Michael Jordan’s NBA career spanned three decades and launched a $3.5 billion empire.
The icon’s heyday came as he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Championships in the 1990s — inspiring a rare three-peat twice.
Jordan won six Finals MVPs, five NBA MVPs, led the league in scoring 10 times and managed 14 All-Star nods despite taking two breaks mid-career.
While 21-time All-Star LeBron James‘ numbers are eclipsing Jordan’s due to his longevity, nobody has dominated the NBA like His Airness.
Modern fans are treated to all the highlights they can handle, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, on social media.
But back when Jordan, who was drafted third overall in 1984, was first hooping, much of what was going on was only witnessed by those in attendance.
Brad Sellers joined the Bulls with the ninth pick of the 1986 NBA Draft.
The seven-foot center got a front-row seat to Air Jordan’s brilliance during the first three years of his NBA career.
And he says Jordan’s reputation would have been even more enhanced if he played in the current era of broadcasting.
“It didn’t take me long when I got there in ’86 to realize the things he was doing were freakish,” he revealed via Mr Sports.
“I can tell you—you should see the stuff from my first two years, just tapes of games we played in. He was shredding people. I mean, these were All-Stars, all-defensive players—they had nothing for him.
“The freak stuff that he was doing—you don’t even get to see the freak stuff, the real athleticism, because, you know, ESPN wasn’t running around at that time like it is now.
“So you couldn’t see the highlights. The stuff he was doing in-game, night in and night out — this was daily.”
It takes an incredible level of talent to make it into the NBA.
But Sellers admits that many of Jordan’s teammates found themselves gawking in awe of what he could do.
“We would find ourselves watching him during the game, almost taking mental pictures, like, ‘Whoa!’ Because the stuff he was doing was so freakish. It was inhuman,” he added.
Sellers was in the league for six years and took his skills to Europe before retiring in 1999.
He has since enjoyed success in the political arena as the incumbent Mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
The giant played a huge role in one of the most iconic plays of Jordan’s career — ‘The Shot.’
MJ’s basket over Craig Ehlo in a Game 5 decider between the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 Eastern Conference First Round is among his best.
Air Jordan escaped from Larry Nance and hung in the air for an eternity before releasing the ball.
He sealed a 101–100 victory and finished on 44 points — one many clutch postseason moments that defined his career.
Sellers was the man tasked with inbounding the ball and almost gave up on finding the superstar.
“Another half-second and I would’ve passed it to someone else,” Sellers said after the game, per the New York Times.
“And the last second, Jordan gets free because he shoves Larry Nance,” he added in 2020. “So Ehlo slips. He shoves Larry and gets free.
“Michael takes those two dribbles, gets to the foul line, and hangs for a second because it seems like an eternity.
“When I say the place is in a frenzy, he hits this shot as if it took forever for that time to go in.”