There have been numerous Michael Jordan stories told over the years, like a shot in the 1989 playoffs over Craig Ehlo. If you asked Ehlo about that moment, it feels great, but when it happened, it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Last May, Ehlo was a guest on ESPN’s Get Up back in May of 2019 and shared his thoughts on the moment 30 years later.
“I feel great about it, I’ll tell you the truth at first it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but I think as Iconic as it has gotten for Michael Jordan and for his legacy, I’m included in it. So, I am not going to complain because that is a great person to be associated with.
Get up host Mike Greenberg would later ask Ehlo to take through the play as he envisioned it. ‘
“Well, they [Bulls] called timeout to advance the ball, and we went out to check out the set, and we took a time out because we had a second time out. So, we go back over, and coach Wilkins decides to take Larry Nance off the ball and double-team him in front and did actually that. He went to his right; he got Larry off balance and went on his left, caught the ball on the wing with a clear look from Brad Sellers. In the double-team situation, I was thinking of more relaxed than it would have been if it was just him and me,” said Ehlo.
“As soon as he caught it on the wing, he was coming back to the free-throw line, and my momentum was going the other way, and now I’m running this way to catch him and just get my hand up. He stops on a dime and goes straight up, and I still go right by him, and as soon as that happens, he let go of the shot.”
Magic Johnson Recounts Michael Jordan’s Greats Shot
During his appearance at the t McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden Event in Chicago, Illinois during NBA All-Star Weekend, according to Heavy’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, Magic jokingly shared that heated Jordan after losing to him in the 1991 NBA Finals.
“So this dude 23 [Michael Jordan], still hate him now,” recounted Magic Johnson.
“He takes off on the right side, we thought we had him so we all jumped, but we forgot that he could hang in the air longer than us. So when he went up his tongue was out, he looked down as we went down and decided at the same time to switch the ball to the left hand, the tongue went to the left side too then spun it against the glass and thru. I looked at Michael Cooper and said so we asked him to do it again? Greatest shot I’ve ever seen in my life. So when I think about the greatest loss, you know losing to Michael [Jordan] and the [Chicago] Bulls then the other one was when we lost to the [Boston] Celtics because I really hated them.”
Jordan would finish that game with a near-triple double: 33 points, 13 assists, and seven rebounds.
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Craig Ehlo on Bulls’ Michael Jordan’s Game Winner Over Cavaliers in 1989