 | Michael Jordan 1996: 53 pts Vs. Grant Hill & Pistons Grant Hill was the best player this side of MJ for a moment. When MJ retired the first time, Hill was picked to carry the torch. Of course this was unfair but Hill was unbelievable before he went down with the ankle injury. He was posting Lebron type numbers in 2000 while playing better defense. His complete game and unselfishness assured that he would be an all-time great. MJ, however, came back from retirement and had to put his foot down. Shooting an illegal 78% in this game, MJ would shoot 14-16 in the second half and 21-28 overall for 53 points. Hill struggled at 5-16 for 13 on the other end. MJ was in his super-zone and his jumper was flowing like water. His fadeaway was picture perfect. The older and wiser 33-year-old MJ even enjoyed his own brilliance with laughter instead of wearing his traditional raging-fury-scowl. Of course the side note was that MJ's nemesis Dumars was also on Hill's team. But, that stayed as a side note here. It's painful to see Hill here before he went down in his prime because of what could have been. We're glad that he's back and doing well now but his best years have been taken away from us and that's invaluable. Thankfully, MJ carried his own torch. |
 | Michael Jordan 1997: 45pts Vs. Sonics, "George Karl Game" Oh boy, what was George Karl thinking? Was it just a week ago when Van Gundy called MJ a 'con man', accusing him of being friendly with NBA players off the court so he could destroy them on the court? MJ responded with 51pts on 60% shooting while cursing Van Gundy out of the game during their next meeting. Did Karl not heed that warning? Karl didn't really criticize MJ before this game, all he said was that MJ was 'playing not to get hurt' so he was now a 'jumpshooter'. Well, any comment on MJ's game was enough to awaken the beast. Maybe it was because this was the first meeting with the Sonics since the Bulls beat them for the championship the previous year. But then again, MJ had some words for Karl at the end of this game so obviously, it was a little more than just that. With his superhuman ability to enter a zone on call, MJ did just what Karl ordered. He annihilated the Sonics with a torrid arsenal of finesse jumpers en route to 68% shooting for 45pts. Chicago went up by 18 at the 4th and MJ just cruised to victory - not even trying to push for 50. The message was loud and clear and there was no need to pour salt into Karl's wound. |
 | Michael Jordan 1997: 50pts Vs. Miami Heat In just the 4th game of the 1997 season, MJ turned it up on his old rival. The peaking Heat went huge that year with 61 wins. But, the Bulls were the champs coming off their record 72 win season and besides, MJ never let his guard down when Pat Riley was in town. Phil Jackson always clashed with Riley as the two were considered the best coaches so MJ had to back up you know who. MJ also loved to play against Alonzo. Riley would always say, the difference wasn't the coaching, but #23. "Screw zen and all that, you have 23 and I don't." Shooting 55% in this 50 pt game (modest by MJ's standards since he averaged 60.4% in his 39 games going 50+ in his career), the game was in absolute control by MJ's mastery. The heat had no answer for his touches and shot creation. Hitting in-your-face fadeaways left and right, MJ, at age 33, looked like he hadn't left from the first 3-peat. He also reminded us that the greatest player ever was also the greatest ever at making circus shots. But then again, did anyone forget in the first place? |
 | Michael Jordan 1998: 44pts Vs. NY, Last Regular Game as Bull MJ's last regular season game ever as a Bull was yet another 40+pt performance without breaking a sweat. Although MJ came out with perhaps a bit too much energy on 1-5 shooting, his polished game finished him strong with 10-19 accuracy the rest of the way for another close, comeback win in his stadium. The usual heroics were on display for the last time ever before the playoffs. And NBC led the charge with a half-hour tribute to the Greatest Ever before the game. MJ closed it out in customary fashion against his now, weakening NY rivals but the old emotions were still there. And through it all, the eerily calm demeanor in which MJ dominated made it seem like he was just tuning up and scrimmaging for the upcoming real season. And we all know what happened then. |
 | Michael Jordan 1993: 64 pts Vs. Shaq MJ welcomed Shaq's first visit to Chicago with one of his classic statement games. Shaq's fanfare as the next great player meant MJ had to assert his supreme dominance yet again. Having an injured shooting wrist, MJ practiced lefty jumpers before the game. But as usual, an injured MJ was usually a deadlier MJ and he broke 60 points without needing a three because his already unmatchable mid-range game was raised to absurd proportions. Unfortunately for MJ, with the game close and going to OT, Horace Grant committed a crucial turnover in the last minute which made his performance go to waste. But the statement was made. |
 | 1996: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors I usually like to leave game recaps up to Hoopsencyclopedia because he's "the man" for it, but I've taken it upon myself to cover a game that on the surface may not mean a lot, but underneath went on to hold it's own high-value for multiple reasons. To many young fans today, this isn't exactly a historical game - and for good reason. In the context of basketball history, not many regular season games are truly memorable, classic, or historical. But many also become classics in their own right, for records made, or for final meetings. This one has a little mix of everything - including Toronto's largest ever crowd of over 36,000 fans at the Sky Dome. In their previous meeting of the '95-'96 season Michael was the acclaimed "Raptor killer", sinking the Raptors and posting 14 fourth quarter points. In this game, he posts 36 points on 63.6% shooting (14-22) with 15 in the fourth quarter. Amazingly, 13 of his 15 fourth quarter points come in the last 4 minutes and 20 seconds of playing time. These were the games of his post-baseball career (seemingly happened a lot in 95-96) that made you wish his team wasn't as great as it was, just so you could see him continue to light it up all game long. Unfortunately, Michael never did anything that wasn't necessary. The expansion team, Toronto Raptors, face off against Michael Jordan and a Bulls team that went on to win an all time NBA record of 72 regular season wins. But what the 36,131 fans that packed the Sky Dome on this night may not realise, is that they were watching a story filled with subplots unfold upon the hardwood of a basketball court. Michael Jordan. Alvin Robertson. Damon Stoudamire. Chicago Bulls. Toronto Raptors. 72. 8. What people don't realise, though, is that the Raptors that year were actually stacked with talent that could do harm in any league of any era had they have had the correct team chemistry, confidence, and playing time required to do so. Damon Stoudamire was a rookie, who, in my opinion is one of the most underrated PG talents of our generation. In the 95-96 season, he went on to win ROY and set multiple records including a then record 133 3PT FG's for a rookie. He was also chasing second place for most assists by a rookie, on the tail of Oscar Robertson. He went on to post 19.0ppg and 9.3apg (something that the top PGs of the league today fail to do), while setting multiple franchise records for the Toronto Raptors that still stand today, including most assists by a player (19). In this game, he seemed to be having a shoot out with Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan. Damon posted 30 points, 11 assists and went 6-8 from three point land. Then there's the subplot of Michael vs. Robertson. Great friends, old team mates ('84 olympics), and fierce competitors. History has it, that this would be the last time either of the old timers would face off against each other in professional competition (Robertson retired after '96). For those of you who don't know much about Alvin Robertson, he's perhaps one of the greatest perimiter, roaming, and lock down defenders to ever play the game. He's 1st all-time in steals per game, and he has an anticipation that many see players such as Bruce Bowen to have today. It's no coincidence or conspiracy that he was named DPOY in '85-'86. While both players here are far past their athletic and statistical prime (Jordan 33, Alvin 34), they don't fail to impress and excite. Alvin plays Jordan's turnarounds like only few could; they battle hard for position and trash talk each other all night long. It's also notable that Alvin averaged 2.2 steals per game this season, which would've been good enough for first place in 06-07. Of course, Michael was no defensive slouch either ;), coincidentally averaging 2.2spg. With far too much already said... I'll leave the game to unfold. Enjoy. |
 | Michael Jordan 1993 Finals: Gm 4 Vs. Suns, 55pts. This game still gives me chills watching it. MJ had that look that was beyond serious. After losing Game 3 in 3OTS, Kevin Johnson bragged about holding MJ to 44pts. Thus, MJ came out in Game 4 with a look of stoic madness. Becoming just the 5th player to score 50+ in the finals, he tied Rick Barry for 2nd highest all time in the Finals with 55 pts. But, the manner in which MJ played was just jaw-dropping - capped with a vicious last shot, MJ-style. Suns' coach Westphal said, "I don't think MJ could guard MJ. I'm as much in awe as everyone else. He's the best offensive and defensive PG ever, the best offensive and defensive SG ever, the best offensive and defensive SF, and he's probably top five at PF and C." |
 | Stackhouse takes Ginobili down to the floor Then he helps keep him there. From SpursReport.Com |
 | Allen Iverson vs Michael Jordan (Final NBA Game) Part 2 Michael Jordan's coach pleaded with him to go back in the game, and the opposing coach made sure Jordan had the chance to end his career with a basket. Jordan's last shot was a free throw, and like his final appearance in an NBA uniform, it was good. One of the greatest players in NBA history played the final game of his illustrious career Wednesday night, not in the setting that he would have preferred but in a special atmosphere nonetheless. Jordan's final moment on the court ended with him receiving applause and a lengthy standing ovation from nearly everyone in the arena -- including the coaches and the other players. He soaked it all up with a wide smile and a wave to the crowd after exiting for good with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 107-87 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. ``Now I guess it hits me that I'm not going to be in a uniform anymore -- and that's not a terrible feeling,'' Jordan said afterward. ``It's something that I've come to grips with, and it's time. This is the final retirement.'' Jordan finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes -- drawing several adoring ovations from the last sellout crowd that will ever watch him play. ``The Philly people did a great job. They gave me the biggest inspiration, in a sense,'' Jordan said. ``Obviously, they wanted to see me make a couple of baskets and then come off. That was very, very respectful, and I had a good time.'' Jordan's final points almost looked scripted, with Eric Snow of the 76ers fouling him in the backcourt for no apparent reason except to send him to the line. ``Coach (Larry Brown) told me to foul him, get him to the line to get some points and get him out of there,'' Snow said. Both foul shots went in, and the Wizards committed a foul one second later so that Jordan could be removed from the game and receive the proper send-off. In a rare scene, the 10 players who remained on the court turned to Jordan and applauded, too. The 40-year-old Jordan would have preferred to end his career in the playoffs, but the Wizards never clicked during his two years in Washington and finished 37-45 in both seasons. But that was merely a footnote on this stirring night, the last time the basketball public was treated to one of the greatest athletes in history playing the game one last time. Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points -- the third-highest total in league history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His final career average of 30.12 goes down as the best in NBA history, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07. ``I never, never took the game for granted. I was very true to the game, and the game was very true to me. It was just that simple,'' Jordan said. With the Sixers ahead by 21 points with 9 1/2 minutes remaining, the crowd began chanting ``We want Mike.'' The chant grew louder as the period progressed with Jordan remaining seated, and fans ignored the game to stand and stare at the Wizards' bench, wondering why Jordan wasn't playing. This being Philadelphia, they eventually booed. Jordan finally pulled his warmups off and re-entered the game with 2:35 left for his brief final appearance. ``I played here. I told him I at least have to be able to come back (to Philadelphia),'' Wizards coach Doug Collins said. ``I told him to go back in for a minute. He said, 'I'm stiff.' I said, 'Please. They want to see you.' He said, 'Larry Hughes is going to foul out soon, so put me in then.''' Earlier in the game, Jordan showed his age. There was a play in the first quarter when he looked like the Jordan of old, except for the result. Starting near the foul line, Jordan ducked his shoulder, lowered his head, stuck out his tongue and drove to his right, the ball rolling off his fingers ever so softly as it arched toward the net. Rather than going in, though, the ball hit the front rim and missed -- one of several of his shots that came up a few inches short. One of the exceptions was Jordan's final shot of the first half -- a one-handed dunk that came after he received a nice pass under the basket from Bobby Simmons. Jordan hit his first two shots of the third quarter but didn't do much else positive in the period. On an alley-oop pass from Tyronn Lue, the ball hit him in the fingertips and bounced harmlessly away. A lazy crosscourt pass was picked off by Aaron McKie, leading to one of Philadelphia's 31 fast-break points. Jordan's final field-goal attempt was a missed layup with 8:13 remaining. ``I'm not embarrassed,'' Jordan said, ``but it's just not ... I've had better feelings in terms of playing a competitive game.'' The standing ovation that Jordan received lasted about three minutes, with Jordan smiling, nodding and chewing gum throughout. The group Boyz II Men sang ``It's So Hard To Say Goodbye'' between the first and second quarters as a montage of Jordan's career highlights was shown on the scoreboard. |
 | Michael Jordan 1987: 61 pts Vs. Dominique Wilkins MJ ended 1987 scoring 53, 50 and 61 in consecutive games. This is the 61 he had against Dominique to end the season with 3,041 total pts - the only player to break 3,000 in a season other than Wilt. MJ also became the only player other than Wilt to score 50+ in three straight games (KB joined the club in 2007). Ten years later in 1997, MJ went 18-26 to get 47 against a different Atlanta team headed by Mutombo and Smith. That masterpiece has rarely been seen but it is included here. |
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