“You control everything and can do anything in the zone”: Michael Jordan broke down what he it was like to have everything working for him in his 50 and 60+ point games

Michael Jordan once let it be known exactly when and how he got himself into the zone to allow himself to go off offensively. 

As NBA.com themselves describe him, Michael Jordan is, by acclamation, the greatest player to have ever played the game of basketball. He is the perfect concoction of individual and team success. Jordan had the MVPs, the scoring titles, the All-NBA selections, but he also brought the Bulls 6 championships in 6 tries. 

Part of the allure of Michael Jordan was ability to always stay ahead of the curve. After he figured his way out of the Detroit Pistons rut, there was no stopping Jordan once he got to the promiseland. It’s no surprise that MJ had more trouble against Eastern Conference foes than against the Western Conference team he met in the NBA Finals.

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Whenever the Chicago Bulls got into a pickle however, MJ came through. Usually, this required him to take over a game offensively. NBA fans have seen Jordan drop 40+ on countless occasions but it was unclear for the longest time just how he felt while doing so. 

Michael Jordan on getting into the zone. 

‘The Zine’ is something that has become something of a myth over the decades. A state of mind that blocks out all unnecessary information and has everything go your way sounds like something out of a cartoon show. The naysayers however, have been proven wrong time and time again. 

Athletes like Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and of course, Michael Jordan have stated on several occasions that they have been in the zone before. 

During an interview in 1992 with Playboy, Michael Jordan revealed exactly how he felt when in the zone and how he got into it in the first place. 

“I feel it when the game starts. You just start getting on a roll. Everything that you do is working. You get steals, your offensive game is working. You just take control of it. You’re in tune with everything that’s going on. You control the tempo, you control everything. It’s like you can do anything.”

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For those wondering if you could forcibly enter into the zone, this is what MJ had to say on that front. 

“I get into it in pressure situations. Somehow you feel the pressure. Either you do it now or you don’t do it at all and it starts to kick in. But to explain it you’d have to be a psychologist.”