NBA Inside Stuff Review - Jordan Rules Again

Volume Four, Issue One - MJ, KG, and a million dollar shot!

Feb 29, 2024

A couple of quick notes:

Most of these newsletters are too long for email, so be sure to click the link to get the full experience!
I’m currently working through my backlog of basketball books I own but haven’t read yet. Right now, I’m reading David Halberstam’s ‘Playing for Keeps’ about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. It’s the perfect compliment to ‘The Last Dance’ and goes deep into the final season of Jordan’s Bulls. I highly recommend it!

And now, to the inside stuff!!

Easily the best cover so far. I didn’t know until I started reviewing the issue, but this is the same picture used for MJ’s 1995-96 Upper Deck card. More eBay purchases for me are forthcoming. This newsletter has been great for my nostalgia and expanding my personal collection of basketball memorabilia, but not great for my wallet.

I feel like we’re heading into another era of basketball and pop culture with these issues now. While we still have our 90’s heroes like MJ, Hakeem, Ewing, Mourning, and the like, we’re starting to see some of the new generation that will dominate the early 2000s and beyond with players like Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, and Grant Hill.

Anyway, this issue gets us excited for the second half of the 1995-96 season. Let’s get to it!

News & Notes

Here are some highlights of what the experts at Inside Stuff say is in store for the second half of the 95-96 season:
- Penny Hardaway’s improved play should be enough to carry Orlando to it’s first title.
- Doug Collins will do in Detroit what he did in Chicago.
- AC Green will hit 800 consecutive games played.

Mark Vancil wrote a quick piece on 19-year-old Kevin Garnett. As we all know, KG was taken right out of high school with the fifth pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. At the time, he was only the fifth player ever to jump from high school to the NBA (Moses Malone, Bill Willoughby, Darryl Dawkins, and Shawn Kemp being the others). Here’s to a great career, Kevin!

Here’s a fun photo essay of life off the court for the Orlando Magic.

This issue’s cover story is on Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA and how he got back into game condition. Viewers of ‘The Last Dance’ will recognize the bubble that was built on the set of ‘Space Jam.’

The Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors have officially debuted in the NBA. In their first game against each other on December 10, 1995, Toronto won 93-81, handing Vancouver their 18th straight loss.

Say whaaaaat?

NBA.com is liiiiiiiiiiiive! My introduction to the World Wide Web was from a neighbor who had Prodigy, operated by IBM and Sears. Raise your hand if you remember the early days of the Internet!

Read up on some of your favorite NBA players’ most embarrassing moments.

Best card

I think this is the second full-page card sheet dedicated to Michael Jordan. And yeah, he’s still the best.

Best Ads

I love this two-page Nike ad featuring Washington Bullets legend Juwan Howard. Who doesn’t want to have a lot in common with Juwan?

First, it was dogs, then it was guitars. Now, Levi’s is using food to describe their jeans.

Here’s another Konami ad! This one is the same design as their ad for NBA Give n’ Go for SNES, but this one is for NBA IN THE ZONE for PlayStation. This ad boasts superior artificial intelligence, which wasn’t as terrifying in the mid-90s as it is now.

Here’s a Foot Locker ad for the Million Dollar Shot Sweepstakes. The winner gets a shot at winning a million bucks by hitting a three-point shot during All-Star weekend. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s on YouTube!