Michael Jordan has one of the most legendary NBA careers of all time.
Winning six championships with two three-peats and six finals MVPs, Michael Jordan’s dominance in the ‘90s is unlike anything we have seen in modern NBA history.
In many people’s eyes, he is the NBA’s GOAT, with no other player having reached the lofty peaks that Jordan did.
From iconic game-winners, battling through illness and jaw-dropping scoring performances, Jordan is responsible for some of the most significant moments in the sport’s history.
Here, we take a look back at ten of the greatest MJ moments and rank them based on their historical significance.
#10. Game-winner for the NCAA Championship at UNC
Jordan’s legend began long before the NBA. He won the NCAA Tournament with a legendary game-winner as a freshman in college.
UNC played Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown in the 1982 championship game, and it was a gripping finale to March Madness. The score was 62-61 Georgetown with 30 seconds left, and the ball found Jordan on the wing. He pulled up from midrange and hit the go-ahead shot.
Georgetown turned the ball over on the next possession, and UNC ran out the clock and won the championship. Jordan’s shot was the defining moment of the game and put him on the national stage. It was the moment Michael Jordan was born.
#9. Winning 1992 Olympic Gold with the Dream Team
In 1992, the basketball avengers assembled at the Barcelona Olympic Games. The greatest players on earth, including Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, came together to win gold for the USA.
It was the first time professional athletes were allowed to compete in basketball at the Olympics. Jordan led the Americans on a dominant run. They won their games by an average of 44 points, and beat Croatia in the final 117-85. Jordan scored 22 points in the final to help secure the win.
The practices from the Dream Team Olympics are things of legend, and Jordan established himself as the best in the world in those scrimmages. Johnson said about Jordan: “Larry and I were the leaders when it came to the Dream Team, but Michael Jordan was the best player in the world. And he proved it every day in practice.”
Jordan’s Dream Team is still considered one of the greatest collections of talent basketball has ever seen.
#8. Career-high 69 points vs Cleveland Cavaliers
In 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in overtime against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He went on the road to record 69 points and 18 rebounds, going 23-37 from the field. It remains a franchise record for the Chicago Bulls, and one of the top single-game performances in NBA history.
The Bulls won the game in the extra period 117-113, and Jordan made the plays down the stretch. His clutch free-throw shooting late in an overtime game gave the Bulls a narrow advantage with seconds left.
The game-sealing play was Jordan’s rebound from a missed Horace Grant free throw. He wrestled for the board and was sent to the line, where he scored his 69th points and capped off a legendary performance.
#7. Free-throw line dunk at the 1998 dunk contest
Jordan’s free-throw line dunk is one of the most iconic moments in basketball history. It remains one of the all-time great dunk contest performances.
The All-Star Game, played in Jordan’s own arena in Chicago, featured a legendary dunk contest between Jordan and Dominique Wilkins. Jordan put the exclamation point on the event with this incredible jam.
He took off from behind the free-throw line and soared for the one-handed slam. The judges, jaws dropped, scored him a 50.
This became a defining image of Jordan’s career. The dunk inspired the “Jumpman” logo that represents the famous Air Jordan brand.
#6. First NBA championship in 1991
Jordan won his first NBA title, and the first of a three-peat, in 1991 with the Bulls.
Jordan was already established as the league’s top player, winning his second consecutive NBA scoring title in the regular season in his first year under Head Coach Phil Jackson.
He overcame the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals after they had beaten him in the two seasons prior, and met Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Against the greatest point guard of all time, Jordan won Finals MVP by beating the Lakers in five games. He scored 31.2 points per game on 56% shooting, leading the Bulls in points, assists, and steals for the series.
He went off for 30 points in the championship-clinching game five, starting a run of six championships in the next eight NBA seasons for the Bulls.
#5. The ‘Shrug Game’ in the 1992 NBA Finals
The following year, Jordan had one of the most legendary performances in NBA Finals history, the “Shrug Game”.
It was game one of the 1992 Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. Jordan came gunning out of the blocks. He hit six threes in the first half, and after making his sixth shot from deep, turned to the crowd and made a now iconic shrug gesture. He was saying to his home fans, “Even I don’t know how I’m doing this.”
Jordan had 39 points on the game as the Bulls beat Portland 122–89. He took only 22 shots.
The shrug is now a defining moment in Jordan’s legend.
#4. ‘The Shot’, Game-winner against the Cleveland Cavaliers
Jordan’s first iconic clutch play in the NBA came in the 1989 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was the deciding game five of the first round of the playoffs, which were then played in a best-of-five series.
He finished the game with 44 points, but needed a score on the buzzer to keep the Bulls’ season alive. With three seconds left Chicago was down 101-100 with their season on the line.
Jordan received an inbounds pass from John Paxson, sprinted to the foul line and hit a 20-foot jumper as the buzzer sounded, giving Chicago a 102–101 victory. The crowd fell silent, Cavs players collapsed to the floor, and Jordan exploded with emotion, punching the air.
The shot saw Jordan through to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.
#3. The ‘Flu Game’ in the 1997 NBA Finals
Jordan’s “Flu Game” is remembered as one of the biggest displays of physical and mental resilience on the biggest sporting stage.
In a pivotal game five of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, Jordan was severely ill with flu-like symptoms. He was found at 2:30 AM curled up in the fetal position, shaking, and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and was told he could not play the next day.
Jordan insisted that he play. The series was tied 2-2 and the Jazz were undefeated at home in the postseason. A Jazz win would put them ahead in the series and one win from the title.
Clearly not himself, Jordan dug deep and scored 17 in the second quarter to keep the Bulls in the game. He then scored 15 points in the fourth, making a game-tying free throw with 45 seconds left, and a go-ahead three with 25 seconds on the clock.
Chicago held onto the lead, and Jordan collapsed into Scottie Pippen’s arms. Jordan’s Bulls went on to win the title in game six.
#2. 63 points vs Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the 1986 playoffs
One of Jordan’s most incredible moments came in a loss to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. The ‘86 Celtics are now considered one of the greatest NBA teams of all-time, but Jordan set a playoff record to almost snatch a win from them.
It was game two of the first round in Boston Garden, and Jordan was playing in only his second season in the NBA against the legendary Bird.
He set the playoff record for most points in a single game with an incredible 63 point night. He took the Celtics to double-overtime, tying the game up in regulation with three clutch free throws after the buzzer. The Bulls eventually lost 135-131, but he earned the respect of Bird and the Celtics.
“That wasn’t Michael Jordan out there, that was God disguised as Michael Jordan”, said Bird after the game. With this game, Jordan announced himself to the world as a future legend.
#1. ‘The Last Shot’, Game-Winner for the 1997 NBA championship
In his last game as a Chicago Bull, Jordan hit the game-winner for his sixth NBA title.
It was game six against the Utah Jazz, the team that Jordan had beaten a year prior with the “Flu Game.” The Jazz looked like they would take the series to seven games as they led down the stretch, and Pippen had suffered from a back injury for Chicago all game.
But a bucket from Jordan cut the deficit to one. The Bulls trailed 86–85. They then stripped Karl Malone in the post with 20 seconds remaining. Jordan took the ball in transition with only one thing on his mind.
He drove right, stepped back and dropped Bryon Russell with a step-back (there was a small hint of a push off, perhaps). Jordan drained a shot from nearly the same spot that he beat the Cavaliers from all those years ago. It was for his 45th points of the night.
It was his final masterpiece in his last game for the Bulls, winning his sixth title and Finals MVP.