The Internet Just Found A ‘New’ Jordan Highlight From 1985

It is mind-blowing that this clip is relatively unknown. 

Maybe you've seen this clip of Michael Jordan shattering a backboard all over an Italian basketball team in 1985. I had not and it looks like I am far from the only one.

I forwarded it to my friends. All of them, sports fans from the Chicago area. None of them had seen it. I showed Riley O'Neil who was a huge Bulls fan in the 90s. Never saw it. How is this possible? How did this not go viral last year when the world was consuming The Last Dance and couldn't get enough of Jordan and the Bulls.

This video has everything. Young Mike in a different jersey, wearing Air Jordans a month before they came out, disintegrating a backboard over 4 stunned opponents. I'm honestly shocked that it isn't an NFT yet.

I did a little research and found an SBNation article on the game from last year.

The game is from 1985 during the summer after Jordan's rookie year with the Bulls. He was only a few months from being "worldwide" famous. In 1982 he won an NCAA title for North Carolina. In 1984 he won a gold medal at the LA Olympics. He had just been named Rookie of the Year and had signed a massive deal with Nike.

It was on a Nike European tour that this game took place in the northern Italian city of Trieste.

Jordan put on the orange and black Trieste jersey and started the exhibition game. He scored 30 points and was probably at his athletic peak. The 4-minute highlight video of the game is mesmerizing. Young Jordan was an absolute freak of nature.

The shattered backboard over 4 opponents is the runaway highlight, but there are 5 or 6 other moves that could easily be played side-by-side with the Ehlo shot or the Russell shot.

Still, just unbelievable that most people haven't seen this highlight.

Oh and while Jordan did escape unscathed, two of the Italian players under the basket weren't so lucky.