It has been a mystery 30 years in the making, one of the NBA’s biggest — perhaps until now.
On Valentine’s Day 1990, Michael Jordan’s No. 23 was not yet the jersey emblematic of a G.O.A.T., although the Chicago Bulls legend already had MVP and Defensive Player of the Year to his name.
“Jordan was obviously a famous player,” says Sam Smith, the Hall of Fame sportswriter and author of “The Jordan Rules” who covered the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune then and still does now for NBA.com, “but the jersey number wasn’t ‘quote’ iconic yet because the Bulls hadn’t won anything.