Skip to main content

‘The Last Dance’ Features Rare Angle of Michael Jordan’s 1989 Shot vs. Cavaliers

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: an iconic MJ moment like you’ve never seen it before, the Patriots’ new uniforms and more.

Still beautiful from any angle

Of all the famous buckets Michael Jordan sank, only one of them is iconic enough to be known simply as “The Shot.”

His midrange jumper over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer to beat the Cavs in the first round of the 1989 playoffs is remembered just as much for Jordan’s fist-pumping celebration after the shot went in. If you had three clips to sum up MJ’s career, it would definitely have to be one of them. 

Any sports fan, even those born after “The Shot” (like me), has seen that video a thousand times. It’s a classic NBA moment. But it’s highly unlikely that you’ve seen it the way it was presented in ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary. The doc’s premiere Sunday night featured a rare view of the moment shot from the baseline. (Thanks to /r/NBA for pointing it out.)

The footage comes from WBBM, Chicago’s CBS affiliate. I found the rest of the station’s film of the end of the game on YouTube. It was uploaded by someone named “Hakim24x” in January 2015 and, by the time I found it this morning, it had accumulated fewer than 1,000 views. 

The closeup view of the play provides such a different perspective than the traditional broadcast angle. From under the basket, the controlled chaos of the inbounds play looks much more chaotic than controlled. The floor-level angle also makes Jordan’s ridiculous hang time on the shot seem that much more impressive. 

And then there’s the mayhem on the court after the shot. The Chicago reporter rushes at Jordan screaming, “Michael, you stuck it, baby!” and tries to interview him before James Brown could talk him on the national broadcast. Check out the look on Brown’s face as the reporter gets shoved out of the way by the CBS cameraman. It does an amazing job of making you feel like you’re right there on the court 31 years ago. 

The best of SI

The sports shutdown has left freelance wrestlers struggling to get by. ... Ranking the top 255 prospects in the NFL draft. ... The five teams with the most at stake in the NFL draft. ... Behind the scenes of Michael Jordan’s first retirement

Around the sports world

JJ Redick says he wanted to quit basketball his sophomore year at Duke because he was so widely despised. ... I had no idea the NCAA used to sponsor boxing until a competitor died 60 years ago as a result of injuries suffered in a fight. ... The NFL has some really strict rules about what products prospects can have on camera during the draft.

I was cackling after they showed this. How do you stop this?

Jordan’s reaction to being told there was a 10% chance returning from injury too soon could end his career

New Patriots uniforms

What if what? What is this supposed to mean?

I’ll call this sports

No surprise the dog had him beat

That’s definitely more than six feet

Steph is being productive in his time off

Yes, those are kangaroos

Indiana’s head football coach, everybody

Not sports

A Connecticut man allegedly broke into a shuttered restaurant and spent several days eating and drinking. ... MoMA is offering free online art classes. ... Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy stars in a PSA reminding you to wash your hands.

Nature is bouncing back

Drunk driving, with flair

This is what’s on Quibi?

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.