10 greatest Michael Jordan moments

For those who do not know, I'm one of the biggest fans of MJ. As a tribute to him on his 45th birthday, here are my 10 favorite Michael Jordan moments:

10. Jordan leading the Bulls to a record 72 wins - Ok, this 'moment' is actually an entire season. After a disappointing exit the previous year, Jordan was back at his best and the Bulls (with new acquisition Dennis Rodman) dominated the NBA, becoming the 1st team to reach 70 wins. And yeah, wherever they went, they were considered "rockstars".

9. The Jordan Rules - The "Bad Boy" Pistons did everything to stop him, even if it bordered to criminal. They fouled him hard everytime he drove to the basket. But Jordan fought back. Though the Bulls lost to the Pistons 2 straight years in the playoffs, but on their third try, they swept the Badboys.

6. Scoring 55 in Madison Square Garden - Jordan came out of retirement in 1995 wearing number 45. It was only his 5th game back and was still a bit rusty. But on the world's basketball mecca, Jordan was at his best, scoring 55 points, yet even dishing out the game winning assist.

7. Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals - I consider this one of Jordan's top 3 greatest games. He drove at will against the Suns in scoring 55 points - whether it was Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, or Charles Barkley who was guarding him. In one of the last plays, MJ was guarded by his close friend Sir Charles. Jordan drove, stopped and hit a short running shot over Barkley, who was called for a foul. In the end, Suns coach Paul Westphal admitted that they could not guard Michael Jordan. He ended up averaging 41 points in that 6-game finals series, an NBA record.

6. Dunk from the free throw line - As a finale in the 1988 slam dunk contest, Jordan dribbled the full court, took off at the free throw line, double clutched the ball with his right hand and threw it down the hoop. It was enough to defeat Dominique Wilkins in an epic slam dunk contest.

5. Raining threes in game one of the 1992 NBA Finals - Who could ever forget Jordan hitting another 3 and gesturing to Cliff Robinson and the rest of the Blazers in a "i dunno what's going on" manner.

4. "God disguised as Michael Jordan" - This is how Larry Bird described MJ in 1986 after the latter scored a playoff record 63 points against the Celtics, who tried different defenders on him.

3. The shot - Game 5 versus the Cavs, who led by a point with 3 seconds remaining. MJ got out of a double team and caught the inbounds pass, drove towards the paint, stopped on the freethrow line, double clutched, and hit the game winning, series ending shot. The celebration right after was also spectacular, with Jordan leaping and Craig Ehlo (the guy who gave the Cavs a 1 point lead) going down.

2. "A spectacular move by Michael Jordan" - I believe it was Marv Albert who spoke this immortal words in the 1991 NBA Finals. MJ drove to the basket and prepared to dunk the ball. Seeing long-armed Sam Perkins in front of him, MJ put down the ball, transferred it to his other hand, and banked in a lay-up. No MJ tribute video is complete without this clip.

1. Clinching the Bulls' 6th NBA title with a winning shot - The Jazz led by 3 points. Jordan went coast to coast for a lay-up to cut the Jazz lead to 1. On the next Utah possession, MJ sneaked from behind Karl Malone, stripped and stole the ball. He dribbled upcourt, killing some time, and with less than 10 seconds left in the game, started dribbling to the right, crossed over to the left, totally faking (and pushing) Bryon Russell, and then buried the shot. What was more spectacular was the follow-through which went on for a few seconds - kinda like waving goodbye to the sport. It was the perfect ending to the career of the greatest basketball player in history. (not counting the Washington experience).

* NOTE: This list was done spontaneously, based only on what I recall from my memory - so I might leave something out or may have some inaccurate details.