Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen was impressed by Michael Jordan‘s “Flu Game” in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals is called “The Flu Game,” but Jordan was dealing with food poisoning after eating pizza the night before.
“Before Game 5 in Utah, I’m at the Marriott,” Jordan said in The Last Dance. “So it was George, myself, Tim and I think a couple of security guys. But it’s like 10:00, 10:30 at night, I’m hungry. I ate the pizza. All by myself. Nobody else ate the pizza. I wake up about 2:30 throwing up left and right. So really it wasn’t the flu game, it was food poisoning. I stayed in bed all day. Couldn’t eat anything, couldn’t hold nothing down.”
“He was in pretty bad shape,” Pippen said in The Last Dance doc. “But a lot of times when you’re sick, you’re able to find something deep down inside that you didn’t know was there. And I think it was just one of those games where he wanted to win so badly that he stayed with it. … He had showed that no matter how sick he was, he’s still the best player in the world.”
Not only did Jordan play 44 minutes in “The Flu Game,” but he also scored 38 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer off an excellent pass from Pippen.
With the game tied at 85, Jordan hit a 3-pointer with 25.0 seconds left in regulation to give the Bulls an 88-85 lead. Chicago won by a final score of 90-88 to take a 3-2 lead in the series.
Jordan shot 13-of-27 from the field, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in “The Flu Game.” He finished with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Chicago may have lost the 1997 NBA Finals if Jordan hadn’t played in Game 5. “The Flu Game” is undoubtedly one of the most iconic contests in sports history and showcased Jordan’s mental and physical toughness and will to win.
The Bulls beat the Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals in six games.
With Chicago, Jordan won six championships, six Finals MVPs, five regular-season MVPs, 10 scoring titles, three steals titles and one Defensive Player of the Year Award. He’s arguably the best player in NBA history.
Jordan finished his NBA career with stellar averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He’s first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating.
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