“The guy hit six threes and was still unhappy” – Kukoc recalls MJ’s iconic ‘Shrug Game’ in the 1992 NBA Finals originally appeared on Basketball Network.
It was 1992, and Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls were on the hunt for back-to-back championships. In the Finals, they faced the Portland Trail Blazers, led by Clyde Drexler. At the time, Drexler was widely considered the second-best shooting guard in the league — right behind MJ — and fans couldn’t wait for that epic showdown.
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That season, Drexler finished second in MVP voting behind Jordan and was ready to prove to the world that he deserved the award. Cylde ended the regular season with impressive averages: 25.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
However, MJ, being the competitor he was, couldn’t wait for the direct matchup with The Glyde to show him that he didn’t even belong in the same sentence. By the end of the first half of Game 1, Jordan had already made NBA history by knocking down six three-pointers, a part of his game that was usually considered a weakness, completely catching Drexler and the Blazers off guard.
Toni Kukoc, though not yet part of the Bulls at the time, spoke to Index.hr about that game to illustrate Jordan’s mentality.
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“I recently came across an old interview with him after the Finals against Portland, when he made a career-high six threes,” Kukoc recalled. “He said it was all great, but when he started hitting all those threes, he realized it was distracting him from doing what he did best — attacking the basket. He said that game, he just stood at the three-point line waiting for the ball so he could shoot.”
“He wasn’t following his instincts, and that’s why he was mad. Just that statement alone shows you what kind of player he was. The guy hit six threes and was still unhappy because it stopped him from playing real basketball, the kind that was much more important for his team than just standing on the perimeter waiting for a catch-and-shoot.”
Jordan realized this wasn’t the Bulls’ identity
Mike was a phenomenal midrange shooter, but generally below average from three. Still, in that game, he was feeling it from beyond the arc and went with the flow. At halftime, however, Jordan realized this wasn’t the Bulls’ identity, the same essence that had brought them a title the previous year.
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Drexler later admitted that he tried to provoke Jordan into taking long jumpers, thinking it would throw him off his game. What he didn’t expect was that MJ would start hitting from every angle.
“I was backing off him, saying, ‘You can’t hit that,'” Portland’s star admitted via SLAM Magazine.
Drexler pulled him into a mental trap
Despite leading at halftime, Jordan realized Drexler had gotten into his head, pulling him into a mental trap and that it wasn’t sustainable for the team. He quickly reset, returned to his regular game of midrange shots, post play and driving to the rim.
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Michael finished the game with 39 points. MJ averaged 35.8 points on 52.6% shooting from the field and an impressive 42.9% from three across the series. Clyde played great, too, but couldn’t keep up with His Airness. The Blazers’ superstar averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on a modest 40.7% shooting.
Jordan quickly understood he just had to stick to the style of play that had already proven to be too much for the rest of the league, including Drexler, and that the Bulls would ultimately capture their second straight title.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.