A Ghormeh Sabzi Special: Michael Jordan's HOF Induction 2009

[ommy48]

guys espn has created a mj HOF section with a countdown of his top 23 moments (with video clips) at the following link...


check it out it is pretty nice:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/features/jordan23

[BacheLot]

guys espn has created a mj HOF section with a countdown of his top 23 moments (with video clips) at the following link...


check it out it is pretty nice:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/features/jordan23

it only lets me watch the 23-20 moments..???

man, those rivalries between bulls and pistons / knicks were the best nba games of all times..!!

[EKBATAN]

^^^ why doesnt it let u see after 21 ?



he was the perfect basketball player. not too tall, not too short, perfect size, finesse, technical, good handles, crazy dunks....

[soniq]

r.i.p Mj

[Ghormeh Sabzi]

guys espn has created a mj HOF section with a countdown of his top 23 moments (with video clips) at the following link...


check it out it is pretty nice:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/features/jordan23

90's NBA

[ommy48]

guys as the date of the ceremony approaches, they will add the next moments...it is a countdown of sorts with moments 23-21 being the first installment, so have some patience

[ommy48]

Poetry in motion, another great compilation by the irreplaceable Hoopsencyclopedia:

[ommy48]

REAAAAAALLLLY RARE FOOTAGE OF MJ BACK IN 1987 I think doing a bball camp/appearance:

[Ghormeh Sabzi]

^^ lol nice music

[ommy48]

Some more rare nuggets guys... MJ ROOKIE YEAR 1984 Highlights:

[ommy48]

By the way guess who MJ asked to present him when he gets inaugarated into the HOF????? DAVID THOMPSON, Mr. Skywalker himself, which is a big surprise to most fans:

[ommy48]

Part IV: Sophomore season with a footnote
Jordan's 1985-86 season got off on the wrong foot, and foot would be the theme of the season. Despite his injury, the Bulls won four of their final six games to ease ahead of Cleveland for the last playoff spot with a 30-52 record. Jordan then may have played the most impressive playoff game anyone has ever seen.



The Bulls drew the shortest straw in facing the team many regard as the best ever, the 1986 Celtics, who were 67-15 and 40-1 at home. But the Celtics were facing the player who would become in most eyes, the best ever, one who was very well rested after missing most of the season and only playing regularly the last 10 days. (Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty Images)


By Sam Smith | asksam@bulls.com | 08.26.09
The Bulls and Jordan went into the Boston Garden and Jordan scored 30 points in the first half of Game 1 as the Bulls trailed by two after halftime before losing 123-104. It was merely the appetizer.
(Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty Images)

[ommy48]

Part V: Healthy MJ puts on a show -- all season long


In 1986-87, Jordan's third pro season, he had shown he was the best individual player in the game. He recorded 37 games of at least 40 points, and averaged of 37.1 points per game on the year. His next mission would be to show he could be part of the best team.

During the 1986-87 campaign, Jordan scored 3,041 points, the most ever by a guard, and became the first player ever with more than 100 blocks and steals. (NBAE/Getty Images)

By Sam Smith | asksam@bulls.com | 08.27.09


As everyone sat back and the Boston Celtics won that inevitable championship in 1986, Jordan's first round performance became in some minds something of an aberration. Yeah, he was fresh and they had tired legs. Yeah, the Bulls were swept, so what was the big deal? Though you didn't hear anyone on the Celtics saying they wanted to guard him again.

Jordan took it seriously, very seriously, in 1986-87, from the first day. His sophomore season had been a lost year in his view, and Jordan was intent on making up the time. He averaged a point a minute with heavy play in the preseason, and then came to the supposed big stage, Madison Square Garden, for the season opener Nov. 1.



Jordan's winning dunk in 1987 was a tribute to Julius Erving, who had won the inaugural ABA slam dunk contest with a running dunk from around the free throw line. MJ jazzed it up a bit with a double pump.
(Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty Images)


There's always much commotion made of basketball in Madison Square Garden, but that was a half century before when it was the premier arena with the biggest games. The National Invitational Tournament in New York in March was bigger than the NCAA tournament in March played in smaller venues around the country. But the Knicks, other than a brief revival in the early 1970s with two championships, had consistently been a miserable, losing franchise, and the Garden stunk. Literally. There always seemed to be a smell of a past circus hanging there, an unappreciative, angry fan base and one of the oldest, least appealing arenas in the NBA. Still, it was New York, and the massive media there insisted it was special. They always did have one good idea going there by darkening the stands so the lighted court stands out. It emphasized the spotlight aspect, which always appealed to Jordan's competitiveness.

So Jordan opened the season with a statement for the NBA: I'm here to stay!

Jordan scored 50 points, along with three blocks and four steals, making 20-of-22 free throws against the baffled Knicks, as the Bulls with new coach Doug Collins opened with a 108-103 win. Late in the game, the Knicks had come from behind to take a 90-85 lead. Jordan walked by Collins after the timeout huddle and said, "Don't worry coach. I'm not going to let you lose your first game." Jordan scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and clinched the game with a driving layup with 22 seconds left against a triple team.

They went to Cleveland on the way home and Jordan scored 41 points and added eight rebounds and four blocks.

There hadn't been anything like this since Wilt.

Plus, Jordan was doing it in spectacular, theatric fashion with double pump, hanging, 360-degree layups and flying slam dunks. Bulls assistant Tex Winter, who had helped develop the famous triangle offense and had been a student of the game for 40 years, admitted Jordan's play was making him reevaluate his concepts about the game because he'd never seen anything like this. And Tex had coached against Wilt while coaching Kansas State and beat Wilt's Kansas team in 1958 for the conference title.

Winter, who was the first hire of General Manager Jerry Krause and became a muse for coach Phil Jackson, was sort of the grumpy old man of the group and was the one who would frequently challenge Jordan to pass more and play a more equal opportunity game, which was the theory behind his triple post offense.

Jordan, of course, would say he'd be glad to and did at North Carolina, but he'd have to get better teammates. Winter would say if he'd pass they'd get better. It was a constant debate.

"There's no 'I' in the word team," Winter would say to Jordan.

"There is in the word win," Jordan would respond.

He delighted in the last shot and the last word.

In Game 6 with Atlanta Jordan's 360-degree layup with 15 seconds left won it.

The defending champion Celtics came into Chicago Nov. 14 in Game No. 8 and Jordan had 48, just to show it was no fluke. Boston, of course, won.

Look, this was the opening day lineup that season along with Jordan: Earl Cureton, Charles Oakley, Granville Waiters and Steve Colter.

Carrying a team is one thing. But reviving it from the grave daily was what Jordan had to do.

The following home game was the Knicks and Jordan scored 40 points, including the team's last 18 and the game winner at the buzzer.

This was getting ridiculous.

I remember Hubie Brown after that game exclaiming, "Eighteen points at crunch time with two guys on him!"

The Bulls, coming off that 30-win season with Jordan missing 64 games and most of many others, were 7-3 getting ready to head to the Western Conference for the infamous fall—or is it fail?—circus trip.

The Bulls opened in Denver with a loss as Jordan scored 37 points and had nine rebounds, but in a poor shooting performance as he was 13-of-31.

Next stop: L.A. and the Magic show. But it was Jordan who had the tricks.

That game, Nov. 28, began a nine game run of games of at least 40 points with 41 points and 10 rebounds against the Lakers. Jordan had 45 against the Jazz, 43 against the Suns and 43 against the Spurs in three games in four nights. The Bulls were just 1-6 on the trip, but Jordan was keeping them competitive, an overtime win in Seattle and two point losses in Phoenix and Denver.

Jordan's run of 40-plus games ended back home Dec. 13 on the second of a home and home with the Bucks. Jordan had one of the poorest games of his career, 11 points on three of 17 shooting as the Bucks won easily and the Bulls fell to 10-11. John Paxson led the team with 16 points, the first game of the season Jordan was not the team's leading scorer. Jordan would be the team's leading scorer in 61 of the first 62 games.

And this wasn't the 20-under .500 Bulls of previous years. Hardly contenders, the Bulls were solidly in the race for one of the last three playoff spots.

There would be no slumps that season.

After the Bucks blowout loss, the Bulls beat the Nets and Pacers and Jordan scored 41 in each game.

The NBA understood what was going on from the previous playoffs and scheduled the Bulls for the Christmas Day game in New York. This time Jordan had just 30 points and the Bulls lost by one. Then it was back home as Jordan also began to practice what would become a famous playing-with-fever demonstration.

Jordan had a touch of the flu and a temperature above 100. He said it helped him concentrate. Years later, in the 1997 Finals, Jordan would lead the Bulls to victory in Game 5 and a 3-2 lead in the series with 38 points playing with a virus. With the Bulls trailing 85-84 with 47 seconds left, Jordan made a game-tying free throw and then grabbed the rebound after missing the second foul shot. With 25 seconds remaining, he made the winning shot, a three-pointer, to give the Bulls the lead for good in their stunning 90-88 victory.

Jordan finished with 38 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, in 44 minutes. He also had seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

To pay tribute to that Finals performance, Nike this November is releasing Air Jordan 12 "Flu Game," a retro black and red shoe to commemorate another highlight of Jordan's career. Yes, it's the career that keeps on giving and giving-memories and marketing opportunities.

The Bulls headed into Detroit just after New Years, and it remained personal for Jordan. The Pistons weren't the famed Bad Boys yet, though they had some very bad guys. Namely Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn. They still were the offensive minded team a few years removed from the highest scoring game in league history with the Denver Nuggets. Jordan scored 47 in a 124-119 win in the Stadium, where the Bulls were showing the first signs of making their run under Jordan as they were headed to a 29-12 home record. Dominating at home is the first sign of development of a young team headed toward greatness.

General Manager Krause had made some early missteps, especially in his relationship with Jordan. There was the injury, though management probably was reasonable in not to wanting to take the risk on Jordan's career. Though you could question how they went about it. But there also were the personnel moves that struck Jordan as malicious, like taking on All Star game alleged conspirator Gervin and dumping good guy Higgins.

But Krause did have a philosophy of defense first and a ball movement offense, which would be crucial in the long run in the championship years, and a mantra at the beginning of addition by subtraction.

Krause had begun to discard the guys who weren't fitting with his philosophy or with Jordan. Gone for 1986-87 were Woolridge, Dailey, Gervin, Sidney Green and Kyle Macy. Soon to follow were Gene Banks, Steve Colter and Earl Cureton.

And the scoring binge continued...

With Sam Bowie out almost all season with another foot problem, the draft pick was looking worse and worse. Portland management remained on the defensive, continuing to insist it was the right pick because although Jordan was scoring and was spectacular, the Trail Blazers were better and would be even better when Bowie returned.

So Jordan, as he would in the 1992 Finals when there was talk Clyde Drexler should have been MVP, took it to Drexler. Jordan scored 53 points, adding five assists and three steals. The Blazers had Drexler on Jordan and Jim Paxson double teaming, the two guys they had at the time and a big reason they chose to pass on Jordan. The Bulls won 121-117 and word continued to spread.

Charles Barkley would become good friends with Jordan, and they had bonded in the 1984 Olympic tryouts when Barkley was cut. With Bobby Knight as coach, Barkley had no chance and just let it fly.

As Jordan had joked when asked about the differences between his college coach, Dean Smith, and Knight: "Smith employed the four corners offense and Knight the four letter words."

Barkley bragged if Jordan tried to score like that against his team, he'd break him in pieces. The Bulls won 105-89 with Jordan getting 47 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Barkley had 21 points and a good time losing, which was common in his career.

Just to make sure Barkley knew it was no fluke, Jordan scored 49 points a few weeks later when the Bulls went into Philadelphia, though the Bulls lost 121-112 as Barkley had 40.

Jordan headed into the All-Star break this time as undoubtedly the most electrifying player in the game, and back then the best players competed in the contests, Jordan in the slam dunk and Larry Bird in the three-point shooting contest. Unlike in this era, the best players then weren't worried about embarrassing themselves if they lost. They believed in themselves and believed they'd win and sought out competition wherever they could find it. It's why that era was the best the NBA has seen, and a major reason why this generation of players, as talented as they are, don't measure up. They generally won't seek out competition and challenge themselves on a daily basis like the players of the 1980s. Perhaps Kobe Bryant is an exception.

Jordan never stepped back from any challenge back then, and he won the slam dunk contest, earning $12,000, which he split with his teammates. His winning dunk was a tribute to Julius Erving, who had won the inaugural ABA slam dunk contest with a running dunk from around the free throw line. Jordan jazzed it up a bit with a double pump.

Earlier, Jordan had offered to let Erving take his place in the starting lineup in Erving's final All-Star game. But it was Isiah Thomas who stepped aside so Jordan could play alongside Erving. And years later, in 2003 in Jordan's last All-Star game, it would be Thomas as coach, then with the Indiana Pacers, who would persuade Vince Carter to let Jordan have Carter's starting spot.

The great irony of the angry Jordan-Thomas feud and Chicago's subsequent bitterness toward Thomas was how badly Thomas was trying to be drafted by the Bulls in 1981. The Bulls had lost Magic Johnson in the 1979 coin flip for the No. 1 pick at a time Johnson was asking his representatives to get him to Chicago because he thought Artis Gilmore was a better center to play with for his game and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had fallen off badly and wasn't motivated enough.

Chicago needed a star, and Thomas would be perfect, a local kid from the West Side who was a hero at Indiana University. Thomas was regarded as the best player in the 1981 draft and Dallas had the first pick. Thomas went to see the Mavs and famously told them he didn't want to play for them. He said, "I'm not into that cowboy (crap)." Then-owner Don Carter, who wore a big Stetson, had heard enough. Thomas tried the same thing with the Pistons, saying he wanted to be in Chicago. But Pistons General Manager Jack McCloskey said no matter what Thomas said or did he was being drafted by the Pistons. The Bulls, with No. 6, selected Woolridge.

Jordan had just 11 points on five-of-12 shooting in 28 minutes in a 154-149 East loss in that All Star game, though no one mentioned anything about a conspiracy. Jordan had made his points all season long and in the much anticipated dunk competition.

There, no doubt, was jealousy among the stars of the game, but they were quietly accepting they could not do the things Jordan could. Plus, the nation was in love with Jordan.

Tom Brokaw of NBC News profiled Jordan. CBS's famed 60 Minutes did a fawning profile that Jordan advisors said was better than any marketing commercial they'd made for him. Magic and Larry generally have been credited from saving the NBA from the drug backlash of the 1970s and restoring the game. But it was Jordan's brilliance and open attitude which charmed a skeptical nation and truly established the NBA as a premier sports league.

Jordan came out of the All-Star break barely winded with 45 points against Seattle and then 43 against the Kings in the third game in four nights. That's why everyone needs to stop asking about back-to-backs and four in five night sets in the NBA. If you are a great player, you produce. If you are a fraud, you make excuses. Jordan didn't make excuses, and few ever were carrying a team like Jordan did those Bulls.

The criticism of Jordan, when there was, now came down to not being able to win and being selfish, not making his teammates better. Jordan shook his head. He saw Magic playing with Worthy and Kareem, Bird playing with McHale, Parish and Dennis Johnson. Jordan was playing with Granville Waiters, Brad Sellers, Mike Brown, Earl Cureton, Dave Corzine, Charles Oakley, John Paxson, Pete Myers, Elston Turner, Darren Daye, Gene Banks and Steve Colter. Find All-Stars there? Oakley did make an All-Star team when he was with the Knicks, though he may have scared the coaches into voting for him.

"Are you telling me Kareem and James wouldn't be All-Stars without Magic?" would be Jordan's frequent refrain with sometimes demeaning references to his illustrious cast. "That McHale or Parish or DJ wouldn't be without Bird?"

These games were getting ridiculous.

Against the Cavs on Feb. 22, Jordan scored 43 points and had eight steals and six assists. Jordan then hit the Nets for 58 points on Feb. 26, a regular season franchise scoring record as Jordan was 26-of-27 from the free throw line. Jordan also had eight rebounds and when he broke Chet Walker's team scoring record of 56 points, he asked to be taken out of the blowout win with about three minutes left despite the home crowd screaming for 60. "I did want to break the Bulls record," Jordan said. "But I didn't want to go any farther than that. I was happy with what the team was doing."

Players were now beginning to mutter about not being able to touch Jordan, but few players took as much contact, as the games with the Pistons demonstrated. They weren't officially the Bad Boys, but looking back it's amazing the NBA not only allowed the Pistons to get away with that nascent brutality but eventually turned it into a marketing ploy.

If there was a load on Jordan you'd never know.

How about this for a four in five nights starting Feb. 28. Jordan scored 37 in a win over the Bucks, 30 in a loss in New Jersey, 30 in a win back home over the Clippers and then in the fourth game of the five-night set, Jordan faced the Pistons.

How about this 125-120 overtime win in Detroit with the Pistons playing then in the Silverdome: 61 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. To get the Bulls into overtime, Jordan scored 26 points in the fourth quarter. No one, really, had seen anything like this. Wilt had scored more—and only Wilt—but not from the perimeter as Jordan was doing.

So much for that team record 58 points which didn't last long. Jordan tied the game at the end of regulation and then stole the ball to prevent a Pistons chance at a regulation winner. Thomas was awfully good with 31 points and 18 rebounds, and he was now learning to lose all the personal duels with Jordan.

The Bulls returned home and lost by a point to the Knicks as Jordan had just 27. But he also had eight steals and eight rebounds. The man never rested.

Though Barkley was the mouth, the games with the 76ers were of greater significance to Jordan because it was the final season for Julius Erving. Jordan, clearly, had become the heir to Erving's throne as something of the spokesman of the game given his popularity and exciting style.

In Philadelphia on March 11, Jordan had 49 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four blocks. Jordan was just letting Dr. J. know he was worthy.

The Bulls continued to hang around .500, a few above or below all season as they left on their final western trip. From a season high five over .500, they lost six of eight heading into Portland to conclude the trip. Even Portland management officials were opening questioning Jordan to justify their historic mistake. Portland won by a basket as Jordan had 46 points.

March 24th was another historic night in the Chicago Stadium as it was Erving's final appearance in Chicago. There have been few more gracious men in the history of the game, and Erving couldn't have been more complimentary of Jordan. I recall Erving that night saying how much easier it was for him to retire knowing Jordan was there to carry the torch forward for the league.

Jordan wouldn't disappoint, as he led the Bulls to a 93-91 win with 56 points, eight steals and seven rebounds.

The contretemps with the Pistons continued as the Bulls beat Detroit by 30 at home. Laimbeer pushed Jordan into the basket support on a drive in Laimbeer's standard method of hitting players in the back. Jordan retaliated with a push at Laimbeer and later in the game Adrian Dantley clotheslined Jordan and complained Jordan gets too much respect from the referees.

The Bulls had fallen below .500, and Jordan was pushing for a winning record. With the team 38-40 after a loss at Philadelphia, how about this Jordan closing kick in consecutive games: 53 points and eight assists in a win against the Pacers; 50 points and nine rebounds in a win at Milwaukee, and then 61 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Atlanta. That 61 in the last home game of the regular season was a memorable shootout with Dominique Wilkins, who had 34 points and finished second in the league in scoring, more than eight points behind Jordan. It was the first time since Wilt anyone scored at least 50 points in three straight games. In a run starting in the second quarter, Jordan scored 23 straight points.

The loss left the Bulls 40-41 heading into Boston for the closing game before opening the playoffs against the Celtics. Jordan rested, scored 17 points in 25 minutes as the Bulls lost to finish 40-42.

But it was a regular season for the ages with 37 games of at least 40 points, an average of 37.1. Jordan scored 3,041 points, the most ever by a guard, and became the first player ever with more than 100 blocks and steals. Despite being second in steals to Alvin Robertson, Jordan wasn't named to the first- or second all-defensive teams, amazingly. It just shows, as I've often said, how little attention so many coaches actually pay to the game and protect their favorites. Jordan made it clear the coaches couldn't deny him the following season as in the media voting he was named Defensive Player of the Year and led the NBA in steals.

The Bulls couldn't compete with the Celtics as Jordan was merely mortal-for him-averaging 35.7 points and six assists. The Bulls were swept by the Celtics in three games in the opening round for the second straight season. But the building blocks for the championship run were about to be put into place with the second best draft in franchise history. Jordan had shown he was the best individual player in the game. Now it was time to begin to show he could be part of the best team.

[ommy48]

[EKBATAN]

i cant believe no one updated this thread with the videos of the induction


i love this dude, at the beginning of his speech he gave it up to scottie pippen, he always was a true gentleman and an extraordinary person....he will always be missed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu9DQiD7DBU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6yeK_kX8T4