While there may be some contenders for the throne, many people don't question Michael Jordan's standing as the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball. With his GOAT status, Jordan built a career with countless classic moments, clutch shots, high-flying dunks, and, of course, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.
With the first episodes of “The Last Dance” set to air, let's take a look back at some of Michael Jordan's greatest moments of all time.
Michael Jordan introduces himself to the Celtics
Michael Jordan did not waste time in making an immediate impact for the Bulls in his rookie season. Jordan became one of the most exciting young stars in the league en route to winning Rookie of the Year.
In Year 2, Jordan suffered a broken foot early in the season. This forced him to miss the majority of his sophomore campaign, but he came back just in time for the playoffs.
Jordan and the Bulls faced the eventual champions, the 1986 Boston Celtics, in the first round. In Game 2, Jordan delivered the first iconic game of his career. He set the NBA record for most points in a playoff game with 63 points in the double-overtime thriller. The Bulls lost the game and eventually got swept in the series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcU5Q_f4mYU
However, this iconic game certainly marked the birth of a superstar in Chicago.
First championship
For the first six seasons of his career, Jordan failed to reach his goal of winning the NBA championship. In previous seasons, the Bad Boy Pistons got the best of his Bulls. In 1991, however, Chicago broke through that barrier and advanced to the NBA Finals to face Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Magic had dominated the 1980s with five NBA championships. However, this Finals series signaled a passing of the torch of sorts, with the Bulls beating the Lakers in five games after losing Game 1. Jordan finally won his first ring and kickstarted his run of dominance through the 1990s.
One of the highlights of the 1991 Finals was Jordan's iconic switcheroo layup that gave us one of Marv Albert's historic calls: “A spectacular move by Michael Jordan!”
The Shrug
In their quest for a back-to-back title, Michael Jordan opened the 1992 NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers with a flurry. A career 32.7 percent shooter from beyond the arc, the Bulls superstar uncharacteristically buried six 3-pointers in the first half, an NBA Finals record at the time. He also set the Finals record for most points in a half with 35.
When he knocked down his sixth triple of the half, Jordan, shocked by his unusually good touch from the outside, brought out his iconic shrug as Cliff Robinson looked on in dismay.
Flu Game
Michael Jordan entered the pivotal Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals with a bad case of the flu. As soon as he entered the arena, the Bulls superstar certainly looked out of it. This was the perfect opportunity for the home team, the Utah Jazz, to take advantage and secure a 3-2 series lead to move within one win of their first NBA title.
Instead, Jordan turned in one of his most iconic games despite nursing his illness. He played 44 minutes and scored 38 points while making some clutch plays down the stretch to give Chicago the series lead. This game gave us one of the most memorable images of Jordan when his partner-in-crime Scottie Pippen carried his broken down body to the bench after pouring his heart out to will the Bulls to the victory.
The title-clinching shot in 1998
Certainly, Jordan's most spectacular moment is capping off his sixth NBA championship with an iconic game-winner. Nobody could have written it any better.
Down by a point with the clock winding down, Jordan sized up Bryon Russell and drove to the middle of the lane. The Bulls superstar gave Russell a nice little love tap, stopped on a dime, rose up, and buried the go-ahead bucket.
Bob Costas was on the call: “Jordan, open. Chicago with the lead! If that's the last image of Michael Jordan, how magnificent is it.”
Unfortunately, this didn't become MJ's final shot ever as he played two seasons with the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s. Nonetheless, we'd still like to believe that this is our lasting image of the greatest of all time.
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