The Chicago Bulls were expecting to make a historic three-peat in 1993 when they faced the Phoenix Suns in the Finals. With a comfortable 3-1 lead, Michael Jordan and the Bulls could already feel the championship atmosphere inside their home arena.
However, the Suns did not let the Bulls finish the series on their home court and forced a Game 6 with a 108-98 win. Longtime Bulls broadcaster Neil Funk caught a memorable moment during the Bulls’ trip to Phoenix ahead of Game 6.
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According to Funk, nobody from the Bulls team was confident about winning except for one player – Jordan. Before traveling, MJ boosted his teammates’ morale by dropping an epic line on the plane.
“The year that we played Phoenix in the Finals, they had home-court advantage,” Funk once recalled. “We lose at home in Game 5. Now we have to go back to Phoenix potentially to play two games and they feel like they have momentum. We’re at (the charter flight staging area) and everyone has their luggage for the first game, the day off and the next game. Big suitcases. And Michael pulls up and he has this little valise.”
“He comes up on the plane with it and he says, ‘Gentlemen, this is all the clothes I brought. We’re not going to be there long enough for me to have to change into anything,'” he continued. “The mood on the plane was very subdued because we had lost the night before. That changed everything.”
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Jordan knew exactly what to do at the time
As it turns out, Funk wasn’t sensationalizing anything with his story. In fact, Jordan himself also once recalled exactly what he did as the leader of his team after being dejected by the loss.
MJ vividly recalled making an effort to remind his teammates that they weren’t flying to Phoenix to lose. Instead, they were set to close the series out in the Suns’ home court and complete a three-peat.
“When we lost Game 5, our morale was so low because here they had the advantage again,” Jordan reflected. “I didn’t want the negative thoughts to come into play. When I got to the plane with a cigar, everybody’s wondering what’s he doing? But what I was tryna do was instill confidence that, ‘Hey, we can win on this road… I got one back, one suit packed. We’re gonna win one game, we’re gonna celebrate, come back home.'”
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MJ called it, the Bulls closed it
Just as Jordan called it, the Bulls beat the Suns to win their third NBA championship. Though they got the result they wanted, MJ and the Bulls fought a tough battle that night.
Jordan scored a game-high 33 points on 50 per cent shooting. Scottie Pippen chipped in with 23 points and BJ Armstrong finished with 18.
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Despite their efforts, the Suns could’ve stolen another victory if it hadn’t been for John Paxson’s clutch 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left on the game clock. Phoenix failed to get a good shot off in the game’s final possession and the Bulls closed the series out.
Though it was Paxson who saved the day for the Bulls, the team recognized how Jordan uplifted them heading into the game. In retrospect, what MJ did for his teammates in that championship series speaks volumes about his qualities as a leader.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 31, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.