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Michael Jordan is of course a legendary figure in basketball and a key figure in basketball history. How could he not be?
He hit the winning shot in the 1982 national championship game - as a freshman. He won two gold medals in the Olympics, the first in 1984 and the second with the dream team eight years later in 1992.
And of course he won six NBA titles with the Bulls, putting a stranglehold on the title that was only surpassed by Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics.
Like Russell, Jordan had a competitive desire that was almost impossible to surpass. And like Jordan, Russell was a gifted athlete. But Jordan took athleticism to another level.
He had a tremendous vertical of 48 inches. He also had enormous hands, which allowed him to do things most players could never do. But he also had tremendous body control, as you’ll see here.
In this clip, Jordan has a fast break layup against Detroit’s Bill Laimbeer. In the end, he simply spins to avoid Laimbeer and then casually tosses the ball in with his back to the basket.
Even now, it’s impressive as hell.
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