October 26, 1984 Michael Jordan NBA Debut Chicago Stadium Ticket Stub (Pop 1/10)
Michael Jordan stood on the sidelines waiting to be introduced to the standing room only crowd packed into Chicago Stadium for the opening game of the 1984 NBA season. Jordan’s long list of amateur accomplishments were already known - as a high schooler he’d averaged 25 points a game and was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game. His college career began with his iconic game-winning jump shot to beat Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA title game and ended with winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards. Those who hadn’t already heard of Michael Jordan marveled at his Gold Medal-winning heroics in the 1984 Olympics. And now, on the night of October 26, 1984, he was about to begin his professional career.
As a nod to his already legendary status, Jordan received a thunderous applause from the Chicago Stadium crowd when he jogged out onto the court during the Bulls pre-game introduction. As highly touted as he was, Jordan’s arrival caused some resentment among his new teammates; particularly the Bulls present stars, Orlando Woolridge and Quintin Dailey. In that first game Woolridge and Dailey were the high scorers with Dailey noticeably refusing to pass the ball, his animosity towards the rookie for coming for his job clearly showing. But despite not getting to fully showcase what he was capable of, Jordan showed his class by playing team-ball. Bulls coach Kevin Loughery said later: “Michael did not play that well. But he did the little things for us. The steals, tipped passes, clogging up the middle, passing off to his teammates. I think Michael’s presence helped the whole club.”
Jordan’s debut also came with a breathtakingly chilling moment when well into the first quarter the rookie tried to dunk the ball over Washington’s 6’-11” Jeff Ruland. Mike hit the hulking Ruland full force and bounced backwards, hitting the floor hard. As the crowd collectively gasped, the NBA’s most acclaimed rookie rolled over onto his stomach and lay still, his yet-to-be famous number “23” rising and falling with his heavy breathing. After a few anxious moments, Jordan got to his feet as the crowd roared their relief. While other rookies might have played it safe for the rest of the game, Jordan played just as hard as he had before his collision with Ruland, showing an innate competitive fire that would come to define him.
When the game ended, Chicago had pulled off a 109-93 opening day win over the Bullets, and Jordan had posted 16 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and one spectacular block. After that October 26 debut, Jordan improved exponentially with every game, scoring 21 points in the next contest, and recording his first 40-point game seven games later. He averaged 28.2 points during the course of his debut season and was voted the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, fulfilling every expectation imposed on him so far. Over the next two decades Michael Jordan would reinvent the way the game was played, win five league MVP titles, six NBA championships, and six Finals MVP Awards on his way to the Naismith Hall of Fame.
This $8.50 ticket gained one fan admission to THE GAME that ushered in a whole new era in basketball history. The ticket is well preserved with a slight vertical crease on the right side of the front along with the expected edge wear and perforations. Making this piece of basketball history even more extraordinary is the fact that there are just 10 total examples of ticket stubs from Jordan’s debut game encapsulated by PSA. Of that miniscule population, half are rated “AUTHENTIC” while only one is graded higher than this fine example. PSA graded GOOD 2.
