It was 1997- and Michael Jordan and the Bulls were looking to win Back-to-Back NBA Championships.
In their way was a dominant Utah Jazz team. A team who convincingly made their way through the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. They swept the Clippers, beat the Lakers in a gentlemen’s sweep, and put the Rockets’ dreams to bed. Their dominant run was lead by John Stockton and the player who would win the NBA MVP award that season, Karl Malone.
The Jazz spent the 1990s flirting with NBA Finals appearances. 1997 was the year it finally came together. And after falling to a 2-0 deficit, Karl Malone and company went back home to Salt Lake and tied the series 2-2. At that point, the tied series perfectly encapsulated how competitive the 1997 NBA Finals were. Aside from the Bulls’ 12 point win in Game 2- every game in the series had been won by less than 10 points. The Jazz were punched in the mouth but impressively responded and rocked the reigning NBA Champions. With one more game in the series left to be played in Utah, the Jazz were in a great position to take the lead in the 1997 NBA Finals.
If you believe in momentum in sports, the Jazz seemingly were on the path to take the lead in the NBA Finals. Statistically speaking, winning Game 5 would heavily tip the scale in their favor- as over 80% of Game 5 winners have historically gone on to win series in the 7 game format. The best in the West were looking to puncture a hole in the reemerging Bulls’ dynasty.
Of course, we all know the story of what ended up happening instead.
Despite playing the game with flu-like symptoms, and getting off to a very slow start, Michael Jordan delivered one of the most revered performances of his NBA career. Down 88-87, with 25 seconds left, Jordan would deliver a game winning three pointer to give the Chicago Bulls the ever important Game 5 win. The performance was immortalized, rightfully so. The infamous photo of Scottie Pippen holding up a depleted Michael Jordan was born, and so was the legacy of the Flu Game Air Jordan 12s.
That important Game 5 win etched the Bulls’ 1997 NBA title. The stepping stone to their second Three-Peat. With a monumental win in the bag, the Bulls returned to Chicago and ended the series with a Game 6 victory over the Jazz.
The quickness in which the pendulum swung is why being a sports fan is so great. Had the Jazz won that Game 5, we mathematically were likely to have seen a different result. There could have been a world where there was no second Three-Peat, a world where Stockton and Malone’s careers were immortalized by an NBA Championship, a world where the Flu Game 12s are simply dubbed the Bred 12s.
Alas, that is not the world the greatest player of all time wanted us to live in. Instead, we live in one where Jordan led the Bulls with a 37 points performance. A world where Jordan and company wrote another chapter in one of the most impressive runs we have ever seen in professional sports.
Jordan Brand is celebrating that world this year with the return of the Flu Game Air Jordan 12s. This will be the fifth time the sneaker makes a return since originally releasing in 1997.
The sneaker is a celebration of Jordan’s defining feet in the 1997 NBA Finals. The game is, rightfully, celebrated for Jordan’s performance under illness. That said, it is often understated just how important winning that Game 5 was not only for Jordan’s career- but for the Bulls’ dynasty of the 1990s.
The Flu Game 12s return this Saturday at 10 AM EST via SNKRS and other Nike retail partners.
Want to join a community of like-minded sneakerheads? Consider signing up for our Premium Membership! Meet fellow sneakerheads, make connections, and learn more about the sneaker industry by signing up today.