AIR SICK
BY MARK BECHTEL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MANNY MILLAN
AND JOHN W. MCDONOUGHTWENTY-FIVE YEARS
ago Michael Jordan staged
one of his signature
performances: the
Flu Game. In Game 5 of the
1997 NBA Finals against
the Jazz, a visibly weakened
Jordan put up 38 points,
including the go-ahead three-pointer with
25 seconds left as Chicago handed Utah
a 90–88 loss (its first home defeat of the
postseason) to take a 3–2 lead in the series.
Years later it emerged that Jordan didn’t
actually have the flu, but rather food poisoning.
The night before the game MJ had ordered a
pizza. His trainer, Tim Grover, noted that “five
guys” delivered the pie to a hotel that everyone
knew was housing the Bulls. Only Jordan ate
it, and he spent the night and following day
sweating profusely, weak and confined to his
bed until barely an hour before tipoff.
Jordan’s exploits didn’t receive much
coverage in Sports Illustr ated. Game 5
took place on a Wednesday, two days after
the close of the June 16 issue. By the time
the next week’s issue came out, the series—
clinched after Jordan’s 39-point performance
in Game 6—was long over. So virtually all
of the photos taken in Game 5 never saw the
light of day. Until now.
Manny Millan captured Jordan acrobatically
taking on Utah’s 7' 2" center, Greg Ostertag, in
the paint, while John W. McDonough caught
him alone, visibly weakened and tugging on
his shorts—showing His Airness at his most
dominant, as well as his most vulnerable.20 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED | SI.COM
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