“It Was Such a Heartbreak”: Michael Jordan’s Ruthless Talent Left a Young Ben Affleck in Absolute Dismay

A young Michael Jordan playing for the UNC Tar Heels was one of the biggest basketball prospects in the country at the time. However, one moment of the NCAA final against Georgetown changed his life forever. MJ took the game-winning shot in the dying moments of the game and the freshman announced his arrival in the basketball world. Decades after this historic game, eminent actor and director Ben Affleck talked about his heartbreaking experience of watching the game live.

Affleck is the director of the highly anticipated newly released movie ‘Air’, based on the lucrative deal between Nike and Jordan in the 90s, that created the Jordan brand. While talking about the movie and his experiences making it, Affleck shared one of his earliest memories, a heartbreaking one at that, surrounding basketball on The Rich Eisen Show.

Ben Affleck reveals ‘heartbreak’ after epic Michael Jordan performance

Recently, Affleck joined The Rich Eisen Show to promote his movie and revealed one of his earliest memories of watching Jordan. The 1982 NCAA final between the UNC Tar Heels and Georgetown was historic for more than one reason.

It is widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball games ever. When asked about that game, Affleck revealed that NBA legend Patrick Ewing belonged to his high school. Moreover, he also added that a young Affleck was heartbroken after Georgetown’s loss, even though he wasn’t old enough to go to high school at that time.

He said, “I remember that game because it was such a heartbreak because, you know, the guy got tightened through the ball to the player on the other team. It was a big deal college game even when we were young kids then.”

The UNC Tar Heels trailed when Jordan decided to take things into his own hands. With just 16 seconds remaining in the shot clock, Jordan hit an iconic midrange jumper to give his team a 63-62 win. As the crowd roared, the clock ran down and a freshman MJ led his team to an NCAA title.

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Jordan once revealed how the game changed his life

A college freshman had just led his team to an historic NCAA title. Naturally, this sent a buzz around the whole country and Jordan was at the center of all the attention.

Talking about how this game affected his life and career, His Airness had said, “That was the birth of Michael Jordan. All of a sudden I make that shot. I’m ‘Michael’ Jordan… for me, it started my career.”

There was no looking back for MJ after this. He entered the NBA in 1984 after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round. Subsequently, he signed the iconic 5-year $2.5 million deal with Nike which is covered extensively in the ‘Air’ movie.

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Have you watched the ‘Air’ movie? Let us know your thoughts about it in the comments down below.