Michael Jordan Vs. Eric Barber: The Story Behind The Game
Michael Jordan Vs. Eric Barber: While Michael Jordan has been credited with being the greatest basketball player ever, some of his NBA wins came in games against wheelchair-bound opponents.
In his latest edition of Revisited, Rob recounts when Jordan was coming off his first scoring title, averaging 37.1 points per game. Eric Barber, a 16-year-old wheelchair basketball player, wrote to NBC’s Sports Fantasy wishing to face Jordan in a one-on-one game.
Michael Jordan participated with a professional basketball player in a friendly exhibition game, which MJ won, 20-14. With Jordan having much less experience with this version of the game at hand, he had to pick it up quickly. However, Jordan lost due to his inexperience in the end.
Barber started playing wheelchair basketball at 13 and went on to become a Paralympian. Barber represented the United States in four Paralympic games from 2000 to 2012, winning 2 bronze medals in his final appearance.
Jordan single-handedly revolutionized the NBA in the 1987-88 season with his unprecedented performances. Jordan averaged 35.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game that year, making him the ever-popular choice for MVP.
At the Paralympic Games two years ago, in an interview with Eric Barber, he remembered having a game against Michael Jordan. In the match, Barber’s team won even though Jordan had never played wheelchair basketball before. Despite this, Barber noted how quickly MJ adjusted to wheelchair basketball as the game continued.
Barber says that if he had practiced in a wheelchair before, Zander might have been able to win the game. He took two thousandths of a second at a time rather than expelling extra power, he wasn’t using his wheelchair to its full potential when swimming, and his turns were really slow as an able-bodied swimmer would do.
Jordan’s competitiveness combined with the hours of practice he put in allowed him to become the greatest basketball player ever. Jordan was still determined to win even after he received an offer from North Carolina. The Nike-sponsored athlete knew that if he wanted a scholarship, he would have to work for it.
Jordan inspired Barber in so many ways to become an Olympic champion. Jordan’s excellence in basketball and 2000 Paralympic bronze medal motivated Barber to do what he does now.