This was MJ's first truly great NBA game. In just his 9th game as a pro, rookie MJ would take over a game due to necessity and dominate with his athleticism and will. While this became MJ's first 40+ pt game (in his career of 217 40+ games), this really should have been a 55pt game because MJ missed a few easy layups and free throws which were uncharacteristic of him. But throughout the game, his knack for the big play and spectacular drama occurred in the most crucial moments. With phenomenal moves, hang-time jumpers and an innate ability to create, young MJ took over the league by storm and this was the beginning.

History tends to forget this game merely because in Game 2, MJ scored 63. But this game had MJ attacking the basket more since in Game 2, the Celtics tried to close the driving lanes. It didn't matter, MJ dominated with an inside or outside game even after a 64 game layoff with a broken foot. After this game, Bird said they'd never let him scored 49 again. He was right - he got 63 next. These were the Celtics that won the Championship that year. MJ showed the world what he was capable of against the greatest team in just his 2nd year. Young MJ filled up the highlight reel every game.

I think this footage is somewhat rare. In October 1997, Bulls went to Paris to compete in McDonald's Open which featured some of the best clubs from all over the world. The other teams competing were Paris St Germain, the champions of France, Olympiakos of Greece, the European champions, Atenas de Cordoba, the South American champions, Barcelona and Benetton, champions of Spain and Italy, respectively. Jordan playing in Europe was a gigantic event. More than one thousand journalists came from all over the world to witness the tournament. France-Noir, a daily French newspaper, wrote "Michael Jordan is in Paris. That's better than the Pope. It's God in person." Pippen was injured and Rodman was ill, thus they were absent. In the semifinals Bulls beat Paris St. Germain 89-82 in a quite close game. Kukoc was 0-7, Harper 1-9, Kerr 2-7. Jordan finished with 28pts on 11/23 with 6 assists. Longley and Scott Burrell had also good performances. On the other semifinal matchup Olympiakos beat Atenas de Cordoba in the final possession. So the Bulls and Olympiakos met in the finals. This time Bulls were more focused and since it was a 20-25 point blowout early in the fourth quarter Jordan only played for 29 minutes and finished with a game-high 27 points. (if anyone's interested I have the boxscores for both Bulls games. ) The camerawork was great in this game. The commentary wasn't English. Here are the complete results in the tournament. (Bulls entered from the semifinals). 10/16/97 Atenas de Cordoba 87 -- Benetton Treviso 78 PSG Racing 97 -- FC Barcelona 84 10/17/97 (semifinals) Olympiakos 89 - Atenas de Cordoba 86 Chicago Bulls 89 -- PSG Racing 82 10/18/97 (final and classification) Benetton Treviso 106 -- FC Barcelona 103 Atenas de Cordoba 88 -- PSG Racing 78 Chicago Bulls 104 -- Olympiakos 78 Post game quotes & notes ========================== PARIS, Oct.18 -- For most of the 1990's, the Chicago Bulls have been calling themselves ''world champions.'' ''Now, it's official,'' Bulls guard Randy Brown said. Official, but not necessarily emotional. As the Bulls gathered around the trophy at the Palais Omnisports de Paris tonight after their very routine 104-78 victory over Olympiakos Piraeus in the final of the McDonald's Championship, they looked about as overwhelmed as a Nobel laureate would after winning a local poetry contest. ''We didn't really have any doubt we were the best team in the world,'' Michael Jordan said. No one had any doubt that Jordan was the best player in the world, either, and over the last two nights in this six-team international event that advertises itself as a world club championship, he merely underlined the obvious. "I think hopefully the fans were pretty pleased despite the little time I was on the basketball court," said Jordan, who played 29 minutes. On Friday, Jordan scored a game-high 28 points when his supporting cast was abysmal in a surprisingly close 89-82 victory over the French champion PSG-Racing. Tonight, he scored a game-high 27 points, many of them with great panache, against the European and Greek champion Olympiakos when his supporting cast was playing at a far superior level. ''I think the Bulls were much better prepared and concentrated for this game,'' Olympiakos Coach Dussan Ivkovic said. Jordan's finest move came with just more than four minutes left in the first half when he gave the locals what they came to see as he skirted the baseline, swooped under the basket and stalled out in mid-air to score and draw the foul. "I think a lot of people in the stands were looking for something unique," said Jordan, who is shown in polls to be the most popular athlete in France. "It just happened to go in, and I was pretty amazed to get the shot up," he added. Dozens of banners and hand-made pennants waved from the stands. "Be Legendary MJ," read one. "His Airness Came on Earth to Bless Us," went another. "Give Us a Show Michael - Germany Loves the Bulls," yet another. Several times Jordan said he put a "little extra mustard on top of the hot dog" to please the fans. "I think I could sense the competition in their eyes at a challenge," Jordan said. "A couple of times, I gave a head and shoulder fake, and I felt like they were anticipating the worst. "If they were dreaming of playing Michael Jordan all alone, this was their opportunity. This is not television, they couldn't change the channel. "I gave one player a fake, and I thought he lost his shoes. He thought it was funny. He laughed, so I laughed too." Michael Hawkins, who played briefly with the Celtics, directed Olympiakos' offense, often penetrating the Bulls defense. At times, the Greek team was their equal, thanks to Arturas Karnisovas, who had 19 points, and center Dragan Tarlac, once a Bulls draft pick, who scored 14 points with a game-high 11 rebounds despite inspired opposition from Luc Longley and Bill Wennington. They were the necessary character actors in games that were written for Jordan. His reported $33 million salary is probably more than the combined budgets of the two European clubs opposing him. On Friday, the Bulls shot 42 percent from the field. Tonight, they shot 52 percent. On Friday, they were outrebounded; tonight, they won the battle of the boards, 49-36, and outscored Olympiakos in every quarter. About the only elements that remained mediocre were their 3-point shooting and Toni Kukoc, who bore scant resemblance to the versatile, cocksure golden boy who once dominated European basketball. He scored a total of 5 points in two games on 2-of-15 shooting from the field, in part because he is recovering more slowly than expected from a foot injury. ''We had a game a little more befitting of the Bulls and the tradition we've had,'' said Chicago Coach Phil Jackson, who arrived here without the injured Scottie Pippen and the ill Dennis Rodman. But Jackson still had Jordan. And at the end of what he admitted was probably his last international game -- future barnstorming tours excepted -- Jordan was given the most valuable player award, named for the former Croatian star Drazen Petrovic, who played for the Nets and was killed in an automobile accident in 1993. ===========================

Running on fumes MJ almost exclusively relies on his jumper in this game to score a very efficient 46 points. This was Game # 103 of the season for the Bulls. Coming off grueling series' against NY and Cleveland the entire team and especially MJ were fatigued and banged up by this time of the year. To make matters worse MJ sprains his ankle early in the game. Yet, like the true champion he is he rises above his injury to score a "boring" 46 points in what was the biggest game of the season for the Bulls with the Finals tied 2-2. I also included bits of MJ's interview televised on NBC during halftime of this game where he talks abt his much hyped matchup with Drexler.

MJ should have been nicknamed "The Giant Killer". MJ flipped conventional wisdom that you needed a big man to win. And, he did it during the era of the greatest big men by playing at an efficiency higher than them all. This may be his most incredible achievement - retiring as the #1 PER leader in NBA history. From Jabbar in his last years to Akeem to Hakeem to Ewing to Robinson, Moses, Sampson, Laimbeer, Eaton, Daugherty, Parish, McHale, Mutombo, Mourning, Shaq, Smits and to the tweeners Duncan and Garnett, MJ ruled during a time when centers were supposed to rule. MJ turned David Vs. Goliath into a mismatch and instead, became Goliath himself. Here, MJ played a typical game for 1990. In his absolute prime, his physical mastery and skills were at superhuman levels. With young David Robinson in his way, MJ played the game inside and out as if he wasn't there on route to 44 athletic points. The Spurs played a great game to offset MJ's typical brilliance. The Admiral played a great game to match his team. MJ's Bulls suffered a close loss here but MJ's show was better than the game. Enjoy.

This is the Legendary Flu Game where MJ rises from his death-bed. It is my opinion that this game can be considered MJ's greatest game ever. The book "MJ's 50 Greatest Games" ranks this at #2. This is the game that signified the core and purity of Michael Jordan. Take away all the circus shots, amazing dunks, hang-time jumpers, acrobatic drives, huge scoring nights etc, and you had what Michael Jordan represented - the unparalleled desire and will to succeed in the most crucial moments and in the most dramatic fashion. The only question left after this game was whether MJ would be the greatest there ever will be. MJ's sickness left him devoid of energy, food and sleep. During the game, someone mistakenly gave him Gatorlode instead of Gatorade which made things even worse since Gatorlode is a post-activity drink. But the Bulls needed this game since the series was tied 2-2 and losing this game meant they would have to go to 7 games to win the title. This was unacceptable to MJ. Also, that year's "MVP-trohy borrower" Karl Malone had to be defeated. Going 13-27 (modest by MJ's standards) and at times, about to pass out, MJ stuck through and came up with the clutch FT, clutch rebound and of course, the famous clutch trey-winner. Is it possible to have more drama? MJ stated that he still has trouble remembering the whole game because of his condition. He said, "I almost died playing that game." The greatest, as always, MJ.

Michael Jordan was a man on a mission. He scored 32 points on 12 of 24 shooting and the Bulls won game three, 94-86. Scottie Pippen scored 26 for Chicago and Patrick Ewing paced the Knicks with 27. The Bulls took a 2-1 lead in this hard-fought, intense series.

Before the end of the 1992 NBA All-Star game, Magic Johnson had funny one-on-one show against Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. By the way, Magic was the MVP of that game.