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Listening to @thepressboxpod about the "Jordan-centric" storytelling of that documentary, something that really struck me when the first episode covered the UNC title in & #39;82. The truly indelible moment of that game was NOT Jordan& #39;s shot, but you wouldn& #39;t know from this doc.
The way the doc is cut and the way the game is talked about, they make it sound like Jordan& #39;s shot was a buzzer-beater, but there were still 15 seconds on the clock when he hit it to take a one-point lead.
The truly unforgettable moment of that game comes AFTER Jordan& #39;s shot, when Fred Brown brings the ball up the court for the Hoyas fakes UNC& #39;s James Worthy out of position, and then inexplicably throws the ball to Worthy.
THAT was the indelible play of the game. Jordan& #39;s shot is a good play, but it looms large mostly because he went on to become MICHAEL FREAKIN& #39; JORDAN. It& #39;s not especially impressive on its own-- a wide-open 15-foot wing jumper.
Fred Brown& #39;s colossal brain fart ten seconds later, on the other hand, is an immortal college basketball moment. That& #39;s the play that really sealed the game, and unlike Jordan hitting a jumper, it& #39;s utterly unique to that game.
If Jordan had torn his ACL a year later and had a mediocre NBA career, nobody but hard-core Tar Heels would even remember who hit the shot, the same way nobody remembers how UNC got the lead in & #39;93 before Chris Webber& #39;s time-out call.
(Note: I fully expect @mcnees to pop in and tell me exactly who scored Carolina& #39;s last bucket in & #39;93.)
Casting that shot as THE defining moment of that game is a bit of retrospective Jordan hagiography that gets up my nose a little (as you can tell from this thread). It& #39;s a nice play and a good shot, but not the stuff of legend save for NBA stans projecting backwards.
