Whenever the Chicago Bulls needed a bucket late in the game back in the 1990s, even a blind man could recognize that the ball was going to Michael Jordan. Long-time Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach had a clever name for that: The “Archangel” offense.
“That’s where we give the ball to Michael Jordan and say, ‘Save us, Michael,'” Phil Jackson clarified what that offense meant, per Harley Tinkham of the Los Angeles Times.
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Bach wasn’t just describing a last-ditch “hero ball” strategy but was apparently using a play on words. The “Archangel” in the Bible is Michael, and for the Bulls, their “savior” in crunch time was also Michael (Jordan).
Using such a term almost felt mythological, as if the Bulls were summoning a higher power whenever they abandoned the system and trusted His Airness to deliver. Nonetheless, it worked for them, more often than not.
Jordan was the ultimate closer
Tinkham mentioned the archangel offense back in 1990, so it would have been around that time that Bach coined the term. That would also mean a Jordan takeover produced mixed results as the franchise only captured its first title in 1991.
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It was interesting since it was theoretically opposite to the Triangle offense’s team-first approach. The Triangle was designed to prevent predictability, but nothing could be more predictable than giving the ball to your best player, which the Bulls often did.
Even though MJ had his moments in the years before his championship runs, there was nothing like the inevitability he brought to the table every time he decided to take over. For instance, a Reddit user in 2021 did the math and highlighted how dominant Michael was in the clutch during the 1997 playoffs.
“I went through and tracked his numbers for each of the 19 fourth quarters he played in, in which his combined minutes played was 192:03. In these 192 minutes, Jordan scored 182 points, got 33 rebounds, and dished out 26 assists while only turning it over 8 times,” he wrote.
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Projected per 40 minutes, those numbers translate to 37.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting nearly 54 percent from the floor.
Now, things are just getting fascinating. Since total fourth-quarter minutes do not necessarily mean “clutch,” the Reddit user isolated Jordan’s “clutch minutes” stats and found out that they were video-game-like. (“Clutch” is defined as the final five minutes of the game, when the score is within five points.)
Within the NBA’s own definition of clutch time, Jordan totaled 55 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. That translates to a ridiculous 40-minute projections of 51 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The more the game demanded, the more MJ delivered!
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Jordan’s four best fourth-quarter performances in the 1997 playoff run were proof that he was the team’s savior. During these four contests (Games 1 and 5 against Utah; Game 2 first round vs. Washington; Game 4 ECF against Miami), Mike tallied a total of 64 points while the rest of the Bulls only had 27.
As great as Jordan was, he needed help
The Bulls never needed MJ to become a deity on the basketball court every night. Jackson ensured that his teammates understood their assignment and that the Archangel offense would not become a nightly trend.
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For instance, Phil called out the Bulls’ supporting cast in a 1997 preseason tournament held in Paris, France. After doing damage in the first three quarters by dropping 26, Jordan sat down at the beginning of the fourth up by 19. As soon as he left the floor, chaos ensued. The lead dwindled down to four, forcing Jackson to check MJ back in the game to restore order.
“Someone else is going to have to fill it up, and if Michael has to take it up, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on him to play under duress,” Jackson lamented.
Of course, that came with the territory. There would always be nights when the offense stalled and all eyes were transfixed on Jordan, almost by instinct. His presence alone made it easy for teammates to defer, knowing he could manufacture a basket out of thin air when things broke down.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.