MAY 7, 1989 MICHAEL JORDAN
Michael Jordan. His name is synonymous with basketball superstardom. He is arguably the greatest of the greats and unquestionably the best-known athlete in the world. He has inspired countless young basketball hopefuls to work their hardest to achieve their dreams.
A highlight reel of Jordan’s best shots usually includes monstrous dunks, gravity-defying jumpers, and buzzer-beating baskets. But of all these, one stands out as the cream of the crop. That one is called, simply, “The Shot.”
Jordan had had plenty of outstanding moments and hit plenty of milestones prior to The Shot. In the 1986 postseason, he scored 63 points in a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. Those points marked a new postseason record that has yet to be broken. The following year, he became the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a single regular season and the first to make 200 steals and 100 blocks. He dunked his way into the hearts of millions at the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest with a double-clutch throw down that started at the free throw line and saw him airborne all the way to the hoop.
“His Airness,” as Jordan was often called, was such an overwhelming offensive force that in 1988 the Detroit Pistons devised a defense aimed at stopping him. The “Jordan Rules,” as they were known, called for the Pistons to double- and triple-team him, to play him physically, and to keep the ball out of his hands at all costs.
“He could hurt you equally from either wing,” recalled Detroit’s coach Chuck Daly, who originated the Jordan Rules. “[Heck], he could hurt you from the hot dog stand!”
But try as the Pistons and the other teams might, they couldn’t shut down Jordan. He outscored every other player in the league for the second year in a row during the 1988–89 season, with an average of 32.5 points per game. His efforts helped the Bulls make it into the postseason for the fifth consecutive time.
The Chicago Bulls faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls had beaten the Cavs the previous year, 3–2, and were hopeful of repeating or bettering that performance.
Naturally, Cleveland was just as eager to come out on top. They had reason to believe they would, as they had won ten more games in the regular season than the Bulls had, and in the one meeting between the two teams five days earlier, Cleveland had emerged victorious, 90–84.
The Cavs had one other factor weighing in their favor: so far, Michael Jordan and the Bulls had failed to reach the Finals. Often, in fact, they had fallen in the first round of the playoffs. That trend had detractors claiming that Jordan simply didn’t have what it took to boost his team to the very top.
The two teams met for game one on April 25, 1989. The Bulls emerged victorious with a score of 95–88. But the Cavs knotted the series two nights later with a nearly identical score of 96–88. Chicago knocked off another win in game three, 101–94, but once again Cleveland evened things up with a dramatic 108–105 overtime win in game four. The series would be decided in the fifth and final game.
Game five was played in Cleveland before an adoring and roaring crowd of more than twenty thousand fans. Those roars grew louder with each passing minute of the game, as the Cavaliers held the lead right up to the remaining seconds of the fourth quarter. Then, with just six seconds on the clock, Jordan made a jump shot that put the Bulls ahead for the first time.
The score was 99–98. The Cavaliers’ Craig Ehlo inbounded the ball and quickly got a return pass. He put the ball on the floor and drove to the hoop for a layup. With less than four seconds left, the score was now 100–99!
What happened next has been recognized, time and again, as the most legendary shot in basketball history. It began with straightforward instructions from the Bulls’ coach, Doug Collins.
“Give the ball to Michael,” he told his team, “and everyone else get out of the way.”
That’s exactly what the Bulls did. With the crowd chanting, “Defense! Defense!” Brad Sellers took the ball out from the sidelines. He hit Jordan with a pass. Michael took two dribbles and then stopped short at the foul line. Craig Ehlo was right on top of him. Both men jumped at the same time, Jordan aiming the ball at the hoop, Ehlo aiming his hand at the ball.
Jordan soared into the air — and just seemed to keep going higher and higher. Finally, he released the ball. Ehlo stretched as far as he could, but there was just no way he could reach the ball. It brushed past his fingertips and floated up, over to the basket, and then in!
“Jordan… scores at the buzzer!” announcer Dick Stockton cried. “Michael Jordan has won it for Chicago! Michael Jordan hit the basket at the buzzer!”
He had indeed, and not just with that miraculous shot. Jordan had 44 total points, plus 9 rebounds and 6 assists, in the unbelievable 101–100 win. In an interview immediately after The Shot, Jordan was clearly happy but just as obviously exhausted. Still, he complimented his teammates on their performances, and then wrapped it all up by saying, “We won. And that’s all that counts.”
After beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 1989 playoffs, the Chicago Bulls bested the New York Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, that’s as far as they got that year. The Detroit Pistons, the eventual NBA champions, defeated Michael Jordan and his teammates in the series, 4–2.