#MJMondays featuring Larry Bird
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan make your Dream Team come true, one star at a time.
May 20, 1991 - Michael Jordan is named NBA’s most valuable player
In the 1990–91 season, Michael Jordan won his second MVP award (Jordan also won the award in 1988) after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Chicago Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.
MJ vs. Kobe?
In his upcoming 339-page memoir “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” Phil Jackson writes about how Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant measure up against each other.
On basketball mindsets:
“Michael was more likely to break through his attackers with power and strength, while Kobe often tries to finesse his way through mass pileups,” Jackson wrote. “Michael was stronger, with bigger shoulders and a sturdier frame. He also had large hands that allowed him to control the ball better and make subtle fakes.
“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”
On defense:
“No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender. He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense.
“Kobe has learned a lot from studying Michael’s tricks, and we often used him as our secret weapon on defense when we needed to turn the direction of a game. In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price.”
On leadership:
“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson said. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had.”
Bryant gradually evolved during the 2008-09 championship season, when the Lakers successfully retooled with a more finessed look with Pau Gasol instead of the brute force of the Shaquille O’Neal teams.
If Bryant talked to teammates in his earlier Lakers years, it was usually, “Give me the damn ball,” Jackson wrote. “But then Kobe started to shift. He embraced the team and his teammates, calling them up when we were on the road and inviting them out to dinner. It was as if the other players were now his partners, not his personal spear-carriers.”
May 16, 1985 - Bulls’ Michael Jordan was named the NBA Rookie of the Year
Michael Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds. 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals.
During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas, and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading “A Star is Born” just over a month into his professional career. Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so-called “freeze-out” on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
#MJMondays
#9 Michael Jordan
#15 Magic Johnson
of the USA 1992 Dream Team
Dream On!
May 7, 1989 - Michael Jordan scores “The Shot” on Craig Ehlo
The Shot is the name of the series-winning basket hit by Michael Jordan in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference First Round against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Coliseum at Richfield. It is considered to be one of Jordan’s greatest clutch moments, and in the game itself, a classic.
#MJMondays
Michael Jordan defends Magic Johnson, up close and personal.
“I hope I have given the people that I’ve touched the optimism and the desire to achieve their goals.” - Michael Jordan
#MJMondays
1992 Olympic Dream Team members Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson having a blast!
#MJMondays
Michael Jordan dunking. Magic Johnson watching.
Apr. 21, 1996 - Chicago Bulls end the season with NBA record 72-10
The only team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season.
With a lineup of Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Luke Longley, and perhaps the league’s best bench in Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Bill Wennington, Jud Buechler, and guard Randy Brown the Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record, moving from 47–35 to 72–10, which remains the best record in NBA history. Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Jordan garnered the elusive triple crown with the regular season MVP, All-star Game MVP, and Finals MVP. Krause was named Executive of the Year, Jackson Coach of the Year, and Kukoc the Sixth Man of the Year. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman made the All-Defensive First Team, making the Bulls the only team in history with three players on the All-Defensive First Team.
In addition, the 1995–96 squad holds several other records, including the best road record in a standard 41-road-game season (33–8), the all-time best start by a team (41–3), the longest home winning streak (44 games, 7 from previous season), and the best start at home (37–0). The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history (39–2), behind only the 1985–86 Celtics 40–1 home mark, and the second-best point differential in history, trailing the 1972 Lakers by 3 points over the course of an entire season. The team triumphed over Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The 1995–96 Chicago Bulls are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball.
Apr. 20, 1986 - MJ sets an NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game
“I think,” Larry Bird said after the game, “it’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
Jordan was able to play in only 18 regular-season games in his second year in the NBA, after breaking a small bone in his foot in Chicago Bulls third game of the year. Although he was encouraged to sit out the end of the season in order to make sure he was fully healed for the next, he insisted on coming back late in the season and led the Bulls to the 1986 NBA Playoffs.
It was in Game 2 of Chicago’s first round matchup against the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics that Jordan showed just how thoroughly he had recovered. In the hallowed halls of the Boston Garden, he set a playoff record by scoring an amazing 63 points against what many considered to be one of the greatest NBA teams ever. The Celtics won the game, 135-131 in double-overtime, and went on to sweep the Bulls, but Jordan’s playoff record still stands.
“It was a phenomenal performance, what Michael was able to do against a team like that,” Bill Walton said of the champion Celtics, who won 67 games and were a record 40-1 at home; with five of their top six players Hall of Famers. “That team could win any type of game, a speed game, a power game, a shooting game, a defensive game, a physical game, a cerebral game. It had balance, depth and talent, coaching experience, great leadership, top management with Red Auerbach, a great legacy as a franchise on top and a legend in Larry Bird.”
#ThrowbackThursdays
Michael ‘Air’ Jordan takes flight.
“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” - Phil Jackson
#MJMondays
Magic Johnson works against Michael Jordan during Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals. Jordan dropped 30 points and dished out 10 assists to secure his first NBA title.
