5 classic NBA games you can stream on YouTube right now

2. Bulls at Celtics, Game 3, 1986 Eastern Conference First Round

Because of my age (38), I remember Michael Jordan mostly from his second three-peat. At this point, he was arguably at his best but he already evolved as a player — making up for a slight downgrade in his athleticism with unmatched precision and force-of-will. That was what I remembered most about him, the way he overwhelmed opponents by commanding every potential turning-point in every game.

But before that, he had lived a basketball life as one of the most explosive athletes the NBA has ever seen. If you want to remember what this Jordan looked like, watch him hang 63 points on the 1986 Boston Celtics. No one has ever scored more points in an NBA playoff game and he did it against the eventual champions who also happened to have the best defense in the NBA that season. Jordan may have been a better player later in his career but he was never a more overpowering player than he was in this game.