NBA: Começando a aprimorar com a tortura de Jordan

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In September of 1995, Chicago, known as the Windy City, was already losing its summer warmth—the temperature hovering around ten degrees Celsius was far from comfortable. Yet the entire city was ablaze with excitement, with crowds of jubilant, cheering people pouring spontaneously into the streets for impromptu parades and celebrations.

This was not due to any Black Lives Matter movement or rampant looting; today, the city was genuinely elated. Just hours earlier, the Chicago Bulls had held the league’s annual Media Day for the new season. Though dubbed “Media Day,” it was, in truth, the first grand reveal of every team across the league after a summer of rebuilding and reshuffling.

Chicago’s fans had good reason for their wild enthusiasm. Their god, the city’s hero and idol, the legendary Michael Jordan, had uttered a single sentence at Media Day: “This year, we are the champions!”

Just those words were enough to send the entire city into a frenzy.

Though Jordan had already made his much-anticipated return to the Bulls at the tail end of the previous regular season, famously declaring “I’m back!” and leading the team to an impressive 13-4 record, the playoffs had not been as kind. Rusty from his two-year hiatus pursuing an ill-fated baseball career, Jordan was unable to withstand the relentless assault of the young “Shaq” and “Penny,” and the Magic sent the Bulls packing with a 4-2 series defeat.

Despite the loss, everyone could see that neither the Bulls nor Jordan himself were at their best. Jordan, in particular, had ma