It goes without saying that Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. His Airness had numerous phenomenal games that left basketball fans speechless. But what was his single greatest moment? When was his career truly defined? Some argue it was the flu game, others argue it was his play in Game 6 of the ’98 Finals. I offer a different view.
Lets relive some of Michael Jordan’s greatest moments.
The Flu Game
It was Game 7 of the ’97 Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz and the series was tied up. Unfortunately for the Bulls, Michael Jordan was diagnosed with a stomach virus. In true MJ fashion, not even this could keep him off the court this night. The Jazz controlled the game early by taking a 16 point lead but thanks to Jordan’s heroic effort and scoring 17 in the second quarter the Bulls found new life in the game. Finally, with less than a minute to go, the game was tied up and Jordan hit a three to give the Bulls the lead and ultimately the victory.
“The Shot”
It was the ’89 Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Bulls were seen as the underdogs in the matchup. Jordan nails a jumper with six seconds left to give the Bulls a 99-98 lead but the Cavs quickly answer back with a layup to regain the lead 100-99. Chicago calls a timeout with three seconds left. Jordan fought off a double team on the inbound and hit the game winning jumper over Craig Ehlo, giving the sports world one of the most iconic images in NBA history.
His Truly Greatest Moment
Both of these moments helped showcases Michael Jordan’s clutch factor and further proved the point he is one of the greatest to ever play the game, but his greatest moment came during a game where the sake of the universe was on the line in ’96.
Jordan had recently retired from basketball and was pursuing his career in professional baseball. Then one day while on the golf course he somehow got sucked through one of the holes on one the greens and entered into a virtual universe. From here he was recruited to play for the Tune Squad.
The Tune Squad was playing the Monstars in a game that would decide the universe. With only 10 seconds to go, the Monstars looked to inbound the ball but thanks to the defensive specialty from Daffy Duck, a turnover was created. Bill Murray picked up the loose ball and made his way up the court and hit a behind the back pass to Jordan. Jordan struggled to look for open space but was able to find Lola Bunny open and dished her the ball. Lola, being pressured by a double team, tried getting a pass off to Daffy Duck but was blocked by the Monstars. With the ball loose, Bugs Bunny was able to make a heads up play and scoop up the ball and get it back to Murray. Murray faked a defender then finally found Jordan. Jordan took a long leap from half court where he was tackled in mid-air by two defenders but, through some strange phenomenon, was able to stretch his arm long enough to drop the ball into the basket and give the Tune Squad the 78-77 win over the Monstars, one of the greatest clutch plays ever in the history of sports.
Also check out this great 30/30 on the game.
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