Back in the 1992 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan had Clyde Drexler on his mind more than the Championship trophy. He had been compared to the Portland Trail Blazers star ahead of the series, so he felt like he had a point to prove when he met the Blazers in Game 1. Admittedly, it didn’t take long for him to achieve his goal.

Unknown date 1992; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan (23) against the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1992 season at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Michael Jordan had 35 points before halftime in a 122-89 massacre of Portland. Better yet, despite not having been known as a great three-point shooter during his career, Jordan drained six threes consecutively, which meant 18 of his 35 first-half points came from three-pointers alone. It was almost like MJ said ‘I can do this anytime I want to’.

So, what brought this on? It turns out that it wasn’t just due to what the analysts were saying about him. What really tipped the scales for Jordan, was the fact that Drexler said the following about his opponent ahead of game 1, as per the Los Angeles Times.

“But all things equal, we don’t mind him shooting threes. We really don’t… I give Michael a lot of credit, but I don’t know if he can match my three-point skill.”
Apparently, no one informed Clyde Drexler of the most important rule in the NBA. You never poke Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan had also said something prior to Game 1

Michael Jordan had heard what Clyde Drexler said and even responded to it ahead of the game. The following is what he said.

“Clyde is a better three-point shooter than I choose to be.”

That said, if Michael Jordan could shoot the long ball, why didn’t he? During an interview after Game 1, he answered that question, saying that he loves driving to the rim, and three-point shooting would take away from that. In his words, “When you have that mentality [of shooting threes], as I found out in the first game… you don’t go to the hole as much. You go to the three-point line.”

Really, it seems that Michael Jordan simply wanted to prove to the world that he could excel at any part of basketball he wanted. He didn’t do it because he knew his game just a bit more than the others did.