And it was just the beginning.
MJ, less than two weeks prior to his 25th birthday stood head and shoulders above the litany of superstars and legends-in-the-making during the 38th annual event. Not surprisingly, the weekend of exhibitions were held in Chicago Stadium which was of course the home arena of the 4th year megastar shooting guard. The evening prior to the game saw Jordan successfully defend his slam dunk title with a stunning series of acrobatic flourishes and throwdowns at the basket.
This was the contest that ended in controversy as Michael faced off with star forward Dominique Wilkins, who defeated Jordan during MJ's rookie season three years before. Many felt that Wilkins should have won the '88 contest based on his equally amazing dunks, but as it were, Michael Jordan dribbled full court just as he'd done the year before in Seattle and jumped from the foul line. As he sailed towards the basket with the basketball in his right hand, he assumed an aerodynamic pose that would become one of the most iconic images in sports. When he completed the dunk, the arena went crazy and the judges gave him a perfect score of 50, which narrowly edged out Wilkins for the title.
Maybe it was home court bias, maybe it wasn't. But Jordan was awesome either way.
As amazing as the battle was, the true treat was the following day when the actual game took place. The East marched to a 138-133 victory behind a mega-sensational performance from both Jordan and Wilkins. MJ missed only six shots and scored 40 points in just 29 minutes, including 16 in an offensive flurry during the final six minutes anchored by teammate Isiah Thomas, who finished with 15 assists. Wilkins poured in 29 points to support Michael.
While being presented with the foregone conclusion of All-Star MVP, Jordan stood at center court with Commissioner David Stern. "In a league of stars, in a game of stars, you were the star of stars," said Stern as he handed the trophy to Jordan. It was a fitting moment not just because of his performance in that game or during that weekend. It signaled something far greater -- it was the beginning of Michael's uber popularity with young kids, teens and adults everywhere. Nike and Gatorade (who sponsored the dunk contest) were aligned with MJ and his expensive, namesake sneakers became enormous must-haves for urban youths all across America.
It was also a sign that the great Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would soon take a back seat to the young and blazingly talented Michael, who wound up leading the NBA in scoring, steals and minutes played while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year award and his first ever league MVP.
After his historic showing during the Slam Dunk contest, MJ was known more prominently as Air Jordan and with his high-wire, super acrobatic style of play, it was a very fitting moniker. Jordan had already been a super popular and endlessly gifted basketball player. But this weekend heightened America's awareness even more and launched his tenure as "the NBA's signature player."
If only the world knew what Michael would do over the next decade. Oh my.
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