MJ could do nothing wrong in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals.
For all the things that the great Michael Jordan was awesome at, three-point shooting was never his forte. In fact, for his storied career, His Airness made just 32.7 percent of his three-pointers and a total of 581 in 15 seasons. However, on June 3, 1992, in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals, Jordan suddenly went berserk from behind the arc, connecting on 6 of 10 attempts from deep, leading to one of the most famous reactions in NBA history: “the shrug.”
Just couldn’t miss
Jordan was just en fuego in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Matched up against Portland’s own high-flying wingman Clyde Drexler—who some said was just as good or maybe even better than Jordan at that time—His Airness decided to make a point. He then made six three-pointers in the first half alone, establishing a record that wouldn’t be broken for 18 years until Ray Allen canned seven in the 2010 NBA Finals.
As the sixth one swished through the net, Jordan couldn’t help but shake his head and then shrug at his good friend, Magic Johnson, who was courtside. The Bulls would go on to rout Portland 122-89 that night as Jordan finished with an astonishing 39 points and 11 assists.
Nothing anyone can do
Jordan later shared that the touch was simply there, and at that point, there was nothing anyone from the Blazers could do about it.
“Shots started dropping from everywhere,” Jordan said. “I started running for the 3-point line. It felt like a free throw, really.”
