Beating Michael Jordan ... well, that’s one thing.
But beating Michael Jordan on a buzzer-beater, on national television, in his first NBA game back in his home state? In front of a rabid, sellout crowd, with this ragtag group of journeymen and past-their-prime veterans? That’s how you end up with history.
So when the Charlotte Hornets upset Jordan and the Chicago Bulls at home 30 years ago, on Dec. 23, 1988, winning 103-101 on a last-second tip-in by Kurt Rambis, that’s exactly what happened. That victory became a milestone, one with longstanding effects no one could have anticipated.