Michael Jordan 1992: 44pts Vs. Boston Celtics, Larry Bird

[helenlundeberg]

nice game

[RAV52]

Reggie Lewis, Baltimore's Finest vs. Michael Jordan, The World's Greatest...Night after night, Year after year, MJ took on the best the NBA had to offer and outshined them ALL... His post game was so nasty there was no point in attempting to defend him down there...

[elwin38]

jordan vs a washed up big 3!

[Dkouts57]

3:57

sick!

[Chi4Life86]

R.I.P. Reggie Lewis

[SuperMatias12]

who is jordan?

[dthon1]

Lol. I heard Rick Fox was  a ho-mongering legend in UNC. Dude was snatching bitches left and right.

[hakkai999]

wow rick fox was still a rookie.

[mrmiller4444]

I dont people really realize how good this dude was!!!

[John19182004]

this game was from the '92 season, but played in November 1991

[pvwolfgang]

Bird is by far better than Jordan

[leadchest]

good joke

[michaelarmstead]

lol

[TheDr3lee]

Bird said michael jordan's the best basketball player of all time.  what makes you think you know better than bird?

[reno93535]

@TheDr3lee Bird would never say he was better than MJ even iff he were.

[latigney]

122 points makes you think that nobody played defense on Jordan's 44 points but, looking at the video they really were trying hard. MJ played them like a fiddle. Who could have done anything about that. The only thing the Celtics could have done was to slow down the game and scored at the end of each shot clock so tha the bulls didn't run up the score so fast.

[diplo33]

mike jordan the most relentless player in the game, could get aggressive if u push him, mike would put ur lights out in a second the greatest ever, fuck KOBE!!

[jawaun05]

jordan is the best period

[thebeatlesfanatic08]

opinion*

[thebeatlesfanatic08]

1987 is his best year in my opionion, he averaged 37.1 points per game that year...for the whole year...as in, if he scored 36 points one game, his season average for points would go down...the greatest of all time

[blackadam06]

In 41 games during the '87 season, his avg in those games was 41ppg on 51% shooting LOL!!

What guard U know of that has played before or since he's retired, has avg'd 40+ for half a season? LOL!!

[jimmychuang]

I think his best year is 1988, he averaged 35ppg, but 54% FG.

In 1988, the league's eFG% was about 48%.

Which means MJ was beyond the league average.

[ssgoku003]

That's y he was soooo deadly. He develop his outside game & he can post. He played excellent d. He was a master. That's y teams couldn't contain him

[hotsauce297]

straight beasts

[azzodem]

I don't know what the fuck you guys are talking about but...GO JORDAN, hes practically all i noticed

[MJisKingKobesuckss]

/watch?v=JVcwa99dBB4

Watch.

92 MJ to me was the best ever to me out of all the years he played. The swagger the shot the muscle.

[beaumiller81]

88 he won Defensive plyer of the year,MVP,scoring champ,dunk champ,All star game mvp...Jesus is there anything else except a championship??!!? Each year he brought something new to the table.I just like 98 cuz it was a new era of ballers that he still dominated against.I like 88,92-93 and 98.Of course I like em all,but those are my favorite ones to watch

[zelionprime]

98 by far.

[whitetrashyobbo]

yeah i reckon 92, he could drop 50 whenever he felt like it and still had all his athletisism, 98 he could still still score 50 and so on, but alot more jumpers, but thats credit to the man as he didnt have the best jumper when he entered to league

[beaumiller81]

What year was his best year? My buddy says 92,I think 98 cuz he was at his mental peak,still physically up there...whaddya all think?

[FireGuyX]

I think 92 was his best year, he was certainly better than the 98 Jordan. In 98 Jordan his skills degraded and he no longer shoot the type of shots that he did in 92, much more straightforward and simple with his shots.

[TRJ22487]

I personally liked him most in 1997 his jumper was money, still flew on the dunks, and was amazing in the clutch, plus an amazing Finals he did it in every way

[TRJ22487]

and maybe the most amazing thing is people had been focusing so much time constructing ways to stop him more than any player for over a decade at that point and still he overcame everything

[dv122]

i dont think it was any year post first retirement. if ur going to pick jordans best yrs itll have to be before 93. i think it was 88 when he won defensive player of the year. jordan had more muscle in the 90's and was a better post up interior player. jordans game has evolved and changed so much over the years that its hard to pick a single year. jordan was more of a slasher in the 80's and more post up in the 90's. what do u think is his best yr?

[mj45jh23sp33]

his best year was 98!!! He could still dunk from the FT line but was smarter than ever and he won all 3 mvp's that season while playing the entire year with a cracked knuckle and a dislocated index finger on his RIGHT hand LOL with Pip out if had not had that injury he woulda put up over 30 per nigh probably closer to 35 per night. No one ever talks about that injury, also in 96 and 97 seasons he could done much more but saved his legs and energy gimme 98 MJ over any player ever

[biggoby]

Prove it that he could still dunk from the freethrow line. Really the only time he ever did that was in the dunk contests in the 80s when he was still young.

[dfdivino]

if bird never got hurt, and len bias and reggie lewis didnt die, the celtics could have won 3 more championships.

[bridogg23]

Thats pretty funny joke your telling there. Nobody was beating the Bulls

[twellsO18]

hey hoopsencylopedia, you got the date wrong in this vid. This game was in 1991 not in 92'..you should change it

[hoopsencyclopedia]

You're right - it happened on 11/6/91. However, the NBA year is 1992 which is what I use. Thanks.

[twellsO18]

yea, anyways nice vids

[diplo33]

@twellsO18 shut up

[JCR1992]

if this game was closer MJ could have easily gotten 50+

[waffelirontmacsplat]

jordan 40 point average against the celtics

[liquidgold]

Hoops, you need to be payed by some big time company or something for this channel and the dedication and time you have given to showing us youngins' how the game was really played by the master himself.

[Werner510]

I believe Michael was floating in the air with the Carmine VIs.

[Werner510]

hhhjyuhjh

[casterma]

Bird is so good

[beaumiller81]

Hoopsencyclopedia...you have NO idea,how many hours of joy you give me and all my Jordan wanna be friends.Thank you one million times and please please please keep em coming

[beaumiller81]

How did Reggie Die?Was it Coke O.D?

[jeditwinz]

Heart attack

[JCR1992]

it was a heart attack from using coke

[blackadam06]

You're confusing him with Len Bias

Reggie Lewis died from arithmia..

[JCR1992]

oh i know about len bias died from cocaine but i thought they found cocaine in reggie lewis' body

[blackadam06]

Nah..he had been battling a heart problem that initially was undetected until they ran test to see why he was having chest pains.

He wanted to continue to play, which he did & it gave out on him unfortunately..He was a great player & one of the rising stars, as far as shooting guards in the league at that time..

[JCR1992]

yeah i thought he had the potential of being a HOF player from the highlights i've seen of him

[gburgnupe]

Damn....Reggie Lewis.

RIP

[LUFUJ]

If you think that Cartwright,and young Oakley and a aging Iceman were good teammates to compliment Jordan you've got to be own something.Also Jordan only played Bird once in the playoffs,which would make him 0-3 against bird. The league was not watered down either. I don't know why I comment on something like this,because it just seems to be insignificant. Jordan is the best!

[Xandrino]

how many rings does bird have??? and how about jordan? that says it all...jordan is in a league of his own...

[bassman5123]

Jordan is 0-6 vs. Bird in the playoffs. That pretty much says it all!

[rrTale]

What it says is MJ faced the Celtics in a very early stage of his career, when he didnt have a team to compete. Thats what it says.

[bassman5123]

rrTale: Sure, but the Celtics had (about) a 40 win turn around over their previous season when Bird came to the team as a rookie, with no McHale, DJ, or Parrish. But MJ's first couple of seasons made little progress for the Bulls. They were still only average, despite a great roster of Bill Cartwright, Charles Oakley (Top 10 rebounder), and George "The Iceman Gervin" (Top 50 all time)! MJ didn't win anything until after the NBA's league expansion which watered down the talent level.

[rrTale]

U could say the Celtics had about a 40 win turnaround if they had like 38 ,39 more wins, but that's not the case it was 32. And lets not overlook the 2 HOF that were on that '80 Celtics team when Bird arrived - Cowens and Archibald. They both missed 14 games in the previous year, if that didnt happen they could have easily helped that '79 team win 40 games. Bird had HOF type of players to help him, MJ had noone of this caliber in '85.

[rrTale]

Plus MJ missed almost the entire '86 season which was the season Gervin, out of his prime mind u, played for the Bulls, and the same year Oakley joined the Bulls. Cartwright only joined the Bulls in '89, MJ was a powerfull weapon from day one, but he didnt have the means around him, he had to wait for guys like Pip and Grant to develop, only then he could contend. U gotta realise the Bulls didnt reach their prime as a team till the 90's. In their prime they could contend with anyone

[ChaosCat79]

What the heck are you on mate?

As rrTale mentions, The Celtics already had a couple of HOF players on their side who had missed important games in the 79 season which attributed to Boston's failure to make the playoffs. With them fit again and a rookie Bird firing from the start, it's no surprise they had such a turnaround in fortunes.

MJ never had that luxury in Chicago. And Gervin was a spent force when he came to the Bulls for one season, and Oakley came in during Jordan's injury.

[ChaosCat79]

Also Oakley was only at the Bulls for 2 seasons, so they didn't have much time to work with the teak-skinned power forward before he was traded to the Knicks.

And just in case you STILL want to flap your gums, both Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen took a good FOUR years to develop after they joined the Bulls in the 87-88 season, whilst the likes of BJ Armstrong, Cartwright, Brad Sellers and a few others came in around 89-90... And all of those players were only solid role players at best.

[ChaosCat79]

The Celtics on the other hand after they acquired Bird, did what they always did back then and built a side of ALL STAR PLAYERS. Danny Ainge (Once), Dennis Johnson (5), Kevin McHale (7), Robert Parrish (9, one as a starter), Reggie Lewis (Once out of a possible many before his life was cruelly cut short). Add to that a whole host of very solid role players, experienced championship winners (Bill Walton anybody?) and a great manager, it's no wonder the Celtics were so good in the 80's.

[mrakbaseball]

This game was probably played in Nov. of '91. The announcers referring to first 3 pointers of the year. Early season game.

[hiiiro23]

But I suppose Kobe came out straight out of high school.. which is why he had a lot more experience in the NBA to be as great as he is now.

[gottago]

Take kobe out of the conversation. His name should never even be metioned next to Jordan. Jordan was stronger and had a much more developed game then kobe will ever have. Plus Jordan was an animal on D and kobe needs more work in that area. Also, kobe will be lucky if he ever wins another championship.

[23airD]

I agree with you there gottago...Kobe shouldn't be mentioned at all. It's just an insult to even place his name in the same sentence as Jordan. MJ is a legend. No doubt about that.

[BrandanEvans]

jordan is the greatest we all know that!

remember though kobe is only 29, he has more chapters to write!

[jadioess]

Jordan was 29 in 92!?

[winhawk23]

He was born in '63

[yoshiyuan]

yeah i know, gives kobe hope for more championships rite? lol

[liquidgold]

R.I.P Reggie Lewis.

[jumpnam]

hoops, ur a legend man. theres no better place for rare jordan clips. thanx for everythin.

[therealbruceblitz]

oh by the way, in his last game in the garden (boston), he wore #45.

[therealbruceblitz]

I have this game on VHS and I have MJ's last game in the garden on VHS, during MJ's last game at the garden they show highlights of this game right here. One of these days Im gonna convert all of my VHS, right now I already have so much footage to work with... I always loved watching MJ play on the "parque'"

Im not sure but I think MJ was given a section of this court when they got rid of the old garden.

[AICMasta]

Is this the 91-92 season or 92-93? I'm guessing this must be in November of 91 as I see Cliff Levingston is still around with the Bulls and I'm pretty sure he wasnt on the 92-93 team. Just curious!

[hoopsencyclopedia]

Yes, this was 11/6/91. Since the NBA year is from 1991-1992, it's considered the 1992 season. That's how I title the games.

[AICMasta]

Thanks hoops and great videos as usual!

[HungreyBoi05]

Kobe bryant sucks!!

[rrTale]

Awesome variety of shots. MJ did it all

[LuigiLaker]

Parish went on to be a member of the Bulls as a 3rd string C in 1996-97..

[StonerdoomWizard]

Of course Nowitzki is not like Bird, children in school know that very well, and also know that if someone is trying to compare Brayant to Jordan must be infinite moron...Unfortunately, on you tube, we've got a lot of them...

[Force283]

Anyone who compares that choker Nowitzki to Bird is complete dumbass!

[nunadas]

MJ on the top of his game. Too bad Larry had to go

[DALMX006]

how many points has brd scored during that game ?

[bwink23]

Dirk is no Bird. Is like Charles Barkley said about Jordan and Kobe's similarities being black. Same applies here. They are both white, that's it.

[jp3813]

Can you believe that Dirk Nowitzki is being compared to Larry Legend?

[STmemba]

Wow i'm young so i dont really remember MJ from bulls but i do remenber him from Wizards , su it's bless for me to watch him playin wth bulls . Best player ever !

[jp3813]

You need to see some Magic and Bird highlights as well.

[airjordan23man]

wow the move at 5:40 is like many of michaels amazing moves.. its crazy he basically gets past 2 guys looks like he splits a duble team.. than 4 guys are locked on blocking him and he scoops it under the 5 under the basket.. simply amazin

[metaljaybird]

This was towards the end of Bird's career. Man, I remember some of these games as a 12 year old.

[TmacClutch]

good job again!

[rushgeddylee]

michael jordan 98 or 98.9% of the time his matches were amazing. but there were some times that michael would make 2 out of 17. but none the less he was great almost every single game, maybe one or two games he wouldnt play well.

[3DStoneCt]

I think people took Jordan for granted while he playe. Most forget Jordan was great every single night and grew as a player; he was great with where his game and abilities were every single night. He never took a night off. Each year he became better and better. 1992 he had it all--he was at the top of his game and fame while being a world champion. Plus, Detroit was out of his way (No Edwards and Microwave) so it was Jordan's championship to lose.

[blast2blast]

Classic performance. MJ's abilities were in complete synk by this time. Thank u for these posts Hoops

[diddy559]

He's a friggen MONSTER.

[ericwill06]

I hate to bring up bad memories; however I would like to see the Bulls vs Pistons game 7 from 1990 (The Pippen migrane game). Hoops do you have this game?

[3DStoneCt]

You have no idea how I love that game. I am a Pistons fan and I love that game. It's also quite historic. Do you know that was the last game where Jordan lost a playoff series when he played an entire season? The Pistons toyed with Chicago in that game which is why it was a shock that they got swept in 1991. I personally believe that 1991 series was fixed because "Zeke" mysteriously broke the tendons in his wrist yet nobody knew how? HMMMMMMMMMMMMM?

[glr311975]

them carmines mj got on is tite.

[michalus]

they will be in retro 2008..i hope.

[JDorman3rd]

was this like a wednesday afternoon game lol? it was so dead in the garden

[shwkz0]

good for you !! MJ

[3BALL4]

love the video

[craw32]

This MJ's final 40 pt game at the Boston Garden.

[jaboo82681]

That alley-oop from Armstrong, I've seen it on the Bulls 92 championship video.

Also Hoops your right what u said in your discription sad to say I wish we could have seen how great Reggie Lewis could have been. 92 was his second to last season. RIP Reggie

[RyoSan23]

hosps you are great!!!

Thanx!

[clarkman83]

Hey Hoops, if I'm not mistaken, I remember seeing that scoop shot @ 4:00 on MJ's "Air Time" video. Am I right?

[hoopsencyclopedia]

Yes, I remember that.

[RodrickFreeman]

Man he was splashing that whole game!!!

[ForEmily23]

It blows my mind that one player can be so good at everything. Michael Jordan had no weaknesses. Possibly the only player who can say that.

[ForEmily23]

Red Kerr is so corny.... but I love him.

[SPMJ]

Those were some amazing swishes on the jumpers. Every made jumper hit nothing but net. 91-92 was probably MJ's peak as a complete scorer.

Thanks hoops!

[Natoma1977]

I'd argue 88-89 because he averaged 33ppg, 8ast, and 8reb, as well as 3stls. His contribution to points came completely on the offensive and defensive end.

I'd argue that was his peak as a complete scorer.

[skywalker2345]

great clip, thanks hoops

[craw32]

At this point in his career, it was evident that MJ could simply take over at any point in the game, but he knew that his team, his coach and the system was so good that he didn't have to over-exert himself to try and win. This concept really began in late 1990. He and his teammates finally embraced the complicated triangle offense. Jordan was more efficient because his team around allowed him to be - combined with the fact that he was incredibly smart and dominant.

[craw32]

I remember this game on WGN. I always made sure I had a blank tape in my VCR ready to record a replay of any Jordan dunk/highlight! That alley-oop from Armstrong has always been one my favorites because he took off on one foot. The gliding two-handed alley-oop jams were always the most fun to watch! Thnx hoops!

[jxn23]

To give some perspective to Jordan's efficiency - 10 games into 91-92 (age 28) MJ was averaging 31.6 points shooting 59.8% from the field!

10 games into the current NBA season, the leading scorer (LeBron) is averaging 29 points on 47% shooting. McGrady and Kobe (who are the same age as jordan was in 91/92) are averaging around 27ppg shooting 46%.

Just shows how amazing Jordan was because these are today's best players

[jordanlover23]

Jordan was basically 29 at the start of the '91-'92 season. He was 28 years and 9 months old when it began, which I count as basically 29. :P

[superbuggerdude]

Sorry to be geeky - but this is from the 91-92 season. And if youre saying this was early in the season then that would put it in the year 1991, no?

[hoopsencyclopedia]

No prob. The NBA lists the ending year as the year. Yes this game was held at the end of 1991 but the NBA year was 1992.

[Hypebusta]

Nice as always, can't wait to see if you find MJ's near QUADRUPLE DOUBLE against these Celtics.

[whooshkoosh]

just too good.... thanks for the vid once again.

[christofizzle]

R.I.P. Reggie Lewis

[blackadam06]

I echo those sentiments. I swear his game & Paul Pierce's, R very similar..

[MIKESOWELL]

yeah jordan is the most efficient.did you know elgin baylor has a higher career shot attempts per game average than jordan? yet jordan scoring average is 30.1 to baylor's 27.4.

[jxn23]

What was that ridiculous no look half jump hook at 430? Never seen that one before! And that shake and spin post up move at 4:00 - that's on "Air Time"

Once again, thank you hoops.

[watchmanthomas]

Sup hoops, thanks for the vids, and your commentary, I love your commentaries. :P Keep postin

[vermeer1]

Jordan is the most efficient player in NBA history? I didn't know that. I would have guessed Wilt

[womatama]

wilt wasnt that good at the end of his career while jordan was still the meanest guy out

[hoopsencyclopedia]

Actually Shaq is #2. Wilt is #4 (but probably would be higher if they had blocks and steals back then).

[vermeer1]

oh i see so it's total career not individual season, cool thanks

[Natoma1977]

You also have to remember that efficiency includes Free Throws. :)

That alone, not to mention Jordan's 50% career FG% average, puts him in a class above Wilt and Shaq.

[vermeer1]

thanks guys!

[alaskanmarine1]

I wonder if Michael and Bird were playing for a Big Mac, like in their commercial. One who out does the other gets the meal.

[andgar923]

But I thought jordan only played against short white guys.

Thx for upping btw.

[hoopsencyclopedia]

Lol. Interestingly, the NBA is whiter and more asian than ever before with the international players. Height has remained the same for the past decade as we all knew.

[andgar923]

Not that I'm disagreeing, but I remember you mentioned Mike played in the tallest era. I mentioned this in an argument and was asked to prove it.

Do You have a link?

Thanks

[chrisguy90]

hoops, I tried to comment on your home page, but for some reason I dont see my comments up there.

[hoopsencyclopedia]

The commenting page is always lagging. I think youtube needs to fix something. It'll probably show up later.

[popeyeisgood]

bird could still hang in there. with all the injuries he had, it is amazing how good he is.i wish his career could last longer. every time he played against there are gonna be shoot out.

[ArmenianAssassin]

1st comment

[hoopsencyclopedia]

C'mon. You gotta say something at least right?

[ArmenianAssassin]

Godly performance by MJ as usual. Nothing more left to say ;)

[whennen]

He looks like he is playing against children in this game. He and Larry were obviously on a different level than everyone else. There will never be another Jordan, and There will never be another Larry. Jordan had everything going for him. He was the greatest ever.

[sungewon]

thanks