Talking trash a quick way to eat crow
Martin even made a basket to give Vancouver an eight-point lead with only two minutes left in the game. But then he made a big mistake. He ran by Jordan and opened his big mouth.

“I said, ‘I told you we were going to beat your butts tonight,” said Martin, recalling the fateful words he uttered in 1996.

That was all Jordan needed to hear. He retied his shoes, took the towel from his neck and checked back into the game.

“He walks right over to me, with that trademark walk of his, and he goes, ‘Little man, I told you about talking trash to me,’ ” Martin says with a laugh.

And then Jordan went out and scored the next nine points to beat the Grizzlies. There was no moral to the story for the Raptors backup guard. Martin was always a trash talker, and he still is. For him, the talking is about trying to be at his best, and challenging his opponent to be at their best — even if they already are the best –like Jordan.

“When I talked trash to Magic [Johnson] and Jordan it was because I wanted them to play,” Martin said. “I wanted them to bring their best. I wanted to see what made them great so I could learn from that.

“And when they locked in and focused, you could see it.”