Michael Jordan scored 38 points in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals while playing with the flu. That’s superhuman stuff that only GOATs can do. Several years before that, Jordan had another big scoring game under equally difficult circumstances. But it wasn’t that he was sick or anything.
Former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges revealed a never-before-told story of Michael Jordan playing a regular season game under the influence of alcohol, presumably drunk. Hodges’ story was such a shocker that even Stephen Jackson dropped his jaw with a huge ‘huh?’ while Craig was telling the tale. Here it goes:
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“We go to shootaround and we leave shootaround and we’re on the bus and MJ is like, ‘Man, drop me off here’ and dropped him at the bar and said he gonna have some beers,” narrated Hodges. “He tells us to pick him up on the way back to the game. We pick him up. He still got his sweats on. And you know MJ come to the game suited and booted,” narrated Hodges. “‘Yeah man, I’m feeling good’. He was bubbly. I can smell the beer on him. Got 30 at the half. Going through warmups, ‘Man, I’m seeing three rims. I’mma shoot at the one in the middle.'”
It was against the Miami Heat in 1992
Hodges did not say exactly when this happened. However, during his conversation with Barnes, he talked about playing the Heat late in the season before they met them in the first round of the playoffs. The only time that MJ faced the Heat in the first round was during the 1991-92 season.
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Looking at their regular season head-to-head matchup that year, their final regular season meeting was on March 16, 1992, in Miami. In that game, Jordan scored 37 points on 15-27 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, 13 assists and one blocked shot.
“And then he told us, ‘If y’all can’t beat them, we don’t need to win a championship. Y’all can beat them without me.’ But he came in there and got it done early and sat out. Went and sat down,” added Hodges.
The Bulls won that game 116-100. They were the best team in the NBA at 67-15 and went on to sweep the 8th-seeded Heat 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs. Jordan averaged 45.7 points per game in that series, including a 56-point explosion in the series-clinching Game 3. And yes, Chicago went on to win its second straight championship that year.
Scottie also said he and MJ drank beer before exhibition games
Curiously, Hodges wasn’t the only ex-Bull who claimed that Jordan drank beer before games. MJ’s sidekick Scottie Pippen once said that he and the GOAT would gulp one or two bottles of beer before exhibition games where they did not expect to play a lot of minutes.
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“I’ve had a few drinks during the exhibition season,” the legendary forward said. “You know, me and Michael, we tested the waters a few times when we had some exhibition games. We knew we weren’t playing too many minutes, so we may have a beer or two in the locker room before we go out,” said Pippen on The Dan LeBatard Show.
You could understand why Pip and MJ would loosen up with a couple of beers because they were playing in exhibition games. Meanwhile, Hodges’ story is savage because it happened during a regular season game and judging by his story, it looked like Mike had downed more than two bottles that day.
But yeah, that’s why “His Airness” is the GOAT. Not only is he likely the only player to pull off that stunt, but he’s probably the only one to score that many points despite seeing three rims.