Jordan, like Bird before him, understood two things that, on the face of it, would not seem to go together. He knew he was the face not only of the NBA, but bluntly of all professional sports. And so he always seemed willing to sit down after games with the national play-by-play guys and give them whatever they needed to be the ambassador of the sport.
But as for trash-talking, again like Bird before him, what he showed was a cocksuredness that was indeed aimed at his opponent. To tell an opponent exactly what you are going to do - and then do it - is not my idea of trash-talking. To be clear, some true trash-talkers rarely talk about stuff on the court - that kind of garbage I have no patience for.
But even though I wasn't a great fan of either, I respect them both for being able to do all they did. I will never forget the night the Bird-led Celtics and the Magic-led Lakers were going to square off in a regular season game (for about the 60th time). But that night, Magic was out - he couldn't play - and I don't even remember why, because I know that, aside from his ACL in his second pro season, that didn't happen often. But Bird went up to him before the game, and said, at least initially in a serious tone, "Guy, I'm so sorry you can't play tonight - it would've been a great match-up for the fans. But I'm gonna make it up to you. I'm gonna go out tonight and score 40 points in your honor." And, of course, he did.
