“Even the city of Chicago didn’t believe in us”: Michael Jordan revealed just much of an underdog the Bulls were against the Cavaliers in 1989

Michael Jordan talks about everyone including the city of Chicago counting out the Bulls when against the Cavaliers in 1989. 

Michael Jordan had an array of iconic moments in his 15 seasons in the NBA, all of which tell an intricate story about his time in the league. The 63 points against the Celtics was a warning to the rest of the NBA of his arrival while his left elbow shot against the Jazz in Game 6, 1998 was the final shot he took as a Bull, marking a storybook ending to his career. 

Everything that happened in between led to that shot against the Jazz and the double-clinched jumper against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the first round in 1989 was most definitely a part of this. 

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The Chicago Bulls had beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers the year prior in the first round in a hard-fought series. The Bulls advanced to the semis after winning 3-2. 

The 1989 season saw the Cavs bounce back and beat Chi-Town in every single game of the regular season. Michael Jordan remembers this as the reason for why people did not believe in his squad. 

Michael Jordan on his Bulls being counted out by everybody. 

Ahmad Rashad, a close friend of Jordan’s, had a One on One with him where he broke down various moments in the ‘GOAT’s’ career. ‘The Shot’ was one of these such moments but Michael Jordan would go on to reveal that not everybody believed in them prior to the series commencing. 

“During the course of the year, Cleveland beat us every game. So everybody predicted us to get swept. Even the city of Chicago, they didn’t think we were going to win. And that’s okay. To me that was okay because we had nothing to lose at that point.”

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The Cavaliers being the 3rd seed and the Bulls being the 6th, the odds were stacked against Jordan and company at every step of the way. 

As everybody remembers that series however, Michael Jordan would come through in the clutch and drain an incredible double-clinched jumper with less than 2 seconds left to beat the buzzer and put the Bulls in front for good.