PHOENIX – The comparison arose shortly after Kevin Durant finished off the Chicago Bulls on Monday. In the final seconds, the Phoenix Suns forward hit a double jumper to give the Suns a 115-113 victory.
WATCH ON REPEAT ALL NIGHT! pic.twitter.com/EEw60HC8Uf
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024
If you thought Durant’s incredible shot looked like Michael Jordan’s iconic double-pump jumper to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the first round of the 1989 playoffs, you’re not alone. A couple of Bulls from that same team agree.
NBC Sports Chicago analyst Will Perdue watched Monday night’s game from a studio in Chicago. As soon as he saw Durant’s shot fall, he immediately recognized the meaning.
“That was a double pump!” said Perdue, who was in his rookie season out of Vanderbilt with the Bulls during the 1989 playoffs. “That’s the same thing Jordan did against (Craig) Ehlo in ’89. I was there!”
Those around him were not convinced.
“Look at it again,” Perdue said.
Obviously, the circumstances were different. Chicago’s 1989 victory came in a first-round elimination game: win or go home. Phoenix’s game on Monday night comes midseason. And unlike the 1989 game, when Chicago trailed Cleveland 100-99 when Jordan got the ball, this game was tied when Suns guard Grayson Allen prepared to go in with 6.3 seconds left.
But just like in 1989, everyone in the building knew where the ball was going. In 1989, it was Jordan. On Monday at the Footprint Center, it was Durant. Jordan had to pump twice to avoid being blocked by Ehlo. Durant had to do it to prevent Alex Caruso from deflecting him from behind.
Phoenix’s inbounds pass went to big man Jusuf Nurkic, who responded to Durant. Those from Chicago went directly to Jordan. Durant took a dribble with his left foot. Jordan took two.
Durant double-pumped and shot from the 17: good.
Jordan shot twice and shot from the 17th: good.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Perdue said he remembered Jordan’s shooting like it was yesterday. In 1989, he was stuck behind Bill Cartwright and Dave Corzine in the Bulls’ rotation. The play had taken place at the other end of the court, away from Chicago’s bench. Perdue was on the baseline at Cleveland’s Richfield Coliseum. He saw Jordan jump. He watched him pump twice.
On Monday, he saw Durant do the same thing, changing his shot in the air because Durant saw Caruso coming up behind him.
“Caruso almost blocked it, and there is a defender in front?” Perdue said. “That’s one of those things, it’s almost like spider sense. He has a third eye. Or an eye in the back of the head or something. …The perfect timing of pumping and then going back up, after Caruso had turned to go up and shoot him. And if you look, it was so pure that the net barely moved.”
How difficult is it to make a shot like that?
“It’s basically like taking a car going 100 mph, hitting the brakes, putting it in reverse and going the opposite direction,” Perdue said. “And then, still, put it back into first gear and go back the way you’re going. Trying to be able to stop all that inertia to achieve that, on a scale of 1 to 10, it’s 12.”
The similarities don’t end with Durant’s last shot. In fact, his Monday night performance largely mirrored Jordan’s in 1989. Check this out:
In the first half…
Durant was 4 of 13 from the field.
Jordan was 5 of 13.
In the second half…
Durant scored 30 points.
Jordan scored 30 points.
In the fourth quarter…
Durant scored 17 points.
Jordan scored 17 points.
For the game…
Durant finished 16 of 32 for 43 points.
Jordan finished 17 of 32 of 44.
In 1989, Sam Vincent was a reserve guard for the Bulls. In the Game 5 win over the Cavs, he played eight minutes, tallying two points and two assists. He was on the bench when Jordan broke Cleveland’s heart.
“We realized how important the timing was in terms of winning and advancing in the playoffs, but we didn’t realize the story that would be created around ‘The Shot,'” Vincent said. “A very shocking shot. An incredible shot. One of many for Michael. But it played a significant role in how the Bulls grew from there.”
Vincent missed Durant’s shot. As the men’s basketball coach at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida, he was watching film Monday night, preparing for Friday’s game against Keep Striving Prep. But after The Athletic I sent him the video and Vincent agreed to take a look at it.
His reaction: Oh, wow.
“After looking at it a couple of times,” Vincent said, “I saw the incredibly strange comparison to that photo Michael took in Cleveland.”
“What Kevin Durant did tonight was special.”
– Head Coach Frank Vogel🎥 Relive KD’s winning game from every angle. pic.twitter.com/ckmqI30c6U
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024
Vincent said both players used their unique skills to their advantage. For Jordan, it was his ability to hang. (“I don’t understand how he stayed up in the air for so long,” astonished Cleveland center Brad Daugherty had said after the 1989 game.) For Durant, it was the length of him.
“I don’t think it’s a shot you practice, but I think a shot you practice do practice, which I know Michael practiced a lot and I’m sure I’ve seen footage of Kevin doing it too, and that’s being able to do a hard driving dribble up to a point and then really elevate,” Vincent said. “You practice that shot over and over again and in one game, the defense closes down. But because you worked on that shot, it’s a little easier to maneuver the ball to be able to make that shot.”
Durant, 35, has played well all season, but has taken his game to a higher level lately. Western Conference Player of the Week, he scored 40 points in a home win over Indiana. At night, he torched the Bulls. On Wednesday, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists as Phoenix defeated Dallas, 132-109. After a slow start, Phoenix (26-18) won seven straight. Suddenly, those preseason championship hopes don’t seem so unrealistic.
In his 17th season, Durant played a leading role in the turnaround.
“I hope Phoenix Suns fans really understand what they’re witnessing,” Perdue said. “And this has nothing to do with age. “This has to do with greatness.”
(Photo of Durant’s game-winning goal on Monday against the Bulls: Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
