Michael Jordan Told Teammates On Plane While Smoking Cigar Bulls Would Win Game 6 Of ’93 Finals In Phoenix: ‘I’m Only Packing 1 Suit, I’m Not Going There To Play 2 Games’

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls faced Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. 

The Bulls won Games 1 and 2 on the road, the Suns won Game 3 in Chicago, the Bulls won Game 4 at home and the Suns won Game 5 on Jordan’s home floor. 

Games 6 and 7 were in Phoenix. Bulls players dreaded getting back on a plane and flying since they had a chance to win the championship at home. That’s when Jordan addressed the team while smoking a cigar. 

“Everybody is dreading getting back on the plane and going back to Phoenix,” Michael Jordan said in The Last Dance doc. “So I just say, ‘Look man, I don’t know about you guys, I’m only packing one suit. We’re going back to win one game. I’m not going there to play two games.'”

Jordan played 44 minutes in Game 6. The NBA legend finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 13-of-26 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

The Bulls beat the Suns by a final score of 99-98 to capture their third championship in a row. John Paxson hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in regulation. 

Jordan won this third Finals MVP Award. He averaged 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the six-game series. 

The Bulls won six championships in the Jordan era. They three-peated twice and went undefeated in the Finals. Chicago defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice) for its six rings. 

Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 35 NBA Finals games. He won six Finals MVPs and never played in a Game 7. 

In two stints with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks. He won five regular-season MVPs, six Finals MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, 10 scoring titles and three steals titles. 

Jordan also won the 1984-85 Rookie of the Year Award. He’s first in NBA history in points per game (30.1).