The Last Dance: John Paxson earned Jordan’s trust at the perfect time

As we witness ‘The Last Dance’ doc-series, we take a look at how John Paxson served as the unsung hero in Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals with the support from Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.

In Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls clinched their first NBA title in franchise history. Bulls guard John Paxson delivered when he got the chance and helped make it happen.

Paxson had only averaged 8.7 points per game during the 1990-91 NBA season and 7.2 points for his career, but broke out in Game 5 when he poured in 20 points while dishing out four assists.

Not to mention the fact that he scored 10 points on 100 percent shooting in the final minutes before eventually clinching the title.

Although Paxson’s sweet stroke resulted in an unusually high-scoring game for him that night, it most likely wouldn’t have occurred if it wasn’t for the trust that Michael Jordan and legendary Bulls head coach Phil Jackson had in him during that particular game.

‘The Last Dance’ docuseries showed viewers how Jackson told Jordan during a timeout to pass the ball to Paxson. Paxson was left wide open on the wing each time Jordan penetrated toward the basket.

The Lakers’ defense had mostly focused on stopping Michael Jordan, so they were willing to leave Paxson open if it meant having a better chance of slowing down Jordan’s offensive onslaught.

However, those plans didn’t seem to work out so well for the Lakers. Jordan listened to coach Jackson and passed the ball to Paxson on multiple occasions, allowing him to sink his shots, deliver in the clutch, and help carry the Bulls to glory.

It all worked out for Michael too since even though it seemed like he didn’t prefer to pass the ball to his small guard, he finished the game with 30 points and 10 assists himself.

A performance like Game 5 in the 1991 NBA Finals from John Paxson showed how important team basketball was and how Phil Jackson’s triangle offense proved to be beneficial to the team.

It seemed like Michael Jordan didn’t believe that at first since he struggled to adapt to the triangle offense. In fact, he stated in The Last Dance that he initially didn’t like Phil Jackson due to his philosophy of the triangle offense.

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All in all, everything worked out in the end.

With the confident coaching from Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan was able to put his trust in John Paxson’s shot when the Bulls needed it most in that tense Game 5.

As a result, the faith in John Paxson helped propel them to a 108-101 victory and much deserved NBA championship – The first title in Chicago Bulls franchise history and the first of six from Michael Jordan’s astonishing career.

I think it’s safe to say that John Paxson’s sweet shot earned the trust of Michael Jordan at the perfect time.