The final video of the day will not be an on-court clip. I decided to go with a commercial. Although we all love the McDonalds game of HORSE commercial with Larry Bird, and of course the Gatorade “Be Like Mike” commercial, his Nike failure commercial always struck me on a deeper level. Congrats Mike!

The 1993 NBA Finals were no cakewalk.  In fact, the Suns had a better regular season record than the Bulls that year, Barkley had won the MVP, and many experts were picking the Suns to win.  We all know what happened next, as the Bulls won in 6.  But before the series started nothing was certain.  Rumors of gambling debts swirled as well. What better way to summarize that than a classic NBA on NBC intro by Bob Costas?

One of the most famous clips of Jordan’s career is “the move” over the Lakers in Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals. This was Jordan’s first real shot at a title, and he wasn’t about to blow it. While most people remember the move, they don’t remember that it was his 13th straight made field goal, setting a new finals record. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to about the 4:30 mark to see the unbelievable move.

Arguably the defining shot of Jordan’s career, this game-winner over Ehlo put the Bulls on the map in the Eastern Conference.  Although it would be a couple years until the Bulls could overcome the dirty Pistons, this moment signified the arrival of Jordan and his Bulls as a force in the East, as opposed to a one-man show.

In a ridiculously stacked rookie class, Jordan outshined his competition with his spectacular displays of athleticism.  It’s almost funny to see a slightly unpolished Jordan at 22 years old.  We all see him as the smooth, confident man who has wowed us in so many ways, but this was before all that, when he was just youngster.  Oh and Bill Russell would “pay to see him play”.  Nice.

As most of you know by now, Michael Jordan is being inducted into the Hall of Fame today.  Yesterday, I discussed how Jordan was not only the greatest of all time, but that he redefined what greatest of all time even meant.  Today, we will be posting video tributes to him all day.

This first one, ironically enough, doesn’t even have MJ in it, as he was preparing for the upcoming Olympics at the time of the 1984 draft.  Here is the Bulls selection of Jordan with the 3rd overall pick.  Don’t miss David Stern’s amazing moustache.

We have covered this from every different angle here, but the issue of whether Ben Gordon was the kind of player Bulls fans want on their team won’t truly be answered until we see how they look this fall without him.  In the meantime, for all you doubters, here’s a little farewell video montage to Ben Gordon.

Trust me Bulls fans, you will miss him.

h/t: BDL

Scottie Pippen, not necessarily known for his speaking, gave an interview recently (after the halftime tribute ceremony) that really sums up what Red meant to so many people:

The ceremony that was held to honor him during halftime of the Pistons game a couple weeks ago can be found here.  A tear comes to my eye when I watch it, but we can all take comfort from the fact that Red lived a full life and touched so many people.  Don’t worry Red, we’ll play better defense, I promise.

I’m not a very emotional guy by nature.  I show anger, excitement, and passion, sure, but sadness?  It’s not as easy for me.  After writing about Stormin’ Norman yesterday, I was basically spent in terms of being able to feel sad.  Then the tragic news came in late last night that Johnny “Red” Kerr passed on after his battle with prostate cancer got the best of him.

Red was the voice of the Bulls for an entire generation, my generation.  I grew up listening to his calls on the radio.  Who can forget Red screaming “It’s Good!  It’s Good” after Jordan’s shot on Ehlo?  Or before every game how Jordan would throw dust from the resin bag all over Red? My memories of Red mostly have to do with his sound analysis and love of the Bulls.  Loved far and wide throughout the league, Red came to be associated with the Bulls more than any other personality during the franchise’s existence.

After leading the Fighting Illini to a Final Four in 1952, he was drafted into the NBA.  Known as one of the top centers in the league, he played most of his career for the Syracuse Nationals, which eventually became the Philadelphia 76ers.  He was known as one of the better centers in the league, dragging Chamberlain and Russell up and down the court on a nightly basis.  He made 3 all-star games and held the record for consecutive games played until 1983.

He came to be the Chicago Bulls first coach in the 1966-1967 season.  He was the first (and only) coach to take an expansion team to the playoffs.  He also won Coach of the Year in that first year as coach.  His famous line about that young expansion team was, “Bulls is our name. Defense is our game. Look in the Yellow Pages under Excitement.”

He then went on to coach the Suns briefly, but came back to provide commentary for the Bulls from 1975 until the end of last season.

Kerr was always known for his keen basketball mind and for his love of the game and the Bulls.  While in recent years his health was failing, he always had a key insight about the night’s game.  A tribute fit for a king was given to Red a few weeks ago during halftime of a Pistons game at the United Center.  Everyone came out to honor him, from Scottie Pippen to Barack Obama.  At least we can all take solace in the fact that he was properly honored for everything he has done for the community and the team.

Keep Red in your prayers and as Red would say “Stay on those boards!”