The matchup between O’Neal’s Magic and Jordan’s Bulls was the most eagerly anticipated confrontation of the playoffs.
The first game came down to the last few seconds, and the ball was in Michael Jordan’s hands. But as he rushed downcourt to launch a potentially game-winning basket, Magic guard Nick Anderson flashed into his path — and stole the ball! The Magic won, 94–91.
After the game, Anderson got cocky. In reference to Michael, he said, “Number forty-five doesn’t explode like number twenty-three used to.”
Michael was stung by Anderson’s comment. He didn’t want anyone to think he wasn’t the same player he had been before retirement. So, before game two, he decided to switch back to his old number, 23.
Anderson soon found out what it was like to play against number 23. In game two, Michael made Anderson pay. He hit for 38 points, and the Bulls won, 104–94, to even the series.
But while Michael was playing like his old self, ex-Bull-turned-Magic Horace Grant was asserting himself under the boards and on defense, and Shaquille O’Neal was almost unstoppable. Meanwhile, Scottie Pippen just wasn’t hitting his shots. In game three, Michael hit for 40 points, but the Bulls lost, 110–101.
The rest of the Bulls finally got involved in game four. Chicago evened the series at two games apiece, but Orlando would not be denied. In games five and six, they shut down Chicago. Michael Jordan started running out of steam and couldn’t do it all by himself. For the first time since the 1989–90 season, a Bulls team that included Michael Jordan lost in the playoffs. The Bulls’ season — and Michael Jordan’s — was over.
Despite the loss, Michael Jordan had won something almost as valuable as a championship. His inspired play had won back the respect of both his teammates and his opponents. Although he had been away from competitive basketball for nearly two years, he had returned as the most talented and feared player in the game. His future looked nearly as bright as his past.
CHAPTER TWELVE
1995–2001
One Last Shot?
In the off-season Jordan continued to work hard to maintain the progress he had made since beginning his comeback. He had worked too hard to get back in shape to take it easy now, and neither he nor his teammates would be satisfied until they had regained the NBA championship.
The team practiced hard during training camp and opened the season with a rush. They never looked back.
Jordan quickly answered the few remaining critics who questioned the wisdom of his return. He had never played better in his life.
His time away from the game had given him perspective and a new understanding of precisely what it took to help his team win. His jump shot turned deadly, and his passing and rebounding also improved. While Jordan was still a threat to soar to the basket and slam down a thunderous jam, the opposition really didn’t know what to expect from him anymore. If they guarded him too closely, he made a pass to a wide-open teammate. If they gave him room, he scored at will. In fact, he led the NBA in scoring.
The 1995–96 Bulls were a well-oiled machine. Jordan’s return helped teammate Scottie Pippen regain his place as one of the best forwards in the game, and flamboyant Dennis Rodman scooped up nearly every rebound and got the Bulls started with quick outlet passes. Tony Kukoc and Steve Kerr were deadly from the outside, and Coach Jackson kept the Bulls working hard on defense. They finished the regular season 72–10, the best record in league history. But they knew that it would mean nothing unless they won another championship.
In the early rounds of the playoffs, the Bulls were almost unstoppable, losing only once. Not until they reached the finals against the Seattle Supersonics were they tested. After winning the first three games they got sloppy, dropping the next two. Entering game six, an NBA championship was only one win away.
Game six took place on Father’s Day. Before the game, Jordan couldn’t help but think of his own father. As he told one reporter, “I think about him every day. I’m pretty sure I always will.”
But once the game started, Jordan was able to focus on basketball. He and the Bulls took command early and refused to let up. They coasted to an easy 87–75 victory to win their fourth title with Jordan.
After the game he was emotional and broke into tears when he thought about his dad. “I had a lot of things on my heart,” he said. “But I had the good fortune to achieve.” He did that and more, earning the MVP award for the finals.
With Jordan back, fans and sportswriters began referring to the Bulls as a dynasty. The next year, they cruised through the regular season and again reached the finals, this time facing the Utah Jazz. Utah guard John Stockton and forward Karl M alone were still among the best players in the league. Some observers thought the Jazz had more talent than the Bulls and had a good chance to pull an upset.
But the Bulls had Michael Jordan. With the series knotted at two games each, Jordan, sick with the flu, crawled out of his sickbed and scored 38 points, including the game-winning three-pointer, as the Bulls won, 90–88.
And in game six the Bulls clawed their way back from a deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter. With the score at 86–86 and only seconds remaining, Chicago got the ball. Everyone expected Jordan to take the shot, but the experienced Bulls knew that. Steve Kerr drained a three-pointer and the Bulls were champions again.
The Bulls and Jordan began the 1997–98 season looking to win yet another NBA championship, referring to their goal as a “three-peat.” But NBA insiders wondered if that was realistic. Jordan and his teammates were getting older, and the competition was getting better.
But beyond that, many expected Bulls management to break up the team at the end of the season. There were rumors that coach Phil Jackson planned to retire, and Jordan indicated that if Jackson left, he didn’t expect to return. Forward Scottie Pippen and other Bulls were due new contracts at the end of the year and Bulls management indicated that they didn’t believe they could afford to keep the team together. As the season progressed it became clear that the campaign might represent a last hurrah for Jordan and the Bulls.
Although they struggled at times, the Bulls still won the division championship and took aim at the NBA title. In the first two rounds of the playoffs the Bulls easily dispatched the New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Hornets, losing only one game. But in the conference finals against the Indiana Pacers, the Bulls were pushed to the limit. They won in seven games, beating the Pacers, 88–83. But at the end of the game Jordan was so tired that instead of celebrating, he just bent down, gasping for air. They entered the finals against Utah exhausted.
Both teams gave it everything they had. Entering game six in Utah, the Bulls led the series three games to two. They were one game away from another championship.
But the Bulls were at something less than full strength. A sore back bothered Scottie Pippen, and the long season had taken a toll on the team. It would be up to Jordan to lead his team to victory.
Just a few moments into the game, Pippen was forced to the bench when his back started acting up. Jordan took over, scoring 23 points in the first half to keep the Bulls in the game. At the half, they trailed by four points.
Although Pippen returned in the second half, his aching back limited what he could do. Jordan appeared to be running out of steam himself. Early in the fourth quarter he missed five straight shots. Nevertheless, the Bulls hung close, knowing that if they were forced to play a seventh game they would be more fatigued than they already were.
With only 42 seconds left in the game, Jazz guard John Stockton drained a long three-pointer to give the Jazz an 86–83 lead. Bulls fans feared the worst.
But Chicago put the ball in Michael Jordan’s hands. Everyone watching knew that if anyone could win the game singlehandedly, it was Jordan.
He dribbled the ball downcourt, probing the defense as the Jazz scrambled to contain him. He hesitated twenty feet from the basket and then made his move.
He spun around guard Byron Russell and shot toward the hoop. Burly f
orward Antoine Carr moved over to stop him.
Since Jordan’s return from retirement, basketball fans had grown accustomed to seeing him start to drive, then stop and shoot a deadly fadeaway jumper. He rarely attacked the basket anymore.
Antoine Carr may have been thinking the same thing. Only this time, Jordan attacked.
He soared in the air above the bigger player, and before Carr could react, Jordan shoveled a layup off the glass for two points. With 37 seconds remaining, the Bulls trailed by one.
Utah tried to run the clock down as far as possible, then put the ball in the hands of Karl Malone. Jordan reacted immediately.
He spun behind the big man, then reached in and tipped the ball away. Jordan had stolen the ball!
The clock was ticking down. The Jazz sprinted downcourt to stop the Bulls. Jordan streaked toward the basket. Fifteen feet short of the basket, he stopped. Byron Russell tried to skid to a stop and stick with Jordan, but Jordan took a short step back and then lofted a seventeen-foot jump shot. Russell, too late, went up to stop the shot.
The ball seemed to hang in the air forever as Jordan dropped to the ground and kept his hands in the precise position they were when he had released the shot. The ball dropped through the hoop.
The Bulls led! Jordan had hit the last shot!
The Jazz had time to throw up a desperation shot in the final second, but it missed the basket. The Bulls won, 87–86, their third straight championship. Jordan’s 45-point performance, capped by his late-shot heroics, made the game perhaps the most memorable of his career. “It just keeps getting sweeter every time,” he said afterward.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
2001–2003
Jordan’s Finale
In the weeks and months that followed this historic Bulls three-peat, rumors began to spread that the game-winning shot against Utah would be the last of Jordan’s career. Coach Jackson did decide to retire, and the Bulls decided to rebuild. At the same time, a labor dispute between the players’ union and the NBA owners caused the start of the season to be delayed by a lockout.
Every day the lockout went on, it seemed more and more likely that Jordan would retire. There were reports that he wasn’t even working out anymore.
Finally, on January 6 the labor dispute was settled. Jordan flew to Chicago and told his teammates of his decision. Then, on January 13, he made it official.
“After a great deal of thought,” he said, “I have decided to retire from basketball.” The Jordan era appeared over.
Over the next year Jordan spent time doing what he wanted to do — golfing, spending time with his family, and taking care of his business interests. He even purchased a small portion of the Washington Wizards of the NBA.
There was immediate speculation that Jordan would mount another comeback. But he laughed off those suggestions, insisting that he had no plans to return.
But in the spring of 2001, there were persistent rumors that Jordan was working out again and playing basketball. He didn’t deny the rumors, but insisted that he had put on a few pounds and simply wanted to get back in shape.
No one was fooled. As spring turned into summer it became clear that Jordan was ready to return. When he sold his share of the Wizards, it became apparent the rumors were true, as NBA rules prohibit a player from owning a portion of a team.
Many people thought Jordan was making a huge mistake. The Wizards were terrible, and at age thirty-eight, even Jordan’s supporters had to admit that there was little chance that he could come back and resume his place as the best player in basketball. Many criticized Jordan for his decision, believing he was returning only for the money and that it was certain to damage his reputation as the greatest player in the game.
Jordan didn’t care. He missed the competition and challenge of playing. He had also discovered that he hadn’t really enjoyed retirement.
In his first few weeks back in the NBA, it seemed as if Jordan’s critics were right. The Wizards were terrible and won only two of their first eleven games. And Jordan wasn’t playing very well. His knees were bothering him, and he often had to sit out practices. He rarely went to the basket, and his patented fade-away jump shot seemed to have deserted him. The comeback appeared to have been a mistake.
But the bigger mistake has always been in underestimating Jordan. Suddenly, he and the Wizards started playing better. They won eight straight, and Jordan appeared to be getting his game back.
As 2001 turned into 2002, Jordan turned back the clock. In back-to-back games he exploded for a total of 96 points. His jump shot was falling and his quickness returned as he got his legs in game shape. Moreover, his young teammates began to learn to play with him, to expect the passes that few other players in the game could make, and to take advantage of the space on the floor that opened up when the opposition found that they had to start double-teaming Jordan again.
On January 3 he scored 25 first-half points against the Bulls, including the 30,000th point of his NBA career. He was just the fourth player to reach that milestone, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Karl Malone.
But Chicago fought back in the second half, and with fifteen seconds left, Bulls guard Ron Mercer swooped in for a layup. Jordan went up with him.
And up. And up. At the top of his leap, he reached for the ball.
He didn’t block the shot. He caught it. And when he came back down to earth it was clear to everyone that Michael Jordan could still do things on a basketball court that few others could.
The crowd went wild, and the Wizards hung on to win. After the game, a smiling Jordan admitted, “I can jump pretty high.”
But all was not well for Jordan. Though he continued to play hard throughout January and February, he was plagued by continuous pain in his right knee. Doctors at first suspected it was tendonitis. When nothing they did seemed to help, Jordan knew it was time to take a closer look.
At the end of February, he went into the hospital for exploratory surgery. Jordan was fearful doctors would fine a career-ending injury. To his relief, the problem turned out to be loose cartilage, a condition that can often be corrected. Surgery was performed, and Jordan was placed on the Wizards’ injured list.
Soon after the surgery, rumors began circulating that Michael Jordan was going to announce his retirement. Speculation lasted days, until at last Jordan put all rumors to rest. He would return to the game as soon as his recovery allowed.
Jordan worked hard to get back in top form in the months that followed. When the 2002 season began, he made it clear he was ready, emotionally and physically.
“My love for the game of basketball continues to drive my decision [to play],” he stated. “I am feeling very strong, and feel that the steps I took in the off-season have allowed me to return to the game in great condition.”
Jordan went into the 2002–2003 season ranked first in NBA history in scoring average, with 31.0 points per game. He was also second in steals, fourth in total points and field goals made, and fifth in free throws made. Anything he did in the upcoming months would only add to those already impressive totals.
Jordan had originally opted to rest his knee during the preseason and watch the games from the sidelines. But in a preseason game on October 21, he came off the bench with less than eight minutes left in the second quarter. In typical fashion, he sank a turnaround jumper three minutes after entering the game. He drained three more in the third quarter for a total of eight points in fourteen minutes of play.
Coming off the bench was something new for Jordan — but it was something he knew he was going to have to get used to. His knee wasn’t one hundred percent yet, and although he was in good shape, other younger players were in better condition. So for the first time in years, he would be the strong sixth man on the team until he was truly ready to take his place among the starters.
Still, joining the game midway was not easy. During his first outing, against the Toronto Raptors on October 30, he couldn’t seem to find his rhythm. He too
k to the floor with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. When he left after having played for twenty-five minutes, he had hit only four shots out of fourteen. He also went zero for two from the foul line. Perhaps the most telling of all was the slam dunk that clanged off the rim. The Wizards lost 74–68 — and sports networks replayed the flubbed dunk over and over while speculating that Jordan was past his prime.
Jordan rebounded the next night, scoring twenty-one points in as many minutes in a win against the Boston Celtics. Yet he still seemed off his game. By the last week of November, he hadn’t moved from substitute to starter or reached the thirty-point mark, something that had once been so easy for him.
It may be that Jordan could see the writing on the wall. Or perhaps he simply wanted to end speculation over his career. Whatever the reason, on Thanksgiving Day, Michael Jordan called a press conference and announced that when the 2002–2003 season was over, he would retire from the game.
Jordan had made this announcement twice before in his career, once in 1993 and again in 1999, only to come out of retirement and rejoin the game he loved. This time, however, he meant it, saying there was “zero chance” that he would return.
“I just want to fulfill my year and enjoy it,” he insisted.
The previous two times Jordan had retired, the basketball world had gone into a tailspin. This time, however, reaction was more subdued. Many people even congratulated the star player on making a sound decision, one that was good for him and good for the team.
But Jordan’s actual retirement was still months away. Two days after the announcement, Coach Collins moved Jordan from the bench to the starting lineup for a game against Philadelphia. In his first game as a starter, Jordan played thirty-seven minutes and scored sixteen points.
Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports Page 8