“It was food poisoning and not the flu”: Tim Grover reveals the truth behind Michael Jordan’s infamous 1997 Finals “Flu Game”

Tim Grover reveals the truth behind Michael Jordan and his infamous “Flu Game” in the NBA finals against Utah Jazz, 24 years back. 

Michael Jordan is easily one of the greatest players the league has ever witnessed. Apart from being one of the most impactful players, Mike was considered a basketball god. Till today, fans rave about his insane gameplay and achievements.

It was because of Michael that the Chicago Bulls franchise is one of the greatest dynasties in history. Of course, with the help from stars like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, MJ helped the Bulls be the most dominant team in the 1990s.

Winning two successful three-peats, finishing a season with a flawless 72-10 record, there was virtually nothing that the Bulls hadn’t achieved because of their leader.

In his illustrious 15-year career, Jordan had several notable moments. His first championship, his Father’s Day performance, the Shrug, his career-high 69 points against the Cavs, his final championship, the Dream Team are just a few to name. One such performance which stands out in Michael’s incredible career is the infamous “Flu Game”.

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“It was food poisoning and not the flu”: Tim Grover reveals the truth behind MJ’s “Flu Game”

During Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals, an unwell Michael Jordan dropped 38 points in 44 minutes to lead his team to a 90-88 win over Karl Malone and the Jazz team. Visibly, His Airness looked gassed yet managed to put up such an incredible performance. The Bulls GOAT reflected on his performance:

“I almost played myself into passing out. I came in and I was almost dehydrated and it was all just to win a basketball game, I couldn’t breathe. My energy level was really low. My mouth was really dry. They started giving me Gatorade and I thought about an IV.”

Officially turning 24 years, we now learn the real truth behind the “Flu Game”. As also portrayed in ESPN’s docu-series “The Last Dance”, it was because of a pizza that Mike suffered from food poisoning. His personal trainer, Tim Grover also revealed:

“So we order a pizza, they come to deliver it, five guys come to deliver this pizza. And I’m just … I take the pizza, and I tell them, I said, ‘I got a bad feeling about this.’ I said, ‘I just got a bad feeling about this.’

“Out of everybody in the room, he was the only one that ate. Nobody else … then 2 o’clock in the morning, I get a call to my room. I come to the room, he’s curled up, he’s curled up in the fetal position. We’re looking at him. We’re finding the team physician at that time. And immediately I said, ‘It’s food poisoning.’ Guaranteed. Not the flu.”

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As we all know, Jordan has a passion for winning. He just can’t comprehend a loss. Back on 11th June 1997 too, the great Michael Jordan wasn’t going to allow an ailment spoil his game.