MJ inducted into Naismith HOF

Michael Jordan slam dunk against UVA

Though you wouldn’t know it from looking at today’s Daily Tar Heel, Hugh Morton took this legendary photo of the legendary Michael Jordan. It’s maybe Morton’s best-known (and least-credited) image, and appears on p. 191 of Hugh Morton’s North Carolina. As Morton tells it,

Michael Jordan was airborne in Carmichael Auditorium against Virginia, and this is my most published action shot of him at Carolina. I told him ahead of time that I hoped he would have a good game, and as he brushed by after making this basket he asked, “Was that good enough?”

Good enough and then some! Some say Jordan was the best that ever played. Certainly good enough to insure his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today, just as soon as he became eligible.

6 thoughts on “MJ inducted into Naismith HOF”

  1. The February issue of “Inside Carolina” magazine has the game story behind this great Hugh Morton image. Jim Sumner, a North Carolina sports historian, in an article titled “Dunk for the Ages,” (pages 50-53), relates the story this way:
    On February 10, 1983, in a game against the University of Virginia in Carmichael, the Tar Heels trailed by 16 with 8:30 left in the game. But at that point the Heels started one of those classic comebacks. With 1:20 on the clock the Virginia lead was down to 3. Then a Jordan putback made it a one point game at 63-62. With under a minute to go, Virginia’s Rick Carlisle had the ball and got past Jordan, but Michael came up from behind, stole the ball and drove the basket making the famous “dunk for the ages.” Heels win 64-63. Hugh Morton once again was at the right place at the right time. The image has become a Jordan – Morton classic.
    By the way, “Inside Carolina” does give Morton credit for the photograph.

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