OJ Mayo Talked Trash to Michael Jordan in 2006, Got Schooled
Young players who have made a habit out of talking smack to opponents might want to re-think what they're doing.
Especially if their opponent's initials are M.J.
In 2006, a young OJ Mayo attended a basketball camp run by Michael Jordan. Jordan revealed in an promotional interview for NBA 2K14 that Mayo was basically running his mouth off in camp:
"I’m playing in my camp against OJ Mayo — he was a top high school kid coming out. I had never met him — first time. In front of my camp, he starts this thing about ‘you can’t guard me, you can’t do this.’"
A little bit teed off, Jordan sent the rest of his campers to their quarters and resumed playing with Mayo.
"Finally I just said ‘you may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world.’ So from this point on, it’s a lesson. And from that point on, it was a lesson. He never won a game. I posted him up, I did everything,” Jordan said.
Mayo was named Ohio Mr. Basketball for two straight years before moving to West Virginia for his last year of high school. After the NBA concluded a collective bargaining agreement with the NBA Players' Association in 1997 that stipulated a one-year-out-of-high-school rule, Mayo committed to USC over Kansas State and Florida. As a freshman, Mayo was named All-Pac 10 first team and carried his team to the NCAA Tournament. However, after it was reported that he received improper benefits, including gifts from Bill Duffy Associates, the NCAA forfeited Mayo's amateur status prior to enrolling at USC. All 21 of USC's wins were also vacated.
After being drafted by Memphis in 2008, he averaged 18.5 points in his rookie year, but his production tapered off until he was signed by Dallas in 2012, where he was good for 15 points a game. In true journeyman fashion, he became an unrestricted free agent in 2013 and signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he is expected to compete for playing time with Gary Neal and Carlos Delfino.