Michael Jordan was unhappy about obstacles in returning from broken foot in 1985-86 season
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael Jordan suffered a broken left foot three games into the 1985-86 season – his second with the Chicago Bulls – and getting back onto the floor was all he wanted to do.
“The Last Dance” on Sunday featured Jordan’s comeback from the injury and the minute's restriction general manager Jerry Krause placed on him during the season. Jordan was only allowed to play 14 minutes per game as he recovered from the broken foot.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the documentary, Jordan was told there was a 10 percent chance his career could be over if he came back too early. Jordan said he saw it as a glass-half-full moment while management wasn’t willing to take the chance.
At the time, Jordan was asked whether he would take a pill for a headache if nine out of 10 would heal him but there was a chance one might kill him.
“Depends on how f--king bad the headache is,” Jordan said.
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Jordan added: "I think people were just being conservative. The doctors say that the bone hasn't completely healed, but to wait for that would mean a year, maybe a year and a half.
"I would have listened to the doctors. I would have sat out if — and only if — they could have showed me a player with an injury comparable to mine, if there had been a player with my injury who came back and reinjured the same area. They couldn’t do it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was that mentality that carried Jordan throughout his career.
Michael Jordan injured himself in the third game of the 1985-86 season. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Toward the end of the 85-86 season, the Bulls were on the brink of making the playoffs. Chicago had to beat the Indiana Pacers in one of the last games to get into the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Jordan was still on a minute’s restriction and was taken out in the fourth quarter despite scoring 26 points.
John Paxson would score the game-winning shot, saving the Bulls’ season.
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The Bulls would lose in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, but the legend of Jordan would be born during those next three games.