Vintage Video: Jordan vs Bird in a Shootout

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Do you long for some great throwback NBA footage of superstars of the past featuring some of the game’s players? Do you miss watching games in which the jump shot was an art form and not an afterthought? Longing to see some of the NBA’s greatest grudge matches of teams wearing some of the league’s ugliest uniforms? If you are a fan of the game from back in the day, this is the series for you. Welcome to Vintage Video.

Back in 1986, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics were still in their heyday, coming off of a 67 win season, and winning their 3rd NBA Title in the last three seasons. Boston still had their nucleus intact consisting of Bird, McHale, and Parish. While Magic and Bird were the era’s best players, a young 3rd year player named Michael Jordan was quickly becoming the game’s most lethal offensive force, which the league hadn’t seen since the days of Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. In an early season game between the Celtics and Bulls, the teams’ two superstars put on a show, unveiling their entire offensive arsenal. Even though Boston won the game 110-98, mainly because Bird had a much better supporting cast, Jordan won the individual scoring battle by putting up a whopping 48 points to Birds’ 37 points(and 10 assists). When watching the video, keep in mind that for most of the game Jordan was being guarded by Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson, who was one of the game’s better defenders during the era.