Crossing the Theshold to Greatness

Crossing the Threshold to Greatness

“Every time I step on that basketball court my focus is to win the game… it drives me insane when I can’t”-Michael Jordan. We all at one point in time or another fanaticize about our role models who we consider to be great.

We look from the outside in getting snippets and pieces of their lives just trying to relate or to see if they are really human or if they are just an immortal legend on tv. For many, Michael Jordan has been this person, for young athletes growing up in the 80’s, 90’s, and beyond, Jordan’s legacy has transcended generations and will continue to do so because of his branded style of competing.

He burst into the league in 1984 as a rookie sensation scoring in poetic drives with an unmatchable first step and acrobatic dunks and concluded his career as a cultural icon. Along the way, he became a true champion who spearheaded the globalization of the NBA with his dynamic on court abilities and personal sense of style that was marketed to the world. Michael Jordan was all but human to the public eye, and even too many of his teammates, and remained so for most of his career and into his retirement where he seems to hide in the shadows only making rare appearances in public.

Michael Jordan was born February 17th, 1963, he was born in Brooklyn New York and grew up in North Carolina where he also went to college at the University of North Carolina. Jordan grew up in a tough time period during with raging racial issues and in a tough part of the country grooming him for his challenges he faced during his career.

Jordan began his professional basketball career when he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 as the third overall pick. The six-foot six-inch rookie was simply poetry in motion, he came into the NBA with the confidence of a three-year veteran compared to half the players in the league in his time period.

“It’s like he had an extra levitation gear or something”, says Isaiah Thomas former point guard of the Detroit pistons also known as the “Bad Boys”. Jordan was not human from the very beginning, turning Chicago from a laughingstock to a popular and contending team in the league.

It was not until 1991 though when Michael Jordan and the Bulls were truly taken seriously and given the respect of a championship team after winning their first NBA finals. In the two years leading up to the 1991 championship, the Bulls came close to reaching the championship game. But the Detroit Pistons, nicknamed the "Bad Boys," would stand in their way as they did the previous seasons leading up to Jordan’s big break.

In 1991, the Bulls finished the regular season 61-21, a new franchise record for the team. Jordan and Bulls would go on to sweep the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in a brutal battle that left Detroit sour to the core because they lost to Jordan and the Bull’s and knew their time was over as the champions of the league.

“The general route back then in the NBA was you had to get to the Finals and lose, sort of pay your dues and get your experience, and then you might break through. No one just went to the Finals and won.” Sam Smith legendary sports reporter states. “No one really ever talked much about a championship that season. It was always Detroit, Detroit, Detroit. It almost was as if there were no Finals. Plus, it was not the Bulls' turn, anyway.”

The rivalry between the teams was so bitter, the Pistons walked off the court at the end of the series, refusing to participate in the traditional congratulatory handshake. After beating the Pistons, the Bulls advanced to their first NBA finals, where they met the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers were led by an aging yet talented crew including Magic Johnson and James Worthy two hall of fame basketball players and Laker legends. This finals appearance would birth the start of Jordan and the Bull’s three-peat championship run for the next two seasons.

At first, all anyone could talk about was the Michael Jordan vs. Magic Johnson match-up. But as the series carried on, it was clear that it was going to take much more than one individual for either team to succeed. Jordan was superb, averaging 31.2 points, 11.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds, but the Bulls were no one-man team.

The Chicago Bulls’ defense held the Lakers to a record-low 458 points for a five-game series. Pippen and Jordan celebrated the title emotionally, Pippen and Jordan combined to score 62 points and pass for 17 assists in the clincher game five.

At first, Head Coach Phil Jackson designated Jordan to guard Johnson, leading to relief help from Scottie Pippen, Jordan’s right-hand man in each finals win. “It’s tough to guard Magic and then go down and be expected to carry the load offensively," Jordan said shamelessly following the series opener. "It's a challenge, but I have to do it." Challenges like these with defining moments and quotes like these are what give the essence behind the legend “Air Jordan”. Consistently throughout his career Jordan embraced the grind and perseverance of a tough situation but could see how it wore on him mentally and physically at times.

“I remember my girlfriends and I drove all the way to Chicago for game two of the series and bought tickets outside of the stadium. We weren’t even sure they were real, but we thought it was worth it to see Michael Jordan against Magic Johnson”, recounts Leah Shilke an avid Bulls fan. In game two the Bulls blew the LA Lakers out of the water 107-86 after losing game one in their hometown by only two points they knew they could compete with the notorious showtime Lakers.

Leah recounts one of the more notorious moments in Jordan’s performance and one of the signature moments of the series. This moment came when Jordan accelerated towards the basket, raised the ball in his right hand for a dunk, to then, avoid a potential Sam Perkins block, switched the ball to his left and banked in a layup that caused a booming standing ovation at Chicago Stadium that killed the Lakers morale visible to the fans in the stadium.

After game two the Bulls went on to win the next three games to clinch the series in game five. However, it was no cake walk as the record may look at 4-1 with Bull’s ahead. In game five, a great back and forth game, the Lakers made their last push to try and force a game six as it was tied going into the fourth quarter at 80-80. The Lakers were facing elimination, and the absences of James Worthy and Byron Scott were not any help to the Lakers. This obstacle would not stop Magic Johnson as Johnson had an amazing 20 assists in the game.

Elden Campbell outscored Michael Jordan with 13 points in the first half. The Lakers still fought and even led 93-90 in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls busted through and went on a 9 unanswered point run, and Paxson’s series of clutch points in the final half of the fourth quarter helped secure the Chicago Bulls', and Michael Jordan's, first NBA title. With only twelve minutes of playtime left both teams had to go deep inside and find the drive to stay alive or to put the other to rest.

In the fourth quarter with only minutes of playtime left on the clock the Bull’s found a secret weapon to close the game tightly and securely. During a time out Phil Jackson forcefully tells Jordan “get Paxton the ball he’s open!”

During this point in Jordan’s career, he heavily relied on himself to make big shots in clutch moments to bring his team to victory. While facing the Lakers and keeping them at bay, Jordan realized he needed to trust his teammates to come through in these moments as well and do his best to set them up for the shot.

“Once pax hit that first shot, I was like okay, let me do this again. And he just kept hitting them and hitting them” Jordan explained recalling the final quarter of game five. It was three pointers after three pointer and jump shot after jump shot, he just could not miss. Paxton gaining 10 points himself in just the fourth quarter alone he pushed the Bull’s over the hump in game five to win the series with a final score of 108 to 101.

This finals win made Jordan and his teams and above all his franchise a legitimate household name in the NBA by finally winning a championship. All of the ups and downs and hard-fought battles with blood, sweat and tears ingrained within them he was able to let that frustration go and enjoy his moment of greatness. “I needed this to be in the conversation with the greats, like Larry, Bill Russel and Magic that’s what made them who they are in this league and I needed that” Jordan stated.

“When you get to the finish line and you realize you won, all those emotions your wrapped up in you get to let go”. You see we all know the tenacious savage killer instinct Michael Jordan that outs us in awe when he takes flight or slams a drunk, but to see his emotions on a sleeve with real tears it makes you appreciate the work he dedicated to his craft.

Winning this finals elevated Jordan to the next steppingstone in his career as a champion not as a someone who was known for his accolades and individual awards. No, he was a champion and that is all that mattered in the end to Michael Jordan because it was never about how he get there it’s about how he finished it that gets remembered.

Work Cited

McCallum, Jack. “Michael Jordan, a Singular Sportsman and Athlete, stands at the Pinnacle of His Game - Sports Illustrated Vault.” SI.com, Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com, 23 Dec. 1991, vault.si.com/vault/1991/12/23/the-everywhere-man-alone-on-the-mountaintop.

Smith, Sam. “Sam Smith Reflects on the 1990-91 Season.” Chicago Bulls, NBA.com/Bulls, 24 May 2012, www.nba.com/bulls/news/sam-smith-reflects-1990-91-season.html.

The Last Dance Documentary, Michael Jordan, Netflix, 2020

Stats, NBA. “1991 NBA Finals - Lakers vs. Bulls.” Basketball, 2020, www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1991-nba-finals-lakers-vs-bulls.html.

Writers, NBA. “Legends Profile: Michael Jordan.” Legends Profile: Michael Jordan | NBA.com, 2020, www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/michael-jordan.