Michael Jordan celebrated his first NBA title with his neighbors

Michael Jordan was still a somewhat normal and accessible athlete even after the Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship.

“M.J., who’s open?” Those were Phil Jackson’s famous words to Michael Jordan with just under seven minutes left in Game 5  of the 1991 NBA Finals. The answer was John Paxson and Jordan found Paxson for 10 fourth-quarter points to seal the Bulls’ first championship.

The celebration then ensued around Chicagoland. I had just completed my senior year at Highland Park High School and didn’t know what to do. It felt, weirdly, anti-climatic. The journey there was so agonizing, losing to Detroit year after year. But now, it was official. The Bulls had done it. Basketball pundits could never criticize Jordan for being a great player but not a winner.

So we drove around Highland Park where everyone was asleep and honked the horn. Me and my Bulls buddy Benny. About three minutes into horn honking, the one officer on duty pulled us over for incessant honking. That was the end of a wild Friday night.

The Bulls returned home the next day. Michael Jordan lived in Highland Park on Windy Hill Lane at the time. It was a quiet, small cul de sac style, street – hidden, but accessible to anyone. This was not a gated community and Jordan’s driveway was small and went right up to the street.

Roughly 50 people gathered on the street waiting for Jordan to return from the airport. Nobody really knew if he was coming home, but where else would he go? Then, right on cue, a white Porsche turned down the street. License plate MJ JJ. Michael Jordan, Juanita Jordan, Jordan’s first wife.

Jordan pulled into the driveway, parked in the garage. What would happen next? Juanita got out and went in the house. Jordan just stood there and looked at the small crowd who stared back at him. Jordan then extended his right hand, welcoming everyone to come up and congratulate him.

A makeshift line formed and everyone shook Michael Jordan’s hand. Except me. I stayed across the street. I didn’t want to bother him is what I told myself. Jordan though was happy to be bothered. He had just won his first championship. If someone asked, he may have made them a sandwich or poured a glass of wine.

Jordan and the Bulls world was about to change. They were about to go on a decade run as the most popular team in all of sports. Jordan would move into a gated mansion and greeting neighbors in the street wouldn’t be on the agenda. There were only a couple more moments of innocence left. This was one of them.

As the crowd left, Jordan waved and said “Thanks for coming.” Our pleasure, Michael. Congratulations.