Top 10 Michael Jordan Moments
As Michael Jordan takes his proper place in the Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, TIME looks back at the moments that made him one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century
College Clutch
NCAA championship game, 1982
With 15 seconds left and the North Carolina Tar Heels trailing Georgetown by a point in the NCAA title game, North Carolina guard Jimmy Black floated a pass to a pencil-thin freshman named Michael Jordan near the baseline. Despite the pressure of the situation — and the screams of the capacity crowd at the Louisiana Superdome — Jordan calmly nailed a 16-footer to give Carolina the lead. On the ensuing possession, Georgetown's Fred Brown accidentally passed the ball to North Carolina forward James Worthy. The slip-up sealed it for North Carolina and gave Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith his first national title. "I didn't see it go in," Jordan said of his winning shot. "I didn't look at the ball at all. I just prayed." Rejoice, basketball fans. A hoops God is born.
Watch Dick Vitale's top 10 NCAA upsets.
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