'Look, little guy….I told you about talking trash to me' - When Darrick Martin trash-talked Michael Jordan and paid the price

Michael Jordan's legendary competitive drive was so intense that opponents often traded carefully to avoid provoking him unnecessarily. It was believed that a team stood a better chance of beating the Chicago Bulls if Mike didn't make it his personal mission to humble its players. However, the consequences were unforgiving for those who still dared, like Darrick Martin.

When the 5'11" point guard recurrently made it his habit of trash-talking "His Airness," the latter delivered a strong performance to remind Martin why he was regarded as the GOAT even after his hiatus from the NBA.

Darrick trash-talked MJ at the Jordan Dome

When "Mr. Air" contemplated returning to the NBA, he was busy shooting the movie Space Jam. So, during the shoot, Warner Bros. constructed the now famous "Jordan Dome," a state-of-the-art facility where NBA players constantly participated in high-intensity pickup games with the 6'6" shooting guard.

Knowing that he wasn't in his best shape, Jordan prioritized calling younger players to the Dome to drain himself out and attain peak form. Martin was also invited, who, on one occasion, audaciously took his confidence far by reminding Mike that he would never be the league's premier superstar like Magic Johnson.

"I commence to talking the best trash ever," Martin said. "He said. 'Michael, you get out of my town. You're not even the real MJ. My man Magic Johnson is the MJ.' I'm just going on and on."

Mike put Martin in her rightful place

Fast forward to November 30, when the Chicago Bulls faced the Grizzlies early in Vancouver's 1995-96 season. With the home team taking an early lead, Martin didn't hesitate to trash-talk Jordan again, perhaps emboldened by his team's momentum. At the time, MJ was on the bench, shoes untied, and a towel draped over his head as he failed to find his form - shooting 4-of-16 from the field until that point.

"Last two minutes of the game, I went by, made a lay-up, got an and-one, and put us up, I believe, eight," Martin recalled. "So I walked by the bench and told (Jordan), 'Hey, I told you we were gonna beat you tonight.'"

However, after hearing Martin's audacious remarks, Jordan glanced at his coach, Phil Jackson, checked back into the game, and unleashed his fury. Put simply, he made it his mission to beat the Grizzlies and put the UCLA stud into his rightful place.

The six-time Finals MVP scored a game-high 29 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the field, along with three steals to orchestrate a fourth-quarter comeback. The Bulls outscored the Grizzlies by eight points to secure a 94-88 win. Most importantly, he reminded Martin why he was the undisputed GOAT, who always kept the payback receipts with him.

"As he scored the game-winner, so to speak, he's looking at the bench. I was on the bench on the time," Martin concluded. "He's like, 'Look, little guy….I told you about talking trash to me.'"

While Darrick could've gone down as one of the rare few who trash-talked "His Airness" during his prime years. Nevertheless, his failure to realize why he shouldn't overstep boundaries against the 14-time All-Star simply made his instance a cautionary tale for anyone daring to test Michael Jeffrey Jordan.