During his honored NBA career, Michael Jordan starred in many big games.
The Chicago Bulls legend never hesitated to assert his dominance over rivals, and when the playoffs arrived, he took it to the next level.
In the 1992 NBA Finals, fans witnessed a big moment in Jordan’s career during Game 1 of this series.
The legendary shooting guard went off on the Portland Trail Blazers, as he was on a mission.
NBA fans are celebrating 31 years of the ‘shrug game,’ where Jordan did exactly that, shrugged, after hitting a big three-pointer against the Blazers.
31 YEARS AGO TODAY 🐐
Michael Jordan’s “Shrug Game”People remember the 6 threes (35 PTS) in the 1st half but forget he also had 11 AST with just 1 TO in the 33-PT win.
“I started running for the 3PT line. It felt like a FT.”
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 3, 2023
Magic Johnson once revealed that celebration was directed at him.
Jordan and Johnson stayed up all night before Game 1, and Magic told Jordan he needed to get some rest or he wouldn’t play at his best in the first game.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson just told me Michael Jordan’s shrugging his shoulders when he drained 6 3’s against the Blazers was because Magic beat him in a card game the night before. pic.twitter.com/6JLPDI97MD
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) February 14, 2020
Jordan, who beat Johnson the prior year to win his first NBA championship, was completely unbothered by that.
He knew he would go off on Clyde Drexler and co. after he was compared to the Blazers’ legend.
“I’m not saying he wasn’t a threat but me being compared to him, I took offense to that.”
– Michael Jordan on Clyde Drexler #TheLastDance
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 30, 2020
Jordan made it clear he was the best player on the court and the entire league that night.
The Bulls dominated their rivals with a 122-89 win, with Jordan dropping 39 points, to go along with 11 assists and 3 rebounds.
Chicago ended up winning the series 4-2, with Jordan taking MVP honors after averaging 35.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.
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