Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins put on a show at Magic Johnson’s event, the “Magic Johnson Midsummer Night All-Star Game” in 1989. The iconic point guard put on the event for the benefit of the United Negro College fund, and it didn’t disappoint as Jordan and Nique took the contest and opportunity to go at each other.
Legendary Laker brought in a star-studded cast, but the duo of Jordan and Nique made an event memorable and a basketball classic.
Jordan approved
Despite it being a charity event, Jordan took it as seriously as any regular season game, dropping 49 points to lead all scorers.
MJ being part of the event was a drawing card for fans in itself, as he was blossoming into the best player in the world in the late 80s. It also helped that he deeply admired Magic, as he had previously acknowledged that he elevated the game to new heights during his prime.
As always, Jordan remained the main attraction and applauded Johnson for organizing the event.
“This is a great benefit because the players are having fun while raising money, Jordan said. The game also unites the players of the league and gives them a chance to have fun together. I wanted to end the game like a game has never been finished before, and the crowd really enjoyed it”, Jordan said.
A profound success
The game featured a total of 20 All-Stars in front of a sellout crowd at the Forum. Not only did the fans turn out in the thousands, but numerous celebrities got involved, including boxing icons Mike Tyson, Thomas Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard, who were all vocal participants courtside.
The event was a roaring success, and even Magic had to take time to reflect on how well the weekend turned out.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this weekend being as big as it is. Everyone came here to help other people,” he said.
To finish the game off, Jordan and Wilkins turned up the heat, going dunk-for-dunk to dazzle the crowd.
It wasn’t the first time the two legends had a dunk-off, and seeing the rivals come together to send the crowd off with fond memories was an incredible moment.