“Better scream for mama!” - Michael Jordan once schooled high school phenom OJ Mayo for trash-talking him

07/03/2023

MJ once taught a trash-talking OJ Mayo a valuable lesson.

Believe it or not, there was one point in OJ Mayo’s basketball career when he was the best player in the nation.

At the age of 17, Mayo was considered the best high school player in the United States and probably the best young player the world. He was the most hyped prospect since Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James and commanded crowds of up to 16,000 during his HS games.

Anyway, there was this story when Mayo attended ’s Flight Camp at USBC. Because he was the best player in his class, he began trash-talking everybody, including MJ himself. This caused His Airness to stop the action at the training camp and deal with Mayo’s big mouth by joining a five-on-five game on the opposing side of Mayo.

Jordan would later confirm that he schooled Mayo at one of his camps, telling reporters that these stories were not rumors but . With the cat out of the bag, Mayo later admitted to being schooled by MJ, and he even gave a version of the game.

Here is OJ Mayo’s :

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No question, Mayo was a young buck with a chance to go to the top. Not only did he have a chance to go to the top, but he also had the goods to go there. Unfortunately, he ended up as a massive bust.

Mayo was a Massive Bust

After high school, played one season at USC before declaring for the NBA Draft. He was selected 3rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2008 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft day for Kevin Love. He had a good rookie season, as he finished behind Derrick Rose in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

But then Mayo wasted away his NBA career with one blunder after another. In 2016, he was flagged by the league for a drug violation. As a repeat offender, he was dismissed from the NBA and meted out a two-year ban. He was eligible for reinstatement during the 2018-19 NBA season but was not picked up by any team and ended up playing overseas.

Now 35, Mayo plays for the Zamalek Basketball Club in the Egyptian Basketball Federation, his 6th team since returning from his NBA ban. Although Mayo is still lucky to have a job right now, he could have been a star in the NBA if he kept his head above water and stay out of trouble.