It was June 5, 1991. The Chicago Bulls were down 1-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-ever NBA Finals appearance.
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The young Bulls were led, of course, by Michael Jordan. He was spectacular in Game 1, scoring 35 points and dishing out 12 assists, but missed a 17-footer that could have tied the game as the Bulls lost 93-91.
After a slow start in the first half (he scored just two points) Jordan turned it up in the second half, hitting 13 consecutive field goals. But it was his acrobatic layup over former North Carolina teammate and then-Lakers forward Sam Perkins that will be forever etched in the minds of basketball fans everywhere.
The moment was best described by a man who saw it up close and personal: Lakers guard Magic Johnson.
“He went fake right, went left, cocked it all the way back, and then just held it for a minute. Tongue all out,” Johnson said, emulating Jordan’s trademark gesture. “Now he’s still hanging in the air. He’s still hanging. I sat there and said, ‘No he is not going to do this. Not on us. Not on me."
Yes, Magic. Yes he did.
“Looks like Michael Jordan is trying to find a way to miss the shot,” commentator and former coach Mike Fratello blurted on the air. “Instead of taking the easy one, he tries to make it hard, and still comes up …”
The Bulls would go on to win the game, 107-86 (Jordan finished with 33 points and 13 assists), and the series in six games to claim the franchise’s first world championship. In essence, they set in motion their reign as “Team of the Nineties” by beating the “Team of the “Eighties.”
There would be many more highlights — and championships — for Jordan, but “The Move” stands out among them as a moment when Jordan learned to fly while carrying his team to a championship.
