Added: 3 years ago
From: hoopsencyclopedia
Views: 50,053
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (205)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • "shooting 56%"

    guys today cant approach 50% with weaker defenses

  • where everything finally went the gods way

  • Lebron just has more muscle mass. Not more athletic. MJ had far superior body control and agility the KB or lbj

  • @yahshuatwo And Jordans stamina is way way more than LBJ or KB...They are like kids to him...He would cook both of them in his prime...it would be blowouts...The Bulls teams that lost to the Pistons in 89 and 90 in the ECF would destroy the 2011 Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks...Sweep either one..Lebron doesnt move in the same gear Mike did.

  • all the fouls in the 1st 30 seconds would have been technicals or ejections in the nba today smdh

  • "averaging over 29 a game, shooting 56%." - wow!!!!!!!

  • should be 1990

  • Somebody stops him!

  • 9:27

    lol...either Jordan doesn't trust his teammates or he's more of a pick and pop only kind of guy, lol

  • great description box

  • Comment removed

  • he's was so much quicker than kobe ever was. he could stop on a dime and rise up better than anyone ever.

  • This was 1990, not 1991

  • @jeff98211 I was thinking the same right after the intro was over.

  • love the intro. these games had such intrigue.

  • ignorant laker/kobe fan "kobes better/just as good as jordan"

    all you have to do is watch this 9 minute video at the very least, and theres just no contest. Jordan = #1 all time undoubtedly

    Kobe = will be top 15 when he's done

  • @ 3:00 ... it's crazy how far in-game analysis has come..

  • Great Post hoops !!! Luv your editing as well always a nice sumation of the Action !!

  • Mj and bulls best ever team

  • i was only 6 months old when this occurred...right now witnessing the greatness of kobe bryant...but still wish i were born earlier just to see the greatest of them all in MJ

  • @elreiec

    kobe is like MJ. but MJ is the greatest

  • jordan elevated high as hell on his jumpshot

  • Averaging over 29ppg, and shooting 56%...seriously...think about that people...think about that hard...with today's league with their "I breath on you and it's a foul" they can't even break 50%.

    Yet Prime MJ during this era stated at this point during the season was shooting 56% as stated by Marv Albert here.

    Simply unbelievable, and it just brings back incredible memories, I loved watching the Chicago, only because MJ made it the greatest sport to watch at the time.

  • agree

  • He never ceases to amaze. MJ could beat detroit, but unfortunatley, his teamates couldn't. Like they said in here, they dared his teamates to beat them. It wasn't until Pip and Grant were mentally ready that they were finally able to get over the hump.

  • i agree with hoobie06 the nba today is just another show on TV. nothing real about it anymore.

  • there are always 3 defens players against mike, which player can do this? play like mike, and make 37 pts , or 45 or 69, mike is so great ,

  • cartwright was totally frozen out

  • I am a die hard MJ fan, but I cannot forget that around the '91 All Star, the pistons were a banged up team (Dumars had a hand injury, isiah had a severe hamstring injury that kept him on the DL), so going into the playoffs the bulls had a physical advantage against them

  • Doesn't really matter. Everybody took advantage of people's injuries and getting old. How do you think the Pistons won in 89 and 90, because the Lakers got old and were banged up. I'm saying that as a die hard Pistons fan.

  • Could be, but....4-0???

  • @kinkdinkling

    You have a point about the Pistons' injuries that year.

    But didn't MJ have tendonitis in BOTH knees that same year?

    LOL: And let's not forget about Pip's recurring migraines!

  • for those of you who didn't get to watch the NBA in the 80s and 90s missed out. it was more exciting back then. we used to plan our sunday around watching the bulls/lakers/celtics on nbc. great players now, just not the same

  • The GOAT

  • at the very beginig there were like 4 guys on him, he still made it. if hes not the best idk who else is

  • This was 1990.

  • I've been to that game - and enjoyed Michael, Scottie and the rest of the Bulls so much...

  • 29.4 AVG..56% from the field at this point in the season..Amazing!!!. 91 was when he had all the physical abilities still but played so under control. In 93 his avg went back up to 32+. Great post. I hated the Pistons almost as much as the Knicks

  • This was Xmas 1990, not 1991,

  • @DAB901 yeap, you can tell it from MJ's shoes. He wears the AJ 5 white/fire red-blacks and later debuted the AJ 6 black/deep infareds in the ASG 1991.

  • mj against a top 3 greatest defensive team ever, players now we would be crying if they had to face this pistons team

  • that lay-up at around 7:05 should be included in his top 10. totally destroyed the bad boyz' ass

  • Yes, but that move seem unfamous, wonder why...

  • love that rebound at 1:58

  • The best rivarly in modern day pro sports

  • pardon?

    sox-yanks?

  • Comment removed

  • LOL at John Sally!!

  • lol phil jackson look so funny

  • God i miss this NBA

  • 90s r the best man

  • This game occured in 1990. On Christmas Day 1991, Chicago actually played the Celtics.

  • Love how there are only Bulls highlights.

  • What were you expecting?

  • The title says "MIchael Jordan ..." so you're a dyslexic retard if you're expecting someone else to be in this highlight reel.

  • Michael Jordan 1991: 37pts, Xmas Day Vs. Detroit Pistons

    theres the title

    now wonder why its only him?

  • Just look at all those players standing under the basket, plus all the bumpin and physical.. and no complaining like today's whiny little brats!

  • The Greatest basketball artist I've ever had the pleasure of watching. The true #23.

  • Was this the first NBA on NBC game after NBC took over during the games from CBS?

  • Nope. November 1990, Lakers @ Spurs.

  • Does anyone have that game?

  • This just reminds you of how soft the (nba) game has gotten. Those hits were hockey like.

    Badboy agressive bball babay.

  • compare that phil with the phil you see on the lakers now =D

  • It's as though Phil traded a piece of his soul with each ring his teams won. He seemed like a normal coach, trying to prove his worth, 18 years ago. Now, he's just too passive on the bench, and egotistical and sarcastic at the mic.

  • Count his championships: What more does he have to prove?

  • nahh Phil Jackson has 10 'missing pieces of his soul"

  • thanks for posting all these awesome jordan videos.

  • Is this the 1990-1991 season?

  • Yes

  • how could i be when the title says 1991 and it is xmas

  • The game was on december 25,1990 making it the 1990-91 season

  • at 5:24, I have never see MJ had such way to cut, wow

  • Even though I was one years old when this game was played (December 1990), but I love these old NBA clips of how Michael Jordan was good and played against better defenses, yet he was able to perform well. Don't get me wrong, I like Kobe and LeBron, but I think they pale in comparison to the NBA stars and in general from the 1980's and 1990's.

  • Good that you recognize that. A true basketball fan understands greatness when they see it. And MJ defined greatness at a level no one can ever touch.

  • yeah, you're right and I find it funny, yet insulting that Greg Anthony and Mark Jackson makes stupid and ridiculous statements saying that Kobe and LeBron were better than Michael Jordan and they're nowhere near as good...hahahaha!!!

  • the back dribble to split the defender by MJ is insane.

  • happy b day mj

  • :/ I'm sure you your message... *shakes head*

  • mj always had the hops

  • 29 points a game on 56% shooting. He has mastered the midrange by '90 and is just flat unstoppable at this point. I despised the Pistons at this point... They must be respected though. The only way to stop Jordan was to foul hard or tackle him. They did both and didn't end his career.

    Know Christ- John 17:3

    Colossians 3:15-16

  • Good word on Jordan and even from the Word of God. Good to see Biblical reminders a antagonistic place like YouTube.

  • Hoops I see you answered the cries of those that wanted to see more input into the game.

    Theres hoops then theres the rest of us!!

  • great memories...watching these videos helps me understand why MJ was the best...i always knew it, but it's easy to forget when all you do is watch highlight videos with dunks and threes...but the in-game footage is so telling...simple, elegant, dominant...another great video hoopsencyclopedia!

  • if these exact teams played in todays rules jordan would average 58 off of pure blocking fouls his jump shot and his ability 2 finish at the hole believe me those r all blocking fouls n jordan would have finished

  • the young kobe and lehype fans will never understand how good michael was, esp the ones that compare the piston lebron beat to the piston michael beat. These younger fans will not understand how physical was the 80s and 90s and the jordan rule was real. They wouldnt know how good of a defender was dennis rodman and joe dumars. Michael GOAT.

  • so true. i feel sorry for them..lol...nbc in the early 90's watching the knicks bull series 93. mj getting 54 IN A PLAYOFF GAME IIN MSG.against a knick team that would go to the finals the next yr.

  • @inbtmike I'm not comparing Lebron to Kobe but Kobe and Lebron are both bigger than Jordan so I think physically both players would've survived any era. Especially, Lebon come on he's more athletic,bigger and stronger than Jordan. Dude is 6'8 250lb's for Christ sake. Let's not make Jordan into a supernatural being!

  • @chiladin kobe is not bigger than jordan. kobe is actually thinner than jordan, jordan was much stronger than kobe and has bigger hands. lebron might be bigger than jordan but he's not more athletic than jordan. people make so much of lebron's size, i'll tell u what, if jordan was 6'8'' 250lbs jordan would have been an absolutely unstoppable player capable of scoring 60 points per game.

  • @NYCGERSON777 In 2005 Kobe maxed out at 220! Jordan NEVER was that big. Jordan was just more cut. NO PLAYER ever scored 60 a game. You might as well said 70 a game then! Lebron James is faster, stronger and can jump higher than MJ. Jordan just had more body control. What if Allen Iverson was 6'6 200 lb's? Imagine how dominant he would be when he average 27 at 6'0 160lb's! So that argument is mute.

  • @chiladin that's your opinion. jordan has more hangtime than kobe or lebron wish they ever had. phil jackson was ask to compare kobe and jordan and his answer was that jordan is bigger and stronger than kobe bryant. and about the 60 points a game, i said that if jordan was 6'8'' 250lbs he could have been CAPABLE of averaging 60 points per game. jordan at age 34 in the 97 season reached 220lbs. and then dropped down during the season. didn't u notice how thick he looked during the 97 season?

  • @chiladin jordan said that he felt better physically during the 98 season than during the 97 season and a big part of that was his weight lost.

  • @NYCGERSON777 In the end, physical size is minor in comparison to pure basketball skills and mental toughness. I'll say that the current Lebron would have had a tougher time scoring back in the 80's and 90's because he lacks a solid midrange game. Kobe is a bit of a throwback, so I think he could flourish in any era. There have been plenty of guys that are physically gifted but lack the mental ability to take advantage of those physical gifts. The opposite is also true - just ask John Stockton.

  • @hoopfan71 I AGREE WITH YOU.

  • @chiladin And yet Lebrick cant hold Jordans jock

  • @chitownref yeah thanks for your sound logic! Jordan when he was 25 was still ringless.

  • @chiladin And what does that have to do with the fact that MJ is far and away a better player than Lebrick will ever be??

  • @chitownref I'm from the Westside of Chicago,i'm 30 years old and I grew up right off Madison St. I know Jordan is the GOAT. Most people who watch basetball knows this. But why do people have to put Lebron,Kobe or Wade down in order to elevate MJ when it's OBVIOUS they're great in their own right? Is Jordan your god? People praise Jordan more than they do Jesus, Moses or Muhammad.lol.Not on the defensive end but offensively Kobe is just as good, and Lebrick is a better overall player!

  • @chiladin i agree, people need to just let today's players live. But on a side note, kobe was not just as good as jordan offensively. Kobe couldn't shoot 50% for a season if his life depended on it. And while its close, Jordan was a better all around player than lebron. There was a season where jordan was forced to play point guard, and he averaged 30, 8, and 8 while playing with scrubs

  • @chitownref And Lebron stats are going to take a dive in Miami but for his career he was 28ppg, 7rpg and 7apg and Jordan was 30ppg, 5rpg, and 6apg. Jordan was a better shooter, ball hawk and better FT% and Lebron is a better shot blocker! Besides Jordan's time is gone man! Let the new generation get their opportunity to define their own legacy. Why does every great player after MJ have to be compared to MJ? Kobe is a living legend and Lebron's talent is second to none. REAL TALK.

  • @chiladin Kobe is a great player APART from MJ but not a BETTER OVERALL player than Jordan. Lebron might be more atheletically gifted than MJ but that DOES NOT make him a better player. I'd rather worship at The Church of Jordan than bow down at the Lebron Mosque. REAL TALK. Now...who's ready to freestyle?

  • @chiladin

    "Why does every great player after MJ have to be compared to MJ?"

    That's a big clue right there, bro.

    When KB and LBJ start being used as the measuring stick of excellence, we can start considering them GOAT candidates.

  • @mirrenmaniac But in their own generation they are the measuring sticks. Alot of the younger generation they NEVER saw Jordan play so to them Kobe, Lebron or Wade are the measuring sticks. Just how in the 70's it might've been Kareem or Wilt or the Big-O it's all a matter of perception not facts it's just an opinion. Let Kobe live, let Lebron live. Jordan is done playing man it's a new era. Yeha he's the GOAT but let other people have a legacy without his shadow over them. Lebron is only 26!

  • @chiladin

    I see your point and I agree.

    All great players should be evaluated on their own merits. But, TBH, I think Kobe deliberately invited a lot of the MJ comparisons himself (He even imitated MJ's SPEECH for years!)

    The sad thing about Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Robertson and others is that, in their prime, pro basketball games were either not televised at all or shown on the infamous "tape delay" late at night. So, generations missed out on their greatness.

  • @inbtmike very well said buddy !!!!!!!

  • I think it was a game from 1990, from 1990-1991 season.

  • That Move On 5:23.. Niiiiiiice

  • i remember this game.i was tired of the pistons and definitely wanted the bulls to win this one

  • They clamped down defensively.

  • no sound?

  • wait my bad theres sounds

  • Keep CHRIST in Christmas

  • Why?

  • Check out the 4-on-1 at around 7:02 in the video. It's also showed in slow-mo soon after. That, right there, is greatness.

  • Hoops - your MJ videos here on Youtube is hands down one of the best destinations on the entire internets lol.

    Major fan of your work here!

  • great 1 hoops, thx for the upload, it' rocks

  • I'm disappointed that this video isn't receiving more views. It pisses me off quite frankly because the announcers did a pretty good job of explaining the Jordan rules.

  • It is Mike Fratello Atlanta coach from 83-89.

  • I agree this is a great video.

  • Thank you Hoops..! Another great one!

  • absolutely amazing, the efficiency is ridiculous, noone in the league today has that, noone.

  • To take quote from Ric Flair, "To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man!"

    And MJ's The Man!

  • people say MJ drove a lot....but all he really does is take jumpshots....he only drives occasionally.....all he does is take 15 footers.....lol....

  • MJ drove a lot more in his younger years. But in general, before his 2nd coming, I think he mixed up things pretty well going inside and out.

  • yeah but he was the best 15 to 17 foot jump shooter the game has ever seen

  • yea....all his moves were very textbook style too.....not too many stupid dribbling isolation moves players use today....>_>....the only move MJ would ever use is the crossover.....and he wasn't even flashy with it......

    Efficiency=48 percent career shooter......=)

  • yeah and to think about how many times he led the league is shots attempted..to then look at the fact that most of those years he shot over 50 percent..as a guard..just unreal...and a what? 85 % career free throw shooter? he was just so much more than casual fans saw on highlight reels

  • Actually, his career fg% is 49.7, after his two years with the Wizards. He retired from the Bulls with a fg % over 50.

    MJ was so extraordinary that some people seem to have taken the view now that there must have been something wrong with the league then or try to make a hundred other excuses, but really he was that GREAT.

    Great video.

  • This is definately 1990 bacause at 2:08 you can see they were still using the style of graphics NBC debuted for their coverage of Super Bowl XXIII in January 1989. They didn't get the graphics shown later in the 1990-91 season (see the 1991 playoffs and finals) until the 1990 AFC Championship game the following January after this game.

  • yeah i think the title meant it's the 1991 season

    and besides..they said at the beginning that the Bulls hadn't been able to get by the Pistons and the Pistons were the defending champs

  • god i love seeing these games with the pistons when michael was really pushed to get to the hoop. reminds me of the quote from their head coach saying "i never said we could stop him, we cant stop him, noone can stop him!" lol classic

  • sick bulls theme song!

    best announcer period!

  • NBA ON NBC intros were the best

  • Nice jobs hoops,keep working

  • Thanks for the upload hoops. Can not wait to see what next great classic game you post next. I have been entertained by all of them and it's such a breathe of fresh air to be able to enjoy watching games from back in the day.

  • cease*

  • Well Mike Fratello did say "He's amazing going right and only Great going left" Most the rest of the people playing are only great going to their strong hand and decent going to their off hand.

  • 37 pts, no dunks.

    Yet the play in this seems much more beautiful than "modern" NBA rules.

  • you should also post highlights of pippen

  • Michael always took challenges personally. You rarely see that in today's game; the announcers were talking about that yesterday's game between the Lakers and Cavaliers.

  • For some reason, back then people thought cuz Jordan preferred to drive right, he couldn't drive left..wtf??? There's an 1986 game against the Knicks where he dribbles the entire length of the court left-handed with 2 knicks all over him, pulls up and hits the game winner. They were pretty desperate trying to find weaknesses in his game.

  • I agree. But I think it's more like "he's not AS good going left as he was going right." He could always drive left with the best of them, even from his rookie year (evidence on this very channel).

  • "If Jordan happens to get isolated with one man and is in a potential scoring position, the Piston defender will try to force him to go left. They think he makes a stronger, more explosive move to his right. So does Jordan." (Jordan Rules)

    I think he also mentions that in one of his training vids where he teaches basketball fundamentals (and then some).

  • but you know what? i have seen michael play since his younger days.. i dont know what they are talking about. the man scored from the left side just as good as the right side. and worst, if he found it people thought that, am sure MJ would prove them wrong as he did many people. I think that if MJ could come out today 2009 to play healthy, he would prove everyone wrong that anyone else is even in his level. The next guy is many miles away in my opinion.

  • JAA: I agree with you. Last nite I watched the Miama Heat vs Orlando Magic and the game quality was terrible. A lot of juking but no quality. Terrible shooting from the outside on a percentage basis. MIssed three pointers. I sure miss MJ's game.

  • it is funny when they mention jordan is only extremely dangerous dribbling to his right, he proved that he can be just as hard to guard to the left.

    by the way that behind the back dribble is so elegant.

  • it's such a pleasure to watch MJ play!!!

  • I love the bow tie on Phil. I wish he could still be the Bulls coach.

  • MJ ,he is the BEST ferever...

  • oh yes...!

  • M.J. ,the Pistons, Marv Albert´s voice....and then...the NBC music kicks in and i feel goosebumps...

    those was the nba best years..

  • you never disappoint...ever....

    i watch your videos before every game...

  • Something I realized especially in this video is the behaviour after his shots. He makes such great moves and moves to the other end with dignity... or if you want to put it this way: not being a dikc about how good he is. No stupid ass chest-bumping/pounding like some gorillas... or players nowadays.

    When there are occasion like "the shot" against cleveland he is just happy and excited about it without thinking "OMG LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME", pounding his chest or giving blood-signs.

  • Yeah all the chest pumping these days is retarded. MJ did things more subtly :D .

  • so true; I hate it when they do that but some I can tolerate

    don't know where it comes from though...

    I rarely watch NBAgames fully of nowadays; even though I became a fan of the NBA and Mj after 1998, and I have yet to be satified by the level of intensity, defense and play in the NBA of today!

  • LOL

    phil with teh bow tie!!!

  • thanks hoops

  • Best explanation of the Jordan Rules ever! lol. Great video!

  • Keep it up hoopsencyclopedia! These videos are priceless!

  • man how many points would kobe or lebron score against that defense????????? 8? 12? 14? and most of them from free throw line... you can't beat the jordan rules unless you are jordan himself

  • btw, how sweet is michael jordan's dribbling skills? none of these two's that play today can compare

  • that move at the 7:10 mark is crazy man,hoops had that in his artistry mix. you never see it from that angle though,hoops showed it to you at an different angle at the beginning of this video. jordan just busted through that guys arms,man that's pure strength,that kid was super strong,as strong as powerforwards and centers

  • This game took place on December 25, 1990. Not 1991. Chicago played the Celtics Christmas day 1991, the Knicks in 1992, the Magic sans Jordan in 1993, the Knicks sans Jordan in 1994, the 1st Christmas game at the United Center, and Detroit in 1996.

  • Yeah I also think it HAS to be 1990 because MArv is talking about three peat-Pistons and asks "Will this be the year MJ will rise to the top".

    It also makes more sense because in 1990 this was still one THE duels making it very interesting for XMas.

  • Yes, but it is the 1991 season. 1990-91, majority of the season [post-season included] takes place in the latter year, thus the title of 1991.

  • right on

  • u re right, but what hoops means is 1991 season. 1990/91 season, like now we re in the 2008/09 season

  • NBA on NBC, X-mas day, always Chicago vs Detroit and in the seasons after Chicago s New York! Legendary stuff...

  • Jordan juked the shit out of Vinnie Johnson at 4:58 lol. HOLY COW @ 5:24 -- this is the first time I've seen that play from the normal game angle. He splits the pick and roll and attempted trap with a behind-the-back dribble and smoothly nails a jumper. Incredible play. That was a clean block by Jordan at 8:28, too -- that would have made it 4 blocks for him on the game. Dude was insane. Thanks for the video, Hoops.

  • wow, that intro to the "NBA on NBC" -- that was classic!!

  • The move @ 5:23, I remember seeing at the beginning of the Michael Jordan's Playground video LOL! Awesome move. Thanks for the upload Hoops. Great game!!!

  • Look at Phil Jackson...he looks like he's a comedy star on Saturday Night Live and not a coach :-)))

  • ya NBA on NBC!!!!!!