1998: Jordan caps a 45-point game — and his Bulls career — by sinking the game-winning shot over Utah's Bryon Russell. The shot comes after Jordan displayed the other dominant aspect of his game — defense — and stole the ball from Karl Malone at the other end. Jordan holds the follow-through to put an exclamation point on NBA championship No. 6.
1989: Jordan hangs in the air for seemingly forever and makes a double-pump jumper from the foul line over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo, who jumps after and descends earlier than Jordan. The buzzer-beater steals Game 5 and the first-round playoff series from the Cavaliers, who had gone 6-0 against the Bulls during the regular season. It also sends late announcer Johnny "Red" Kerr into celebratory convulsions.
1986: This is more of a game than an image, although Jordan dribbling between his legs repeatedly before making a quick jumper over Larry Bird has lived in highlight films forever. Jordan scores an NBA-playoff-record 63 points against the Celtics, prompting Bird to say he's "God disguised as Michael Jordan." God, er, Jordan had missed most of the regular season with a broken foot, and this marked the first of 37 career 50-point games, including playoffs.
1991: John Paxson drained most of the clutch fourth-quarter baskets, several set up by Jordan's passing. But the image that remains from the Bulls' first championship is Jordan, after his seventh season, bathing the championship trophy in tears as he clutched it in the Lakers' visiting locker room, his father, James, by his side.
1995: In only his fifth game back after a 17-month experiment with minor-league baseball, Jordan drops a double nickel on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. His 55 points marked a then-Knicks opponent record. Jordan also dished to Bill Wennington for the game-winning basket in the 113-111 triumph, leaving the image he would do whatever it took to win.
1992: Following one of his six first-half three-pointers in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals, Jordan turns to the Chicago Stadium crowd and shrugs, palms upturned, coy smile on face. It seemed his 35 first-half points amazed even him.
1988: With a sold-out Stadium crowd rocking, Jordan leaps from just inside the free-throw line to outduel Dominique Wilkins in the slam-dunk championship, creating a poster that surely remains on bedroom walls. He then caps his homestyle-flavored All-Star weekend by winning the game's MVP award after scoring 40 points, including 16 in the final six minutes.
1997: Jordan collapses into Scottie Pippen's arms after pushing his flu-ridden and dehydrated body into scoring 38 points, including a clutch late three-pointer. The Game 5 Finals victory gives the Bulls a 3-2 series lead over Utah en route to title No. 5, easing the pain of Jordan's bad pizza experience.
1991: Jordan rises up on the right side of the basket with the ball in his right hand, shifts the ball to his left and kisses a layup off the glass on the other side during Game 2 of the 1991 Finals. The jaw-dropping play highlights a bounce-back victory after the Bulls dropped Game 1 at home, and they win their first championship in five games.
1992: Jordan leads his teammates back onto the Stadium floor — and eventually atop the scorer's table — to celebrate championship No. 2 over the Trail Blazers. Jordan's face positively glowed as he held two fingers aloft and repeatedly screamed, "Two of them!"
These images don't even mention Jordan's career-high 69-point game against Cleveland in 1990, his buzzer-beater in Game 1 of the 1997 Finals to beat Utah, his buzzer-beater fadeaway to sweep Cleveland out of the 1993 conference semifinals or his 11 triple-doubles in 14 games in March 1989.
