Looking back on Michael Jordan’s first NBA season, 40 years later
In 1983, the Chicago Bulls finished near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, coming in a full thirty-five games behind the first place Boston Celtics. Attendance at Chicago Stadium was extremely low, with other venues like suburban Rosemont, where DePaul Basketball played, drawing larger crowds than the Bulls. There was little fan interest until the night of October 26th, 1984, when a rookie named Michael Jeffrey Jordan took Chicago and the NBA by storm.
In his first regular season game, M.J. had a strong all-around performance, scoring 16 points, making 7 assists, grabbing 6 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots. This was just the beginning of his legendary career. Kevin Loughery, who was the Head Coach of the Chicago team at that time, is joining me today to reminisce about the amazing 1984 season with Michael Jordan as a rookie.
Craig: Did you know that going into that opening night he would have the immediate impact he'd have from the start?
Kevin: No doubt. Once we got into training camp, it was apparent on day one. I personally felt he was a much better shooter than he was ever given credit for, but many people didn't share that belief coming out of college. He of course became an outstanding shooter over time. When you play for Dean Smith, it's a system where everyone is involved at North Carolina with ball movement and there's not isolation or plays run for one player as much. Even in the 84' Olympics, Bobby Knight as coach ran a similar system, so you didn't get to see his all-around skills with the ball as much. I knew he was something special a few hours into camp.
Craig: I've heard stories about how the practices were more competitive than some of the regular season games. Is that true?
Kevin: (laughs) We had a lot of veteran players and Michael came in immediately to take over. It didn't matter if a guy had been in the league for 8 or 10 years. That was his personality. The guys weren't too happy about it initially, but then he proved himself early and then it changed things, and he became our leader. He was one of the best leaders you could possibly find.
Craig: It didn't take long in 1984 for you guys to get on a roll. There was a stretch from November 7th-13th in which you defeated the Pistons, Knicks, Pacers and Spurs and won four in a row. That Spurs contest, Michael dropped 45 points.
Kevin: When you add a piece like Michael, you knew we had a good shot to win games and even make the playoffs. The 45-point game early in the season was unbelievable. He hadn't even been in the league for a full month, and it was just a glimpse of what was to become with his greatness. He was something special.
Craig: What did you think of his shoes? He not only took the league by storm with his play, but his marketing I.Q. was also off the charts. The Jordan brand is more popular today than it even was forty years ago.
Kevin: Michael was a tremendous entrepreneur at a very young age. His brand is now over two billion dollars. He's so intelligent, but also very streetwise. Some people have the whole package, and he had it from the very beginning and understood promotions and had a great first agent in David Falk behind him. He had a good family and good people around him with an unmatched work ethic.
This story was originally published October 19, 2024, 4:29 AM.
