YouTube Gold: Michael Jordan Dazzles The Los Angeles Lakers

In 1988, the Los Angeles Lakers were at or near the peak of their Magic Johnson-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fueled dynasty.

Michael Jordan was at the dawn of his rise to greatness. By 1988, he was clearly a major star and huge attraction, but he was not as iconic as he would become when the championships started to roll in.

But there was no doubt that he was an electric performer, capable of taking over any game and of dominating on either offense or defense.

On December 20th 1988, thirty-four years ago today, Jordan and his Chicago Bulls hosted the Lakers and to say Jordan put on a show was putting it mildly.

He was on a different plane.

As you’ll see on this video, he scored in every conceivable way. He drove on the Lakers defense - and this was in the 1980s, when things were much, much more physical - hit threes and took the ball away on defense.

Part of it was Jordan’s inherent greatness but part of it too was that the Lakers were the gold standard at that time and his immense competitive desire made them a target.

This is Jordan at his hungriest and finest. He was simply amazing.