Craig Sager interviews Michael Jordan after the Double Nickel Game

There was a brief moment in NBA history when Michael Jordan’s greatness was openly questioned. Following 18 months away from basketball–after winning three of his six championships–people were asking if MJ was still the GOAT. But Michael would answer those questions during the Double Nickel Game with a monster performance on the New York City stage before meeting Craig Sager to talk about it.

Soon after arriving at the Mecca for a matchup with the New York Knicks on March 28, 1995, Air Jordan provided some of the best basketball theatre of his career. He scored every way imaginable while hanging 55 points on the board and dishing out the winning assist. With the Lin-Manuel Miranda-like overture, Michael made it clear that his name was back on Broadway’s marquee for good.

MICHAEL JORDAN POSTGAME INTERVIEW | BULLS vs KNICKS MARCH 28, 1995

“Well, if you’re going to make a comeback, you need to come back as good or better than you were before,” TNT legend Craig Sager told Michael Jordan following the Double Nickel Game in 1995.

“You surprised people all over the world. How do you feel personally about your performance tonight?”

“It’s starting to come back to me a little bit,” Jordan admitted. “I felt good tonight, shot the ball very well.

“Big point of the game was the fourth quarter while I was sitting. Guys came in and gave me a chance to rest. It was a great effort by everybody, really.”

“How have you been able to maintain your focus with everything that’s going on today throughout New York?” Sager asked.

“I just go through my normal routine,” Jordan said. “Once I’m on the basketball court, I’m in my dreamland.

“There’s a lot of hoopla going on right about now, but I’ve been through it and I’m at an ease when I’m out on the basketball court.

“I feel bad for my teammates, though. Some of those guys aren’t used to it being like that coming into the hotel, going out of the hotel. But I’m used to it.”

“Fifty-five points, but nice assist at the end,” Sager added.

“Don’t count on me to shoot it every time,” MJ said. “I can pass.”

RETURN TO GREATNESS

Jordan played his first game after returning to the NBA from a stint in minor league baseball with the Birmingham Barons on March 19, 1995. Wearing the No. 45 instead of his iconic 23, Michael scored 19 points but shot only 25% from the floor in his debut. He’d then go for 27 in a win against Boston before losing to the Orlando Magic on March 24. The Bulls would even their record with Jordan back in the lineup at 2-2 before arriving in New York for the highly-anticipated performance.

The Knicks starting five consisted of All-Star Patrick Ewing along with John Starks, Anthony Bonner, Charles Oakley and Derek Harper as Spike Lee sat courtside at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, Chicago’s troupe featured B.J Armstrong, Will Perdue, Toni Kukoc, Scottie Pippen and a 32-year-old MJ.

Throughout his career, Starks–a quick and aggressive guard– was the best one-on-one defender vs. Jordan in the NBA. But Mike attacked him early in the contest, dropping 20 in the first quarter. He’d finish the first half with 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting despite trailing the Knicks 56-50 at intermission.

It would only require three quarters for Jordan to approach the 50-point record that he originally set in 1986 for the most points scored by an opposing player at MSG. With 49 heading into the final period, the bucket that eventually gave Jordan 55 tied the Knicks at 111 with seconds to play. All that remained was one last heroic scene in a riveting NBA script.

On the Bulls’ final possession, Jordan closed the game with the assist that Sager referenced during their postgame interview. After receiving the inbounds pass, he dribbled across half court while being pressured by Starks. As he approached the top of the key, Michael broke hard to the right before finally making his dash toward the basket.

Prior to receiving an eventual double-team from Ewing off the left block, flight No. 45 cleared for takeoff. It appeared preordained that Jordan would find a way to hit the game-winning shot. But Ewing and Starks eventually combined to take away any opportunity of a field goal, forcing MJ to defer.

Still soaring through the NBA clouds, Michael’s eyes darted toward the area of the floor Ewing had vacated. There, he found a wide-open teammate with a pass–center Bill Wennington–who converted the winning finish with 3.1 seconds remaining. It was Wennington’s first field goal of the game and it secured the 113-111 win for Chicago.

“Tonight here on TNT, a remarkable performance,” Ernie Johnson said from the Reebok postgame studio to close the nationally televised broadcast.

“Double Nickels for Michael Jordan.”

And a basketball comeback story that could only be written by the GOAT.

Craig Sager’s interview with Michael Jordan on TNT leading into the Double Nickel Game

In March of 1995, Craig Sager sat down with Michael Jordan for an exclusive one-on-one interview on TNT. This particular conversation focused on Michael’s return to the NBA while also previewing Jordan’s first appearance back at the United Center with the Bulls.

This nationally televised interview aired in advance of Michael’s return to Chicago which was being billed as TNT’s Game of the Week. Sager and Mike also talked about the new No. 45 jersey that Jordan was wearing along with the worldwide attention being paid to his return to basketball.

Soon after this conversation, Michael Jordan would meet the Craig Sager for their next one-on-one conversation–a postgame interview in New York after the Double Nickel.

Craig Sager Interviews Michael Jordan on TNT

“In the 17 months that Michael Jordan has been gone, the game of basketball has changed–and to an extent so has he,” Craig Sager said to open his one-on-one interview with Michael Jordan.

“But he’s back with a new number, and a renewed love for the game.

“First of all, Michael, what’s it like to try to be like Mike. The way Mike used to be on the court. How does it feel coming back?” Sager asked Jordan.

“As you saw, it was a little bit timing. I didn’t have much timing the other day,” Jordan replied. “But it was a good time for me to get out and try to get some of that. We have a big game coming up on Friday.

“Not to alleviate any of the games that’s in between, but I felt like it was a good opportunity to get a couple games on the road before I came home and played in front of the Chicago fans.

“But as you can see, it was a little rusty. It’s going to take time.”

“A German radio station said it was like Elvis coming back,” Sager added in regards to MJ’s return to the NBA.

“A Polish newspaper said it was an event for the whole world. A Brazilian TV station preempted a soccer match. How do you feel about all this attention?

“Is it too much, overwhelming?”

“Yeah, I think it’s a little bit too much and kinda overwhelming,” Michael admitted.

“It puts a real big strain on me personally in my life. It’s always great to be respected and admired. But to the point where it exceeds certain living situations it’s not that much fun to me.

“So, I think it was fun to a certain degree. But it really was kind of embarrassing. The way people treated it as if I was an Elvis or a god or something, and that’s a very uncomfortable feeling for me.

“Can you come back as strong as ever or better?”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a point where I can’t do the things that I used to do. If so, I wouldn’t have come back. I love it because I know I can still do those things. That’s the reason I’m back.

“I’m not here to give you a second rate cameo appearance. I came back here to do the top job I always have done and I’m going to maintain that. I’m going to continue to do that.

“It’s just going to take a few minutes for me to get my skills where I want them to be.”

Jordan would meet Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic at home that Friday, March 24. MJ went for 21 points, eight assists and five steals while losing the game by seven.

He’d then come back to score 32 against the Hawks before arriving at Madison Square Garden to matchup with the New York Knicks on March 28.

Written By Brendan Bowers | @BowersCLE

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