I Reminisce: The Fourth Chip
G.O.A.T. vs Glove
My standout memory of Michael Jordan does have Byron Russell prominently involved — but it’s not the moment you’re thinking of.
We’re going back to Game 7 of the ‘96 Western Conference Finals, Jazz versus my Sonics. This was our year. Stockton and Malone weren’t willfully passing the Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside torch to Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp; Glove and Reign Man were TAKING it. The city had gone all-in for this squad. Three calendars after he’d recorded it for the ‘93 Sonics, Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Not In Our House!” was back on the radio. The grunge crowd had their Sonics track by the Presidents of the United States of America, and a local station re-mixed Alanis Morrissette’s “Ironic” to match the Sonics. (”It’s gonna be the Sonics / Don’t cha think?”)
The last play of Game 7 was Byron Russell bricking a three at the buzzer, sending Seattle to the Finals and a matchup with the 72-win Bulls. So I’m running around the house acting foolish while announcer Kevin Calabro screams to be heard over the crowd and partner Marques Johnson sings, “Chi-caaah-go! Chi-caaah-go!” That’s when I remember stopping my celebration. Chicago. Oh shit. We have to play the Bulls. We have to play Jordan.
It didn’t last long. I shook it off and resumed my dance, but that one sobering moment encapsulated the Jordan experience for me. Even at 14, I knew the scenario: Going up against Jordan in a high-stakes situation was like beginning a boxing match by giving the other guy a free shot at the opening bell. Maybe he didn’t knock you out right away, but you’re already starting out in the negative. Your guard is constantly up (even more so than necessary) for the rest of the fight, and while you’d never admit it, there’s a little intimidation and a nagging sense of inevitability in your heart.
Soon after, Sports Illustrated dropped the cover: “Mission: Impossible,” asking how Payton, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who should’ve finished higher than 6th in MVP voting, could possibly handle the task of guarding Jordan. Now as far as I was concerned back then, GP could’ve stopped Godzilla from crushing Tokyo without a double-team. But Jordan was another kind of beast.
And being as honest and unbiased as I can be, Payton did a good job. Although Mike took home Finals MVP again, I don’t remember him outright KILLING the Sonics. It says here he averaged 27.3 points for the series on 41% shooting; that Payton held him to 9-of-22 from the field in Game 2, then 6-19 in Game 4, then 5-19 in the decisive Game 6. My enduring memories of that series are of Kemp sitting on Dennis Rodman’s head after a reverse dunk, Nate McMillan draining backbreaking threes when Seattle’s back was against the wall in Games 4 and 5, Ron Harper being a better player than I’d previously thought at the time, and the Bulls’ celebrating after Game 6, with Jordan rushing to the locker room to mourn his dad on Father’s Day.
Jordan eviscerating the Sonics isn’t part of that montage — maybe I blacked it out — yet I’ll never forget that sinking feeling I had beforehand, right after realizing Jordan was coming. Some years and some perspective later, I’m OK with knowing I wasn’t the only one.
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September 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
doc says:
The Glove is underrated.
September 11th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
MJSucksCock says:
And so does that homo MJ
September 11th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
showydisplay says:
Song was whack, I was expecting some “video footage” from the series…
September 11th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
@ doc
BIG TIME
September 11th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
S-SiN says:
It was a helluva series. Rodman vs. Kemp\Brickowski was fun as hell and gotta be mentioned as the classic WORM XPERIENCE.. I remember every one of those six games, game 3 in Seattle was the back breaker.
and I got two more words to add an article above that Austin would never type for you.. TONI KUKOC.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
don cannon says:
@doc
yea you right imo payton is the 6th greatest pg behind magic,oscar,isiah,stockton and jkidd
September 11th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
LakeShow84 says:
He underrated cuz he from the Town and talks it..
The league knew what group they were going to put him in from the moment he started jawing off as a rookie..
September 11th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Scottie says:
Its Bryon Russell
How come so called basketball experts still get this wrong in 2009.
Fools have been mistakenly callin him Byron since he was drafted
Come on Dime step ya game up
Peace
September 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
SayItAintSo says:
The Glove is not only underrated but for how much smack he talked on the court he was one of the nicest guys off of it. I ran into him at a “Save Our Sonics” rally a while back…he’s a real, personable, stand-up guy.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
wanabballer says:
“Now as far as I was concerned back then, GP could’ve stopped Godzilla from crushing Tokyo without a double-team. But Jordan was another kind of beast”…. hahahaha
September 11th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
D.H. says:
I think this was the clip you were looking for. Music and Vid.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
D.H. says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNIj9ZYCF48
September 11th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
King says:
If you’re talking about the spin baseline reverse dunk on Rodman then that’s one of my favorite kemp highlights. Nothing tops
what he did to Alton liston tho.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
crossphaded says:
Prolly the first time on a national stage Harper showed off his newly defined role as a defensive stopper. 95-96 Bulls go down as arguably the best team ever.
A team’s greatness is a sum of its parts, not how badass their squad looks on paper. Yeah, Luc was a soft, inconsistent big man and Rodman was all rebounds and D and Harper wasn’t the prolific guard he once was pre-ACL injury, but the team had chemistry like no other and each player knew their role and played it well. That’s why they won 72 games and breezed thru the playoffs to win the championship. Nuff said.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
S-SiN says:
The Greatest Team of All Time. No doubt.
Is it me or was Mike a bit drunk on the red carpet?
September 11th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Amar says:
lol @ payton/kemp were takin’ it . . .
stockton was injured for that series.
September 11th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Amar — Stockton was out there on the court, wasn’t he? So he’s fair game. Even he’d tell you, no excuses.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
mtindore520 says:
Byron Russell has had some of the worst playoff experiances…
September 11th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
luckylester says:
bryon…
Defense won’t get you “one of the best ever” status… Gary was a shut down guy. He took Jordan’s best and MJ only got 27 a game. Holding MJ to 27 a game means you did better than any other guy ever. Gary’s D was better than any one of those other top PGs - that I saw anyway, never saw Oscar.
September 12th, 2009 at 8:47 am
doc says:
GP was the best defensive guard EVER.And he would routinly put 20 on your head with 9 dimes.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Brown says:
LOL @ Bryon “don’t call me Byron” Russell. You don’t want people misspelling or mispronouncing your kid’s name, then spell it Brian like the rest of the world.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Mayan Mike says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-2Hd-Ly2CQ&feature=related
September 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
dk says:
Another ignorant comment from Dime, GP ( who I love ) did this and that in certain games against Jordan to his FG% and his point totals… List the free throws, asshole…
September 12th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Michael says:
Rodman MVP of 96 finals.
September 12th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Ian says:
luckylester
payton guarded jordan the last three games i think and seatle won 2. jordan had two bad games.
September 12th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Fallodaldr says:
Gp was one of the best ever a defending Jordan. Jordans fg% was way below his avg. But noone could keep Jordan off the line. (except the pistons pre-bulls championships)
September 12th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Austin Burton says:
@dk — You list the free throws. And point out the “ignorant comment” for me.
September 12th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
luckylester says:
haha, get him man, get him.
September 13th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Big Sneezy says:
I recall that the Sonics’ shooters (Schrempf, Hawkins, Perkins) couldn’t buy a bucket in the first few games, otherwise they might have had a serious shot.