The Legend Started With A Game-Winning Shot
The championship winning shot vs. Georgetown | March 29, 1982
There's no doubt about the top moment in Jordan's UNC career. This gem came in the waning seconds of the 1982 national championship game against Georgetown. Then a freshman, Jordan took a pass on the left side of the court and connected on a 16-foot jumper with about 15 seconds left to give UNC a 63-62 lead over the Patrick Ewing-led Hoyas. Seconds later, UNC's James Worthy came up with the game-clinching steal to seal the Tar Heels' first national title since 1957. Jordan finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in giving basketball fans a look at what to expect over the next two decades.
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The Legendary Dunk From The Free Throw Line
1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest | February 6, 1988
The NBA All-Star weekend was held in Chicago, Illinois and Michael Jordan was coming off his first Slam Dunk Contest win from the previous year, but rival Dominique Wilkins would have something to say about that with plans of coming into Mike’s home city and stealing the crown. What resulted was one of the most spectacular dunk showcases and has become a classic ever since.
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The Shot
1989 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs vs. Cleveland | May 7, 1989
It came down to the closing seconds, he had the ball with the game on the line. Starting from the right side, he dribbled toward the key and rose up for a jumper from inside the circle. Craig Ehlo, one of Cleveland's top defenders, leaped out to block the shot, but he seemed to hang in the air until Ehlo was out of his way, then released his shot. As the ball nestled through the net, he pumped his fists in jubilation, completing a video highlight for the ages.
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The Jordan Rules
1991 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs
By the time the 1991 postseason came around, the Bulls were clicking on all cylinders and their newfound confidence to beat the Pistons, whether it was in Chicago and Detroit, was put to the test. The Bulls responded by promptly winning the first three games of their Eastern Conference Finals series. Following Chicago’s Game 3 win in Detroit, he went off to the media about the Pistons, labeling them as an unprofessional, classless team. When the Pistons walked off the court before time expired in Chicago’s Game 4 series clinching victory without congratulating or acknowledging the Bulls, it only backed up his words.
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He Wins It All
1991 NBA Finals vs. Lakers | June 12, 1991
The 1991 NBA Finals was billed as a matchup between two larger-than-life superstars, him and Magic Johnson. But as the series played out, it became obvious that it took a team, not one superlative individual, to win an NBA Championship. He was superb, as his series averages of 31.2 points, 11.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds demonstrated, but the Bulls were no one-man team. Their defense held the Lakers to a record-low 458 points for a five-game series. He, who had won his fifth straight scoring title in April, had finally silenced those who said he couldn't lead the Bulls all the way.
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The First Three-Peat
1993 NBA Finals vs. Phoenix | June 9, 1993
All eyes were on him as he prepared to inbound the ball with 14.4 seconds remaining in regulation of the 1993 NBA Finals’ Game 6. Jordan fed the ball to B.J. Armstrong, who promptly returned it. He quickly pushed the ball across halfcourt and found Scottie Pippen, who flashed to the top of the key, an action known as the “blind pig.” Pippen turned and drove to the basket, but the Phoenix defense collapsed and he sent the ball in Horace Grant’s direction as he slashed towards the basket from the baseline. In one fluid motion, Grant turned to his right and kicked the ball out to Paxson, waiting behind the three-point line in solitary. As the clock continued to count down – six… five… four… – Paxson caught the ball, lined up, and calmly drilled the biggest shot of his life.
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Two Words: I'm Back
1995 NBA Season vs. Indiana | March 19, 1995
When the Bulls landed in Indianapolis, separate from him, Myers remembers fans waiting outside the airport fence gate—even older women wanting to get a peek at the team. Basketball-wise, the planning was simple: Start him, run the Triangle, get the ball to him.
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This is for Daddy
1996 NBA Finals vs. Supersonics | June 16, 1996
Unlike most of his memorable games in past playoffs, the most memorable image from this game wasn’t one of a game-winner, a breath taking dunk, or anything on the court; the most memorable image was him crying on the locker room floor after the game. The reason why he collapsed on the floor and was so emotional after the win was because it was Father’s Day and this was his first championship since his father's murder in 1993.
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The Last Shot
1998 NBA Finals vs. Utah | June 14, 1998
The setting was Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Utah. The shot was a 17 footer with 5.2 seconds left to give the Bulls a 87-86 lead. “When the crowd gets quiet, the moment is there,” Said Jordan. “Once you get into the moment, when you know you are there, things start to get quiet, and you start to the read the court very well. When Russell reached, I knew the moment was there.” The moment was a storybook ending so many Chicago Bulls fans wanted: A game-winning shot that gave him 45 points and the Bulls a second 3-peat and their 6th NBA Championship in the 1990s.
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