October 16, 1984 was the day that the league changed forever, when Michael Jordan first stepped foot on an NBA court.
Michael debuted against the Washington Bullets and received a standing ovation from the hometown Chicago crowd during introductions. Mike took the first shot of the game; a wide-open mid-range jumper which clanked off the back iron. This wouldn’t be the most notable miss in the game for Mike, as a dunk attempt looked to injure Jordan:
The scary hit from Jeff Ruland wouldn’t even have counted as the play was whistled dead on the perimeter.
We all remember MJ for being the greatest of all time, but his first game statline was lackluster. The future hall-of-famer only notched 16 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, but bigger things would come for Chicago Bulls fans.
The sneakers Michael wore in this game was the Nike Air Ship. Contrary to popular belief, this was the shoe that was banned by the NBA and not the Air Jordan 1. Both sneakers did feature the bright red that had the NBA fining Mike $5000 every game though.
You can find the Nike Air Ship in the Air Jordan New Beginning’s Pack at StockX and GOAT.