Michael Jordan swore he didn’t miss his final two free throws on purpose.
Nevertheless, there’s no denying this fact: No. 23 finished with 45 points.
“Sometimes, things are very ironic,” Jordan said that May 27, 1996 night after the Bulls swept the Magic out of the Eastern Conference finals.
One year and nine days after the Magic celebrated on the United Center floor after bouncing the Bulls from the playoffs, Jordan had his revenge.
Back then, fresh from coming out of his baseball-driven retirement, Jordan wore No. 45. This time, Superman wore the right cape.
Jordan capped a dominating series with his 45-point performance, finishing with averages of 29.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals. The rematch wasn’t much of one.
Jordan projected an aura unlike any athlete I’ve covered. Granted, covering him at age 28 and on my first big professional break at the Chicago Tribune, plays into any memory of that dynamic. But between his immaculate postgame wardrobes and the contemplative manner in which he’d consider postgame questions, every press conference felt like an event with a capital “E.”
NBA
On this night, Jordan mostly steered clear of any revenge talk. But for a man who slashed and burned his way through a Hall of Fame acceptance speech many years later, to pretend he didn’t remember Nick Anderson saying “No. 45 doesn’t explode like No. 23 used to” the previous year is foolish.
Jordan mostly concentrated his postgame remarks on the wide swath of the roster set to make their first NBA Finals appearance. Ron Harper. Steve Kerr. Jud Buechler. Bill Wennington. Toni Kukoc. Luc Longley. Randy Brown.
This depth proved essential to the Bulls winning an NBA-record 72 games and stampeding to an 11-1 mark through three rounds of the postseason. But as usual, Jordan’s sublime skill and cutthroat competitiveness burned brightest.
“Quite honestly, I don’t think Michael is going to be denied,” Magic coach Brian Hill said that night. “I think this is all about a testament to his will and his excellence as a basketball player.”
Indeed, Jordan scored 45 points as the other four starters combined for 35. Unlike uniform numbers, some things never change.
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