- Michael Jordan is one of the great clutch performers in NBA history
- B. J. Armstrong was a teammate of Jordan’s for four and a half seasons
- Armstrong explained why Jordan was so good at hitting game-winners
Michael Jordan hit more than his fair share of game-winning shots in his storied NBA career. B. J. Armstrong, a former teammate of his on the Chicago Bulls, was once speaking on the art of the game-winning shot, and he explained what made Jordan so great at it.
“There’s Michael, and then there’s the rest of us,” Armstrong said. “Michael just didn’t have a memory. He had the shortest memory of anyone I’ve ever seen. Whether he made the shot or missed the shot he had already moved on to the next play. He had an amazing capacity to just be in the moment.”
It didn’t matter what the situation was, Jordan remained even-keeled. He was always the same and the pressure just didn’t get to him.
“I always used to joke with him, ‘Do you even remember what you did yesterday?’ He always used to say, ‘B.J. the score is still 0-0’. That was always his thing,” Armstrong stated. “He just stayed neutral to every situation and it was a great quality to have and one that I just picked up over the years playing alongside him.”
A lot of the players just overthink in those situations, but Jordan didn’t. He was going to shoot it and if he missed, so be it. It wasn’t going to deter the six-time champion from taking the shot the next time the opportunity came.
Michael Jordan’s Game-Winning Buzzer-Beaters
It shouldn’t be all that surprising to anyone, that Jordan has hit the most game-winning buzzer-beaters in NBA history with nine, as per Basketball Reference. The first and one of the more iconic ones came in the 1989 playoffs.
I’m, of course, talking about the shot over Craig Ehlo in the deciding Game 5 of the first-round series between the Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls were trailing 100-99 with three seconds remaining when Jordan hit his iconic game-winner at the buzzer over Ehlo.
Interestingly, his final game-winning buzzer-beater also came against the Cavaliers on January 31st, 2002 when he was with the Washington Wizards. The Wizards were down 92-91 with less than two seconds remaining when Jordan drilled a shot from near the free-throw line to get the win.
Michael Jordan Spoke About Players Feeling Pressure When Hitting Clutch Shots
We have seen players time and time again melt in the big moments in the playoffs. The likes of James Harden have received the “choker” label for repeatedly coming up short in the postseason.
Jordan once gave his thoughts on why players felt pressure to hit clutch shots in the playoffs. He stated that deep down they don’t believe in themselves, and aren’t sure they can hit the big shot.
The 14-time All-Star also stated that any doubt, concern, or pressure one feels is because they haven’t practiced enough. Jordan said he practiced harder than he played, which made the actual games easier for him.
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