Not everyone in the Chicago Bulls seemed to have grasped the severity of Michael Jordan’s flu.

The Michael Jordan Flu Game - All Things Hoops

Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan’s Flu Game is considered one of the best performances of all time. The man played on basketball’s biggest stage while nursing a disease. That alone deserves a statue and infinite recognition.

The unknown fact about Michael Jordan’s flu game

Interestingly, Jordan’s performance in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals was much more challenging than we’ve known. The night before the game, Michael couldn’t sleep because the pain was too great. By the time he got to the Utah Jazz’s arena, he was trying his best not to fall asleep.

The Bulls staff also did not seem extra cautious around Mike amid his flu. Instead of helping him hydrate quickly, they did the opposite. As Michael detailed in his book “For the Love of the Game: My Story,” via the Chicago Tribune:

“By halftime, I was getting dehydrated, so I started drinking something I thought was Gatorade. But someone had mistakenly handed me a bottle of GatorLode, which is what you are supposed to drink after you have finished a difficult activity.”

Severe dehydration

By the beginning of the second half, the “Black Cat” felt bloated, dehydrated, and exhausted. In the fourth quarter, Jordan thought he was going to faint at any moment. He continued to drink coffee to give his body a jolt, not knowing it was further dehydrating him.

“In the fourth quarter, right before the three-pointer that won the game, I had become almost completely dehydrated. I was shivering, but I continued to sweat. On the last shot, I didn’t even know whether it went in or not. I could barely stand up.”

The North Carolina product scored 38 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 44 minutes. He guided the Bulls to a 90-88 win to take the 3-2 series lead. When he got to the locker room, healthcare professionals finally tended to Jordan. He was also handed the right drink his body needed.

“When I got back into the locker room the doctors were really concerned because I didn’t have anything left,” he wrote. “I was cold, yet I was sweating and dehydrated. They wanted to give me intravenous fluids, but I made it over to a table, lay down and started drinking Gatorade. That’s all I did for about 45 minutes. All for a basketball game.”

Indeed, MJ’s legendary status keeps on growing. It would’ve been understandable if he had sat out and let Scottie Pippen and crew handle the Jazz, but there was no way he would let his team down.