Michael Jordan Admitted Cavs Coach Made ‘Mistake’ Putting Craig Ehlo On Him For ‘The Shot’: ‘The Guy That Played Me Better Was Ron Harper’

NBA legend Michael Jordan admitted that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Lenny Wilkens made a “mistake” putting Craig Ehlo on him during “The Shot.”

Jordan hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer over Ehlo in Game 5 of the Cavaliers-Chicago Bulls first-round series in 1989. 

“They had Craig Ehlo on me at the time which honestly was a mistake,” Jordan said in Episode 3 of The Last Dance docuseries. “Because the guy that played me better was Ron Harper.”

In the same episode, Harper talked about how he was angry at Wilkens.

“We up by one,” Harper said. “I said, ‘Coach, I got MJ. I got MJ.’ So the coach tells me, ‘I’m gonna put Ehlo on MJ.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah okay, whatever. Fu– this bulls–t.”

The Bulls beat the Cavaliers by a final score of 101-100. Chicago made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where Jordan and Co. lost to the Detroit Pistons in six games. 

Arguably the best player in NBA history, Jordan had a 42-25 record versus the Cavaliers in his career. MJ never lost a postseason series to Cleveland. 

Jordan won five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, six championships and six Finals MVPs with the Bulls in the ’90s. He made 14 All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-NBA Defensive teams during his career with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. 

MJ also won three All-Star Game MVPs and one Defensive Player of the Year Award. 

Jordan has career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Wizards. He’s first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating.

MJ holds the NBA record for most points (63) scored in a playoff game. 

Behind Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Bulls went 6-0 in the NBA Finals and three-peated twice in the ’90s. Chicago beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice) in the Finals. 

As for the Cavaliers, they won their lone title in 2016 behind LeBron James.