Michael Jordan never forgot a slight on the court.
He definitely didn't in the 1996 NBA Finals, when Gary Payton tried to bring Air Jordan down to earth, and MJ made Payton's team pay the ultimate price.
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Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller learned the hard way not to go too far with Jordan.
Payton did just that in '96, when the Seattle SuperSonics were at their Shawn Kemp-era peak, but MJ was still MJ and truly becoming the NBA's GOAT.
"The Glove. I had no problem with The Glove," Jordan famously said in ESPN's The Last Dance documentary. "I had no problem with Gary Payton."
But he temporarily did in the 1996 Finals, when Seattle was a strong and athletic 64-win team that was trying to overcome the 72-win Chicago Bulls.
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Payton directly went at Jordan, attempting to gain a mental advantage.
As dynamic as Jordan was with the ball in hand and flying through the air, he also was a fierce defender with a no-holds barred mentality.
Payton also was a supreme defender, making nine All-Defensive teams and being named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1995-96.
So when Payton tried to rough up Jordan and threw him to the hardwood, Jordan quickly decided he'd had enough.
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"Jordan is practically thrown on the ground and no foul. Imagine if that happened today?" one fan posted.
"The physicality of the game is so impressive," a second fan wrote. "These guys went to battle, night in and night out. Different era."
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"This was when the NBA was really worth watching," a third fan commented.
"Jordan able to score that many points in that physical era is crazy," a fourth fan said.
Chicago won the series 4-2 but it took a real fight.
After grabbing a 3-0 lead -- similar to the Boston Celtics' advantage over the Dallas Mavericks entering Friday -- the Sonics rallied to win back-to-back games, including Game 4 via a 21-point home blowout.
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"A lot of people backed down to Mike. I didn't," Payton said. "I made it a point, I said, 'Tire him out. Tire the f*** out of him. You just gotta tire him out.'
"I kept hitting him and banging him and hitting him and banging him -- it took a toll on Mike.
"The series changed, and I wish I could have did it earlier."
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With Jordan having returned to the NBA after a brief stint playing Minor League Baseball, the Bulls legend wasn't going to let the smaller Payton prevent him from continuing Chicago's dynasty.
Jordan later laughed out loud as he heard Payton's confident words.
"I had a lot of other things on my mind," Jordan said.
One of those was winning his fourth world title.
Two more rings followed as Air Jordan dominated the NBA like no one before or since.
To complete his second three-peat, Jordan first had to get back at Payton in the NBA Finals and remind The Glove that he shouldn't have disrespected The GOAT.
