Who is the best trash talker in sports history?

Words before the bell, words during the game, words at the microphone afterwards. Loudest is not automatically best.

1

Muhammad Ali

The heavyweight champion who rhymed his predictions and made the pre-fight press conference part of the sport.

2

Conor McGregor

The Irish fighter whose promotional tours often drew more attention than the fights themselves.

3

Michael Jordan

A relentless in-game needler who used slights, real or invented, as fuel.

4

Larry Bird

The Celtics forward who told opponents where he would shoot from before shooting.

5

Deion Sanders

Prime Time backed up a constant stream of talk in both the NFL and MLB.

6

Charles Barkley

Outspoken as a player and louder as a broadcaster.

7

Chael Sonnen

The UFC middleweight who built a title shot almost entirely out of interviews.

8

Floyd Mayweather

Turned Money into a persona that sold pay-per-views by the million.

9

Richard Sherman

The Seahawks cornerback whose post-game interview after the 2014 NFC Championship became instant folklore.

10

Serena Williams

Rarely loud, but her on-court answers to doubters were their own form of talk.

11

Kevin Garnett

One of the NBA's most feared talkers for two decades.

12

Reggie Miller

Made a career of silencing arenas and telling them about it.

13

Nick Kyrgios

Tennis' loudest modern voice, on court and off it.

14

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The striker who spoke about himself in the third person and made it work.