The recent talk regarding NBA champions not being world champions would not have made sense back in the 1990s. Because back then, there was a tournament that placed the best teams in the NBA against some of the best the world had to offer. The tournament was named the McDonald’s Championship, and without question, the NBA teams were always victorious whenever they played in the event.

At the time, for one of the most successful basketball coaches from Europe, going up against the legendary Michael Jordan was a story out of a comic book. Having lost against a literal superhero, Bozidar Maljkovic revealed his thoughts on facing His Airness.

The victory was inevitable for Michael Jordan

In 1997, the Chicago Bulls represented the NBA in the McDonald’s championship. The tournament was hosted in Paris. In the semifinals of the tournament, the Bulls faced PSG, the host team coached by Bozidar Maljkovic. Scottie Pippen did not play in the semifinals. But Michael Jordan was enough to carry his team to the finish line, as the Bulls won with a score of 89-82.

The coach of PSG, Bozidar Maljkovic, said that if the Bulls did not have Michael Jordan, then PSG would have won. Jordan is the one making the Bulls elite. The Bulls would be just another team without Jordan.

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In the finals, the Bulls played against the European champions, Olympiacos Piraeus from Greece. The Bulls won convincingly with a score of 104-78.

Jordan had just won the 1997 NBA finals a few months prior. After seeing it, it was certain what would happen to any team that faced the Chicago Bulls in the McDonald’s championship. There was no way of stopping him. Everyone had witnessed Jordan winning the NBA championship against the Utah Jazz while averaging 31 ppg.

What happened to the McDonald’s Championship?

The McDonald’s Championship was started in 1987. It had a representative from the NBA going up against the champions of the Euroleague and champion club teams from Oceania and South America.

The event received worldwide recognition, and fans tuned in to see how the rest of the world stood against an NBA team. It ran from 1987 to 1999. Rather than an NBA representative, the NBA champions officially joined the league from 1995 onwards.

But following the FIBA-Euroleague dispute, the event came to a conclusion in 1999 after FIBA lost control of the European club competition.

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Do you think a tournament like this should be introduced again? Let us know in the comments!