NBA
10 Greatest Plays of Michael Jordan’s Career
Michael Jordan is considered the Greatest of All-Time and has many legendary plays, but here are the top-10
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With ESPN airing the ultimate Jordan 30 for 30 documentary “The Last Dance” it’s the perfect time to compile a list of the Top 10 plays of Michael Jordan’s exceptional career. Check out the greatest plays from the greatest athlete of all-time below.
WHEN: Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 on June 1, 1989
WHERE: Chicago Stadium (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: Detroit Pistons
Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 for the first time since 1975 (and the first time in MJ’s career), but their season was ended by Detroit for the second straight year. MJ did however manage to convert this backwards layup in the midst of attempting to spark a comeback late in the 3rd quarter of Game 1.
WHEN: Regular season game on January 5, 1991
WHERE: Chicago Stadium (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: Cleveland Cavaliers
During a regular season matchup between the Bulls and the Cavs, MJ hit an incredible over-the-shoulder flip as Craig Ehlo is victimized again by ‘his Airness’. This time however, it wasn’t to send the Bulls to the Finals but just en route to another regular season victory.
WHEN: Regular season game on November 8, 1984
WHERE: Madison Square Garden (New York City, NY)
VS. WHO: New York Knicks
The Bulls routed the Knicks 121-106 before a crowd of 19,252 in Jordan’s first rookie appearance at Madison Sqaure Garden, the Mecca of Basketball. Jordan completely transformed a franchise that won only 85 of 242 games the previous three seasons (’80-’83) before his arrival. Thanks to Jordan’s instant impact, the Bulls started the season 5-2 after defeating the Knicks.
WHEN: Regular season game on February 16, 1989
WHERE: Chicago Stadium (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bulls were down one with nine seconds left as the Bucks were inbounding the ball. Thanks to an errant pass by the Bucks inbounder, Pippen was able to corral the ball and get it to MJ. Jordan made his way up the court with in-and-out dribbles as well as crossovers to pull up from 18 feet and nail the dagger. MJ ended up with 50 points on 16-26 shooting from the field, while pulling down eight rebounds, dishing out five assists, and posting three steals as he dominated this game in every capacity.
WHEN: 1997 NBA Finals Game 1 on June 1, 1997
WHERE: United Center (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: Utah Jazz
The first game of the 1997 NBA Finals came down to the final play where Jordan rose to the occasion on the grandest stage. He settled in on the left wing and delivered the shot that gave the Bulls a thrilling 84-82 win. Jordan used a crossover dribble to get free of Bryon Russell “Jordan got the ball, time was running down and he hit a great shot with my hand in his face,” said Russell. “He did what Michael Jordan is known for — backbreakers.”
WHEN: Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round Game 3 on April 30, 1991
WHERE: Madison Square Garden (New York City, NY)
VS. WHO: New York Knicks
The Bulls swept the Knicks 3-0 in the first round of the 1991 NBA playoffs. The most iconic play from this series was Jordan’s emphatic dunk over All-Star Center Patrick Ewing. Jordan would work the baseline, go around John Starks and former teammate Charles Oakley, then slam it over the leaping Patrick Ewing, whom Jordan had many battles with throughout his career. MJ finished with 33 points, seven assists and a whopping SIX steals in the series-clinching win.
WHEN: 1991 NBA Finals Game 2 on June 5, 1991
WHERE: Chicago Stadium (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: Los Angeles Lakers
Jordan took one left-handed dribble toward the hoop and powerfully leaped into the air with the basketball extended in front of him. It appeared that MJ would throw down a tomahawk jam, but when Lakers big man Sam Perkins appeared in his sight, Jordan switched the ball from his right hand to his left, and instead of a dunk, he finished with an acrobatic layup off the glass.
Jordan was asked about the play postgame: “I saw a clear lane to the basket, so I was going to dunk the ball. But then I saw long-arms Sam Perkins there and it was just instinct to change it. And I changed it to my left hand and was able to get it off.” The Bulls would even the series 1-1 with a 107-86 victory over Magic and the Lakers. They went on to win the next four consecutive games as Michael Jordan finally became a NBA champion.
WHEN: Regular season game on February 16, 1991
WHERE: Chicago Stadium (Chicago, IL)
VS. WHO: New Jersey Nets
This play is peak “Air” Jordan. With a full head of steam at the rim, Jordan maneuvered his way through FOUR Nets players to finish a highly contested reverse layup in traffic. Out of all of MJ’s legendary acrobatic finishes, they don’t get more impressive than this. Almost half of the plays on this list came in the year 1991.
WHEN: Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round Game 5 on May 7, 1989
WHERE: Richfield Coliseum (Cleveland, OH)
VS. WHO: Cleveland Cavaliers
After the Bulls called timeout to advance the ball, Jordan was double-teamed by Larry Nance and Craig Ehlo before the inbounds came. He quickly shook Nance off with a right to left crossover that put Craig Ehlo on ball. MJ quickly accelerated to the free throw line where he would stop on a dime and nail “The Shot” to send the Bulls into the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs to face the New York Knicks.
Jordan finished the winner-take-all game with 44 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. It was one of the few shots in NBA history that clinched a series victory at the buzzer. Chicago advanced to the second round with the 101-100 victory, but the Bulls would eventually to lose to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. Bulls HC Doug Collins described the team’s strategy on the final play in the postgame press conference as “Get the ball to Michael… Everybody else get the fuck out of the way.”
WHEN: 1998 NBA Finals Game 6
WHERE: Delta Center (Salt Lake City, UT)
VS. WHO: Utah Jazz
With 18.9 seconds left and the Jazz in possession, Jordan read Utah’s play and stole the ball from Karl Malone in the low post. He dribbled down the court with Bryon Russell guarding him as time wound down. MJ drove inside the 3-point line, executed a quick cross-over, cleverly pushing off Russell (no foul was called). The GOAT then hit a 20-footer to give the Bulls an 87–86 lead with 5.2 seconds left.
Utah called timeout to set up the final play of the game. John Stockton took the inbound pass, and missed a game-winning 3-pointer, and the Bulls celebrated their sixth championship title. This was Jordan’s 25th game winning shot for the Bulls as well as the final shot he took with the only Franchise he had played with up to that point.
Not all of MJ’s legendary plays could make the cut, but here are all the Game-Winners from the career of the most clutch basketball player in the history of the game.
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