Even the casual NBA fan has heard about Michael Jordan’s ‘flu game’ on June 11, 1997 — Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz. MJ went off on a tear, despite being gravely ill. He revealed the truth in ‘The Last Dance’ on May 17.
Michael Jordan put decades of speculation about his famous “flu game” to rest during episode 9 of ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary on Sunday. It turns out that MJ didn’t have the flu — he had food poisoning. He explained what led to him throwing up for hours before Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz.
June 10, 1997: “I’m at the Marriott Suites, George [Koehler], myself, Tim [Grover] and I think a couple of my security guys,” Michael said. “It was 10, 10:30 at night. We’re hanging out in the room.”
Tim, Michael’s good friend and trainer went on to explain that MJ was hungry, so they were calling a bunch of nearby restaurants to see what was open. They found one pizza place and ordered from there.
“There were 4-5 guys outside the door, delivering the pizza,” Tim said, noting how odd it was that that many people needed to deliver one pizza. “They’re all trying to look in. I had a bad feeling about it,” he admits, explaining that “Mike is the only one who eats the pizza.”
Tim got a call in the middle of the night with notice that Michael was extremely sick and throwing up. “He’s curled in a ball shaking,” he said.
“I was throwing up all night,” Michael recalled, finally confirming, “It wasn’t the flu game, it was food poisoning.”
Jordan’s mother, Deloris recalled talking to Michael before Game 5 of the NBA Finals. “‘Mom I have to play,”” she recalled her son telling her. “And I’m thinking, he should not play.”
Ahead of Game 5, “I stayed in bed all day. I couldn’t eat anything, hold anything in or down,” Michael said. He was hooked up to an IV ahead of the game. His teammates described his face as looking “chalky white.”
“I’m going to try, it’s Game 5,” Michael said when coach Phil Jackson asked if he could play. “If anything, I can get decoyed. I’m gonna go out and play.”
It was game time and Michael was started. Every time the whistle would blow for a time out, it was almost as if the life came out of his body. MJ was gassed. He would hit the bench and just sprawl out with a towel on his head.
“He was in pretty bad shape, but a lot of times when you’re sick you’re able to find something deep down inside that you didn’t know was there and I think it was one of those games that he wanted to win so bad and he just stayed with it,” Scottie Pippen recalled.
After a time out in the second quarater, MJ just went off. It was like he flipped a switch. He started nailing shots and carrying the team.
Eventually, the game is tied, 85-85 and MJ is at the free throw line. He misses one and immediately gets the rebound and scoops up the lose ball with 40 seconds remaining. With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Jordan hit a 3. — He’s now playing extra playoff minutes and has 38 points in 44 minutes.
MJ carried the Bulls to a Game 5 win over the Jazz, 90-88. The Bulls lead the series 3-1. And you know what happens in most cases when a team is up 3-1. It’s usually a wrap.
“He has shown that no matter how sick he was, he’s still the best player in the world,” Scottie said.