On April 20th, 1986, 40 years ago today, Michael Jordan lit up the Celtics in the playoffs and put everyone on notice that the NBA was about to experience something it never had before.
Yes, the league had seen the greatness of players like Wilt, Oscar, Kareem, Dr. J, Bird and Magic, but Jordan was different in almost every way.
The swagger, the tongue out, the hops and the overall aura he brought to the NBA as a whole was special, and as it turns out, he would revolutionize the game both on and off the court.
Leading up the playoff series against the Celtics, which was the best-of-five at the time, Jordan had only played in 18 games that season after breaking his foot in game 3 early in the year.
But after missing 64 games, Jordan came back to remind everyone who he was.
He averaged 22.7 ppg, 2.9 apg, 33.6 rpg and 2.1 spg over the 18 games he played in.
Then it was time to face Larry Bird and the Celtics in Boston.
In Game 1, Jordan dropped an incredible 49 points on the Celtics in a 104-123 loss.
But Game 2 was historic.
Jordan was locked in from the beginning. It didn’t matter who Boston threw at him for they all became victims on that night.
Jordan went off for 54 points in regulation and an NBA Playoffs single-game record 63 points that night, eclipsing the 61 points scored by Elgin Baylor in 1962 against, ironically, Boston.
He shot 22-41 overall (54%) and 19-21 from the free throw line (91%).
Even more amazing is that fact that he scored his historic 63 points without attempting a single three-pointer.
While Jordan did everything he could do help the Bulls steal a game in Boston, Chicago eventually fell to the Celtics 131-135 in 2 OT. In game three, Chicago was swept while Boston went on to beat the Lakers for the NBA title.
But in that series, Jordan put everyone on notice that he had officially arrived.
He averaged 43.7 ppg against Boston, the highest of his career and the highest average for a player in a single postseason. He also made a career-high 15.7 two-pointers per game and only took one three-pointer all series. That’s an amazing stat when compared with today’s three-point loving NBA player.
Jordan’s Game 2 performance had the great Larry Bird in awe.
“I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan,” Larry Bird said at the time. “He is the most awesome player in the NBA. Today in Boston Garden, on national TV, in the playoffs, he put on one of the greatest shows of all time. I couldn’t believe anybody could do that against the Boston Celtics.”
“We had about everyone on the team guarding him,” he added.
And it didn’t matter who it was, despite the Celtics having five future Hall of Famers on the court (Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish and Bill Walton).
According to ESPN, when Jordan went up against Johnson and All-Star Danny Ainge, he dropped 42 points on them.
While the 30-52 Chicago Bulls made the playoffs as an eight seed that season, the team won’t be remembered by many.
But Jordan’s performance in Game 2 will always be remembered.
