Chicago Bulls: 30 greatest Michael Jordan moments of all time
By Luke Askew
5. The mid-air switcharoo
Where do I start with this one? This was one of those plays that wasn’t necessary, but man, I’m glad it happened. It was the layup equivalent of a windmill dunk. Absolutely unnecessary but absolutely awesome.
When MJ caught the ball at the free-throw line, took his power dribble, and leaped, it looked like he was just going to score the ball with his right hand. It wasn’t clear whether it was going to be a dunk or a layup, but it was clear it was going to be with his right hand. Until all of a sudden… it wasn’t.
On his way back down to Earth, Jordan switched the ball to his non-dominant hand and flicked it towards the hoop right before landing back on the ground. Oh, and of course his tongue was wagging around.
A couple of underrated aspects of this moment: Phil Jackson’s reaction (mostly just a laugh and a smile) are awesome, and Scott Williams’ reaction is even better. He looks like he has no idea what he just saw. To be fair, no one really knew what they just saw.
4. “The Shot”
In a winner-moves-on game for the Cavs and the Bulls, Chicago had the ball down one with three seconds left. What would happen next would later be known as “The Shot.”
Can we pause right here and talk about how awesome that is? In a sport where shooting is the primary thing to do, MJ owns the moment known as “The Shot.” There are approximately 934 katrillion other shots that could take that nickname, but MJ’s is the one that gets to hold the championship belt.
When Jordan frees himself up and catches the ball, he immediately makes his move to the middle of the floor, picks his spot and rises up for the hanging jumper on Craig Ehlo.
This feels like a good time to talk briefly about Ehlo. There’s an entire generation of people out there who only know Ehlo as the guy that Jordan hit “The Shot” over, thanks in large part to the legendary game call on the Bulls’ Radio Network.
"“The inbounds pass comes into Jordan. Here’s Michael at the foul line, a shot on Ehlo… GOOD! The Bulls win!” -Jim Durham and Johnny Kerr"
Because of “The Shot” and the call by Durham and Kerr, Craig Ehlo may very well hold the title for “NBA Household Name That has Accomplished the Least in NBA History.” I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of, but I bet Ehlo jerseys are more popular now than they were before “The Shot.” Even if it’s just Bulls fans buying them.
Oh, and before we move on, I should mention Jordan’s aggressive, leaping fist-pump celebration. It’s one of the most exuberant versions of MJ we’ve ever seen.