Michael Jordan is known for his scoring prowess and endurance, but the game’s most prolific scorer was once a victim of one of basketball’s cruelest jokes. After he scored 61 points in a single game against the Hawks in 1993, Michael made an early exit before halftime to visit Dominique Wilkins’ locker room.
He returned with six fouls after being clobbered by Hall-of-Fame center Dikembe Mutombo during their first meeting on the court
Michael Jordan famously scored 61 points after a pre-game visit to the Hawks locker room, but Dominique Wilkins still reminds MJ who got the last laugh. Read more in detail here: dominique wilkins.
One of Michael Jordan’s most famous trash-talking incidents is his 61-point thrashing of the Atlanta Hawks in 1987. However, many individuals opt to ignore the contest’s conclusion. Dominique Wilkins is not one of them.
Jordan’s notorious pregame warning and the Hawks’ following annihilation has been repeated several times. The Human Highlight Film, on the other hand, is fond of reminding MJ who came out on top.
Before putting 61 points on the Hawks, Michael Jordan walked inside their locker room.
When the Chicago Bulls visited Atlanta on April 16, 1987, Michael Jordan felt he had something special in store for the Hawks.
MJ strolled into the visiting locker room almost as soon as the Hawks did. “Lace ’em up,” he remarked to former Hawks swingman Randy Wittman as he moved up to him. It’s going to be a long night f*****g.”
Wittman did, in fact, have a long night. Jordan had a career-high 61 points on 22-of-38 shooting and 17-of-21 free-throw shooting. Mike also added 10 rebounds and four steals to his stat line.
Apart from the pregame banter, MJ’s performance was made all the more astounding by the fact that it came after back-to-back 50-point performances against the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively.
So, certainly, Jordan and the Bulls had a nice conclusion to such a classic tale, right? Nope. His Airness’ 61 points were in vain, owing to Dominique Wilkins in particular.
Dominique Wilkins is fond of reminding Jordan who made the game’s two most important plays.
Michael Jordan (L) and Dominique Wilkins (R) | Andy Lyons/Allsport and Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images | Left to Right: Andy Lyons/Allsport and Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images
With just over 20 seconds left, Jordan made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 114. Dominique Wilkins grabbed center stage at that point.
When ‘Nique got the ball on the left wing, he already had 31 points in the game. With 11 seconds left, he soared over MJ and sank a midrange jumper to give the Hawks the lead.
Wilkins’ bravery didn’t stop there, either. The ball was inbounded by the Bulls to Charles Oakley, who fed Jordan right away. Mike got his opponent off the dribble, but he was quickly surrounded by Hawks defenders, including ‘Nique. Jordan’s attempt sailed wide, and Wilkins snatched the rebound to effectively secure the victory.
The Hawks great told The Athletic that he still enjoys reminding MJ of the last seconds, even though Jordan (predictably) pretends as if he doesn’t remember.
“The last time I saw Mike, I asked him whether he remembered what happened.’ ‘I don’t remember anything occurring,’ he says. ‘Bulls**t. Bulls**t,’ I said.
–via The Athletic, Dominique Wilkins
Jordan can afford to be unconcerned about that game. His professional life went along without a hitch. Even still, Wilkins is undoubtedly aware of how much a regular-season defeat affects MJ, particularly given Mike’s fondness for playing against the Human Highlight Film.
Jordan and Wilkins had their fair share of fights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= hZauN4m9d0
Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins shared mutual regard for one another, but their bitter rivalry lasted more than a decade and featured a memorable dunk contest clash.
Jordan had a 27-18 record over Wilkins in head-to-head competition, and he won the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest in a rather controversial manner. In the first round of the 1993 playoffs, Money and the Bulls swept the Hawks, and Jordan made it his goal to humiliate Wilkins’ brother, Gerald, in the same series.
Despite this, Wilkins was able to get his stats against MJ and the Bulls. During the 45 regular-season games, he averaged 29.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, and he destroyed one of Jordan’s finest trash-talking moments, as he likes to remind Mike.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
Michael Jordan once expressed his ‘great respect’ for the Rockets and questioned if the Bulls could have defeated them in the NBA Finals.
