On This Day: Michael Jordan Made his NBA Debut

It was on this day October 26, 1984, His “Airness” Michael Jordan made his NBA Debut as the Chicago Bulls tipped off game one of the 1984/85 regular season at home against the Washington Bullets (Now the Washington Wizards). The game featured Michael Jordan as a rookie playing his first NBA regular season game, two months prior he had just come off of leading Team USA to an Olympic Basketball gold medal during the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

If you haven’t checked out the ESPN Chicago Bulls “Last Dance” Documentary, MJ spoke of the dysfunction of the Chicago Bulls when he arrived as a rookie and it was evident during the game. MJ finished with a modest 16 points and 6 rebounds in a Bulls 109-93 win over the Bullets. During the game his teammates Orlando Woolridge and Quintin Dailey were the leading scorers, but his modest night in terms of scoring was primarily attributed to Daily not trying to pass the ball to him when he was open on several occasions, moreover Dailey openly resented MJ’s arrival as he felt his job was in jeopardy.

Nevertheless it was clear that “Air Jordan” was going to be special, as throughout the game he displayed flashes of brilliance that we all grew up appreciating.