Jordan
Just because…
This, without a doubt, is one of my favorite MJ games of all time. Ignoring the fact that it took place when I was all of 3 years old, it has always been very special to me. The 63 that “God disguised as Michael Jordan” hung on a great Celtic team in the ‘86 Playoffs gets all of the pub, but his performance in game 1 of that opening round series is more fun to watch.
What’s amazing is not just his ability to fly, but the quickness he possessed. Dennis Johnson (RIP), one of the greatest defenders of all time, had no chance whatsoever of staying in front of him.
(And to those who claim that Mike didn’t develop a back-to-the-basket game until late in his career, check the insane fallaway at about the 1:50 mark of the video.)
Anyway, enjoy.
(Shoutouts to hoopsencyclopedia who has been uploading classic MJ games onto YouTube. Dude’s got an amazing collection that you could easily waste an entire day on. Believe me, I have.)
44 Responses to “Jordan”
Jun.24 at 3:26 pm
sk says:
WOW(MJ greatest of all-time)…..that’s what Bron should have done against the Spurs …..shoot eertime down the court….HHAHAHAHAH to him letting bowen stop him ahahahahah to ppl thinking Bowen is some kind of defensive GOD…GTFOH
Jun.24 at 3:59 pm
jesse quinn` says:
todays my birthday
Michael jordan will go down tied with lebron as the greatest player ever.
Jun.24 at 4:12 pm
Ryan Jones says:
One thing about Jordan: He’s no Kobe.
Jun.24 at 4:46 pm
mutoni says:
of course not; no one is. (oh, and hi, ryan!)
Jun.24 at 6:06 pm
Joel O's says:
Whoa. Good work, man. I’ve never seen those highlights before, since all people talk about is the 63 pt game, and all the highlight mixes usually show stuff from that game. I was one when this game happened, haha. But I never realized he had such a good jumper so early in his career. “Come Fly With Me” was all dunks and air reverses…
Jun.24 at 6:18 pm
Chris O says:
The more time passes, the more you come to realize how special MJ was. No one’s gonna ever do it like Mike did.
Jun.24 at 6:46 pm
Greased Up Deaf Guy aka Clay Davis says:
i think what jesse quinn meant to say was “player with the greatest hype”
Jun.24 at 9:15 pm
dave says:
this was bound to happen, i’m not comparing the 2007 spurs to the 1986 celtics, different eras, philosophies (apart from winning), etc. but if you compare the defence of those celtics vs the way lebron was covered in this year’s finals, there is no comparison. mj is/was the best, but defence has evolved since then, once he went by one defender, the second guy was usually late, and also they didn’t seem to be bumping him much, i guess the pistons worked that out a couple years later.
Jun.24 at 9:59 pm
the brown guy says:
wow, this jordan guy is good !
Jun.24 at 10:55 pm
white hot eboy says:
To anyone who posts in this column, if you don’t know Black Jesus’ resume from front to back, don’t commment. You just sound asinine with comments like “wow, I didn’t know he had such a good jumper back then”. That’s what college basketball gets you, a COMPLETE game. That’s one of the reasons MJ is considered by many to be the greatest was his fundamentals and his understanding of the game. Something Young Lebron has no grasp of at this point. His physicality is what carries him and that’s great for a while. But against a well-coached team, he was exposed for what he is. A fair shooter, bulldozing driver, fabulous passer, horrible defender, and clueless rebounder. Don’t throw his stats out either because he is the only one on the Cavs that makes plays and plays the most minutes so if he can’t get 20-8-7 a game, he’s really not playing. And he looked like it all Finals long. Go back to MJ’s first finals and see how a true killer TOOK his first title.
Jun.24 at 11:17 pm
RV says:
Does anyone know why and when he tweaked his shot…im thinking it would have been around 88 or 89, you never really hear much about it..
Jun.24 at 11:46 pm
Co Co says:
Who is this Jordan fellow?
Jun.24 at 11:49 pm
Garrett says:
The mechanics of Jordan’s jumper look SO different — his ass is way out, and it looks like he’s really pushing the ball from in front of him. It doesn’t look pretty, but it went in, so hey.
Jun.24 at 11:54 pm
Max Airington says:
To anyone who posts in this column, EARL MONROE was Black Jesus. Not Jordan.
Jun.25 at 12:25 am
DP says:
LEAVE KOBE THE HELL ALONE SLAM! THIS WAS ABOUT JORDAN NOT KOBE. STOP HATIN ON THE MAN ANYWAY. DANG YALL SOME HATERS. PLAY WIT IT.
Jun.25 at 1:23 am
Chukaz says:
We all know that I’m a big Kobe fan, but I’m starting to get tired of him. It’s not like I want to drink some haterade, but Kobe has put a cone on my mouth and forced me to drink that damn haterade. I didn’t want him to get traded because he is the greatest player in today’s game and top 2 all time, but now I don’t want him to get traded because I want him to be unhappy. I hope he desides to sit out ’til he can opt out, so that he won’t get paid.
Jun.25 at 1:27 am
Chukaz says:
Note to Kobe - You are still my favorite player and hope that the Lakers come to their senses and trade Bynum and who ever must be traded to acquier another star.
P.S - Kobe, please keep all your f*ckin’ problems to yourself. I don’t want to know what is going on, unless the Lakers release the info. That way we won’t have to the thinkin’ about the mess you got yourself into.
Jun.25 at 1:44 am
Drolfe says:
Michael Jordan played for the Bulls?
Jun.25 at 1:48 am
Drolfe says:
And LeBron is far from a clueless rebounder.
Jun.25 at 1:54 am
Drolfe says:
And clueless is a dumb adjective for describing rebounding.
Jun.25 at 3:00 am
Chou says:
There ain’t gonna be no “next”.
Jun.25 at 5:53 am
Andrew says:
anyone with answers to RV’s question?
Jun.25 at 6:33 am
white hot eboy says:
@Drolfe, cluess meaning Lebron doesn’t fight for rebound position, doesn’t box out, tracking the flight of the ball, things of that nature. The majority of his rebounds are just misses he gobbles up by being bigger than his offensive match. Not by hard work under the boards which he has the body for.
Jun.25 at 8:09 am
Rome says:
I have been wondering for years why and when Jordan (may my spit be upon him) changed his junp shot too. Just look at how he shot that winning jumper in the championship game with UNC. Butt out, pushing the ball to the rim. Then look at how he shot against Utah in 97-98 game winners, textbook. Who helped him change his shot. Also his body structure changed too. His shoulders got much bigger by the early 90’s. I’ve always heard Jordan (spit upon him) and Scottie Coatails Pippen had some type of secret workout routine that made them be able to play at the level they played at.
Jun.25 at 8:12 am
Rome says:
God I hate him still, just sitting here reading about it, makes me feel bitterness on the inside all over again. The only others even close are Ginobili and Bird.
I hope one day I can take a peice of bread, wipe it around a mens urinal, and rub it in Mikeys face, then force him to eat it!!!!
Jun.25 at 8:14 am
Ryan Jones says:
Thank you, Max.
Jun.25 at 8:48 am
Sesa says:
@Chukaz.
You lived in LA rite? How you gonna feel when Kobe switched jersey?
Jun.25 at 10:35 am
Tom says:
I think Jordan changed the jumper to the textbook style he finished with after his 1st retirement. They used to say in between shoots on Space Jam he had a court set up and would just practice that fadeaway. And he started to bulk up after Detroit kept knocking him on his ass.
Jun.25 at 11:04 am
Max Airington says:
Public service, no thanks required Ryan.
Jun.25 at 11:42 am
Allenp says:
Damn, hating on Lebron is stupid. Whatever he uses to be good, he’s still good. Jordan was way better, but Lebron is no chump.
Jun.25 at 12:05 pm
Max Airington says:
He’s a Heat fan, Allen.
Jun.25 at 12:49 pm
Reggie Evans says:
You really think MJ could have done that against say Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace in their prime? Could any of those Celtics jump a foot off the floor? Could Danny Ainge even defend, say Steve Francis today? Just asking …
Jun.25 at 1:01 pm
J-Smoove says:
to max airington earl monroe was JESUS, white people started trippin and had to name him Black Jesus
Jun.25 at 1:11 pm
Hlop says:
^Yes we’ve all seen that scene in “He Got Game”
Jun.25 at 1:28 pm
Billy Blanks says:
I was just watching “He Got Game” the other day
Jun.25 at 2:18 pm
RV says:
i’m pretty sure jordan had already changed his jumper when he hit those 6 3’s in the Finals before his first retirement
Jun.25 at 2:25 pm
RV says:
And a lot of players bulked up after a few yrs in the league….usually because they stayed away from weights (think durant) early on…there wasn’t a “secret” workout, just a consistent one, the “breakfast club” where they’d workout in the early morning at MJ’s, have breakfast, and then go to the actual team practice later on
Jun.26 at 5:34 am
Boing Dynasty says:
Your saying that Michael Jordan the famous golf/cigar/motorcycle aficionado, use to play basketball?
Jun.26 at 7:26 am
Drolfe says:
RV says:
‘i’m pretty sure jordan had already changed his jumper when he hit those 6 3’s in the Finals before his first retirement’
Okay thanks, can you give me some more Jordan obscure moments hardly anyone has heard of? I’m working out a timeline here. Don’t worry about specific years, just let me know if it’s pre or post his first retirement. We’ll get the the bottom of this tweaked jumper thing.
Jun.26 at 9:43 am
Mark Shehady says:
Jordan is great ballplayer. But ever since Lebron James I always Thoughtthathe may better.
Jun.26 at 2:00 pm
J-Smoove says:
as tight as those videos were, i’d still watch kobe’s 62 in three quarters and 81 point game anytime. mj dominated but kobe’s 62 and 81 was jus cold-blooded
Jul.12 at 5:07 pm
Mark Shehady says:
Where do you think Kobe get’s his moves. Here’s a hint it’s not MJ not Magic not Bird. It’s his father. His father was a good player but not as good as his son. His son is proabley is the best scorer since Wilt Chahmberlain. MJ got his moves from his older brother Larry. Magic got his moves from Dr.J. Last but not least Bird got his moves from Pistol ‘Pete Maravich’. There’s alot of players that can be better than MJ.If you just give players such as Lebron James,Kobe Bryant,Dwayne Wade even no.2 draft pick Kevin Durant. Just give them some time.
Aug.16 at 6:20 pm
thenextLBJ23 says:
i would never say anyone could be the next jordan because no one will ever be able to walk the same nitch that jordan carved and no athlete past,present,or future will have the impact that jordan had on society
Feb.15 at 3:31 pm
Nick says:
Jordan no Kobe? Kobe is no Jordan, and as for the LeBron comparisons, dont even go there. Jordan is by far the best player to ever step foot on a court.