimmage session was already a feisty showdown. Moreover, as the group sailed through victories in each of their first four group-stage games in the tournament, most players took the chance to unwind off the court, particularly by playing a round of golf.

For Mike, however, these moments were just another opportunity to dominate his peers. So when David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Daly, and Jordan hit the gold course on the morning of their semifinal game against Puerto Rico, 18 holes were enough for everyone except the 6'6" shooting guard.

Not satisfied, the 14-time All-Star chose to push himself further by playing another round, keeping his competitive spirit at its highest.

"We go play, we play 18, and Chuck says, 'Ok, that was a great time,' and Michael says, 'Nah, I'm going to play another 18,'" Barkley recalled during his appearance on John Calipari's Coffee with Cal. "I'm like Michael, we got a game tonight. He says, 'Chuck, I'll be fine, blah blah blah.'"

MJ was hellbent on getting his revenge

Most of his teammates assumed that after wearing himself out on the golf course, Jordan would likely take it easy during the game. But that was far from the truth.

Instead, Mike informed Daly that he intended to guard Puerto Rico's point guard after he made derogatory comments about Jordan in a newspaper in the pre-game build-up. Unsurprisingly, this shocked every player in the locker room.

"We're getting ready for the game, and Chuck says, 'Charles, you got this guy. Scottie, you got this guy, and then Michael, you got this... he says, 'Nah, I got him.' It was the point guard from Puerto Rico, and Cuck says, 'He's the point guard, Michael.' Michael looks at him and says, 'I said I got him. I read something he said about me in the newspaper, and I got him,'" Barkley added. "The whole room's like, dude, you just played 36 holes of golf, and you're going to guard the point guard?"

True to his habit of using slights as fuel for his game, Jordan brought his absolute best. According to "The Round Mound of Rebound," the Chicago Bulls guard completely shut him down, refusing to even let the player dribble. Adding insult to injury, MJ peppered his lockdown defense with relentless trash talk, ensuring his opponent knew exactly who was in charge.

"He's talking to the guy the whole time like, 'Hey, don't you ever talk about me publicly again. I'm Michael Jordan, don't you ever talk about me,'" "Sir Charles" concluded.

Mike didn't only care about winning the game—he wanted to dominate. Luckily for the USA Basketball, he kept that same energy throughout the Olympics, leading Team USA to a gold medal in one of the most dominant basketball runs ever.