🏀 The Flu Game - Game 5 1997 NBA Finals 🏀

We all know what it's like to be sick. Aches, fevers, chills, dizziness, throwing up. Everyone knows that being sick is no fun. A sickness can come on without warning and all you want to do is curl up in bed until you feel better. 

But what if a sickness like that hit right before the biggest game of your season? Would you be able to perform? Would you play at a high level knowing that all your teammates and fans were depending on you? 

In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals, one of the greatest basketball players of all time was faced with this exact challenge.

Tonight you will hear the story of Michael Jordan and what has become known as “the Flu Game” 

Transcript

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Hello sports fans and welcome to Once Upon a Game. We all know what it's like to be sick. Aches, fevers, chills, dizziness, even throwing up. Everyone knows that being sick is no fun. A sickness can come on without warning, and all you want to do is curl up in bed until you feel better. But what if a sickness like that hit right before the biggest game of your season? Would you be able to perform? Would you be able to play at a high level, knowing that all your teammates and fans were depending on you no matter how bad you felt? In game five of the 1997 NBA Finals, one of the greatest basketball players of all time was faced with this exact challenge. Tonight you will hear the story of Michael Jordan in what has become known as the Flu Game. Once upon a game, the two best teams in the National Basketball Association met in the NBA Finals to battle for the league championship. They were the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz. The Bulls were led by one of the greatest players of his generation, Michael Jordan. The Bulls were already the defending champs and had been the best team in the league during the regular season, finishing with 69 wins and winning the Eastern Conference. Now they were seeking not just back-to-back titles, but their fifth championship in the last seven seasons. On the other side were the Utah Jazz, a disciplined and talented team who had won the Western Conference with 64 wins in the regular season. After years of regular season success and some close calls in the playoffs, the Jazz were making their first ever finals appearance. They were led by Carl Malone, who had just been named the most valuable player in the league, and John Stockton, who already held NBA records for assists and steals. The Jazz were confident they could not only dethrone the Bulls as champs, but take their spot as the top team in the league for years to come. At this point the series was tied two games to two, and Game 5 was about to be played on the Jazz's home court in Salt Lake City, Utah. Whoever won Game 5 would be just one victory away from the championship. The Jazz's chances looked good. They had won their last 23 home games in a row, including ten straight in the playoffs. The Bulls had already lost the last two games in Utah, and it would take everything they had not to lose again. But on the night before the game, something went terribly wrong. As the Bulls rested in Salt Lake City, the day between games, their star, Michael Jordan, became suddenly ill in the middle of the night. He could barely sleep. He shivered, sweated, and struggled to keep down food or even water. By morning, he was weak and exhausted, and could hardly stand without assistance. Doctors were called to evaluate, and some thought he had caught the flu. Others thought it had been from some bad pizza he ate the night before, but all questioned if he would be able to play the next day. Michael did not warm up with his teammates before the game, yet when tip-off time arrived, Jordan put on his uniform. The Bulls needed him, and he wasn't ready to quit. He would give whatever strength he had to help his team. Rumors of Michael's illness had gotten out before the game. Reporters, fans, and other players wondered if Jordan would be any help to the Bulls at all. The Jazz knew this was their chance. Playing in front of their thunderous home crowd gave them confidence. Before the game even started, the roar of the crowd was deafening. Bulls players covered their ears to try to block out the noise. They knew they were in hostile territory. The game began. From the start, it was obvious something was wrong with Michael Jordan. He moved much slower than usual, and between plays he bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. In the first quarter, he had only been able to make two baskets. The crowd remained loud and confident as the Jazz built a sixteen point lead. It felt like Chicago was not going to be able to keep up. But the second quarter was a different story. Even as his body struggled, Jordan continued to compete. He hit a jumper, then another. He fought for loose balls, drove to the basket drawing fouls, and made free throws again and again and again. Every basket seemed to require more effort than the last, but little by little, Jordan and the Bulls chipped away at Utah's lead. Michael had managed to score seventeen points in the second quarter. And as halftime arrived, the Bulls were still down, but only by four points. They had hope going into the second half. When the game resumed, it seemed Jordan's efforts in the second quarter had caught up with him in the third quarter. He was only able to manage one basket. Whenever Michael was on the bench, he sat slumped in his chair, a towel over his head or an ice pack on his neck trying to keep cool and build back up his stamina. As the fourth quarter began, time was running out for the Bulls. With just ten minutes to go, the Jazz were leading by eight points. Both teams knew that their championship chances could hinge on the next few minutes of play. Then, Jordan hit a jump shot, six points down. Thirty seconds later, Michael grabbed a defensive rebound in his own end and dished a quick pass to a teammate sprinting up the floor, who hit a three-pointer. Suddenly, the Bulls were only down three points. Less than thirty seconds later, Michael had the ball again. He faked a pass to his left, then launched his own three-pointer. The ball sailed through the air, rattled into the rim, and dropped through the net. A tie game. In less than a minute, the Jazz's eight-point lead had vanished, and the sickly, exhausted Michael Jordan had played a role in every one of the points. The Jazz called a timeout to settle themselves down, but just 40 seconds later, Jordan hit another basket, a long two-point jump shot, to give the Bulls a two-point lead. The Jazz called a timeout to settle themselves down. But just 40 seconds after, Jordan hit another shot, a long two-point jumper, to give the Bulls a two-point lead, 79 to 77. The thunderous Utah crowd was now left in stunned silence. But the Jazz players were not about to let their championship chances slip away on their home court. Over the next few minutes, the teams traded shots, rebounds, and free throws. It felt like each play might be the difference between a win and a loss. With less than a minute to go in the game, the Jazz were ahead again, but only by one point, 85 to 84. Then, with forty six seconds left in the game, Michael Jordan was fouled. He would get two free throws. If he could make them both, the Bulls would have the lead. Michael stepped up to the foul line, took a deep breath, and tossed his first shot. Swish. The game was tied again. Michael reset and tossed his second shot. Clang. The ball bounced off the rim. Michael had missed. Frantically, players on both teams jumped and reached for the loose ball. It bounced off several outstretched hands and fingertips and was tipped back towards the foul line where Michael was still standing. He grabbed the loose ball and dribbled back to half court. Chicago still had the ball and a chance to score and take the lead. The Bulls passed the ball around, looking for an open shot as the clock continued to wind down. Forty seconds to go. Jordan got the ball back near the top of the key and passed to teammate Scotty Pippin in the paint. Thirty seconds to go. Two Utah players closed in on Scotty. As they did, Michael stepped back behind the three point line. Pippin passed back. Twenty five seconds to go. Jordan didn't hesitate. He rose up and launched a three point shot towards the basket. The ball sailed through the air and dropped through the hoop. Chicago led by three, eighty eight to eighty five. The teams exchanged baskets in the last twenty seconds, and when the final buzzer sounded, Chicago had won ninety to eighty-eight. As the players walked off the court, Michael hugged fellow Bulls superstar Scotty Pippen. Jordan was so exhausted he could barely stand. He practically collapsed in Scotty's arms. As the players walked off, Pippen wrapped his arm around Michael and helped support his weight. It became one of the most famous images in Michael Jordan's highlight-filled career. Jordan had led the Bulls with 38 points. It wasn't his greatest point total, and the game didn't even clinch the championship. But when the stories of the NBA Finals are told, the legendary tale of what has become known as the flu game is one of the most remembered. It is a story of perseverance and determination. It showed what can happen when someone refuses to let difficult circumstances decide their fate. But this was not the final game of the series. Would Utah bounce back in game six? Or would the Bulls be crowned NBA champs again? Well that is a story for another game. The End. Thank you for listening to Once Upon a Game. Be sure to subscribe so you are notified for our next true sports bedtime story. Thank you for listening and dream big.