The best 'sick' games ever

On Tyrese Maxey, Michael Jordan and Willis Reed.

All day on Monday, speculation ran wild: Would Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey be able to play in the team’s Game 2 matchup against the New York Knicks that night?

Maxey was not at the Sixers shoot-around on Monday morning. He was added to the team’s injury report later in the day. Details about what exactly was wrong with him were sparse. He was listed as having an “illness” — although most people assumed he had come down with the flu.

Well, Maxey played. And boy did he play. Although the Sixers lost by 3 points — thanks to a furious Knicks comeback in the final minute — Maxey was absolutely outstanding.

He scored 35 points on 12-22 shooting from the field — including 5-11 from three. He handed out 10 assists. And he grabbed 9 rebounds, barely missing a triple double.

Twitter X was electric with praise for Maxey’s performance while ill — with people calling it his “flu game.”

The reference is, of course, to the original “flu game” played in by Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan in 1997.

The scene was this: The Bulls and Utah Jazz were tied at 2 games apiece. As game 5 dawned, Jordan was sick. The initial reporting was that he had the flu. But, in later years, Jordan ascribed his illness to food poisoning.

As “The Ringer” noted in 2020:

Jordan explained the story in Episode 9 of The Last Dance, with corroboration from his personal trainer Tim Grover and his longtime friend George Koehler. On the night before Game 5, the Bulls were staying in Park City, Utah, a resort town about 40 minutes east of Salt Lake City. At about 10 p.m., Jordan got hungry, and virtually every local restaurant was already closed. (Alas, they were in Utah—I’m guessing there’s some state law about restaurants staying open past 8 p.m.) Grover eventually tracked down one open pizzeria, but was surprised when five delivery guys showed up with the pie. He said he grew suspicious after seeing the surplus of delivery men, and tried to warn Jordan against eating the pizza. But Jordan apparently couldn’t be talked out of it. MJ ate the whole damn pie by himself, spent the next 20 hours throwing up into buckets, then went to an arena and threw some shots into buckets.

Regardless, everyone agrees Jordan was not feeling his best — or anywhere close to it. Throughout the game, he looked as though he was about to fall over or barf — or both.

And yet, he played 44 minutes, scored 35 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. He also made the game-winning three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock.

“Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Jordan said after the game. “I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game.”

It’s worth watching the highlights from that game. Because they are incredible.

The game — and Jordan’s performance — became instantly iconic, adding to the legend of the greatest basketball player ever.

In 2023, the sneakers Jordan wore in that game were sold at auction for almost $1.4 million.

There are references all over music and pop culture to the “flu game.”

There’s this from Lil Mosey called “Flu Game”:

And this from MJ Lenderman, in which he suggests a different reason that Jordan was sick that day:

My favorite lyrics: “Oh, he looked so sick/It was all over the news/But it wasn't a pizza/And it wasn't the flu/Yeah, I love drinking too/I love drinking too.”

While Jordan’s flu game is, without question the most famous incident of an athlete playing hurt or sick, it’s far from the only one.

Here are a few of the most memorable. As always, this list isn’t comprehensive. Tell me the big ones I missed.

• Curt Schilling’s bloody sock: The Boston Red Sox were down 3 games to 2 to the hated New York Yankees when Schilling, the staff ace, took the mound for Game 6. He had torn the tendon sheath in his right ankle in a previous playoff series and had struggled as the Game 1 starter in this series. As a last resort, the Sox team doctor made the decision to stitch the “ankle skin to the tissue surrounding the tendon in an attempt to hold everything in place long enough for Schilling to pitch Game 6.” Which, gross. By the end of the 1st inning, blood was visible on Schilling’s sock. It got bloodier and bloodier. But Schilling pitched 7 innings, allowing only one run. The Red Sox won the game — and the series.

• Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homerun in the 1988 World Series: Gibson was the star of the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers team, having come to the left coast after a decorated career for the Detroit Tigers. But, he hurt both his legs in the National League Championship Series — where the Dodgers beat the heralded New York Mets — and wasn’t in the lineup for Game 1 of the World Series against the Oakland A’s. With the A’s down a run in the bottom of the 9th inning and legendary closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound, Gibson came to the plate as a pinch hitter. His two-run blast — and subsequent limp around the bases — is one of the most famous homeruns ever hit. (Also, Vin Scully on the call didn’t hurt!)

• Willis Reed in the 1970 NBA Finals: It was Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Reed was the Knicks best player and one of the best players in the league. (He was voted MVP of the 1969-1970 season.) But, in Game 5, he tore a thigh muscle. He didn’t play in Game 6 — a Laker win led by Wilt Chamberlain, who, without Reed to guard him, ran wild to the tune of 45 points and 27 rebounds. As the warmups began for Game 6, Reed limped his way out of the tunnel and onto the court. The Madison Square Garden crowd went insane — and even the Lakers stopped to stare at him. Reed only played in the 1st half — and scored just 4 points — but his inspirational leadership was widely credited with the Knicks winning the game and the series. “When I saw that,” Knicks guard Walt “Clyde” Frazier said of Reed emerging from the tunnel, “something told me we might have these guys.”

• Kerri Strug’s vault in the 1996 Olympics: The U.S. women’s gymnastics team was on the verge of winning its first all-around team gold medal in history. Strug, one of the lesser know gymnasts on a team that included Dominique Dawes and Dominique Moceanu, was on the vault. In her first attempt, she landed awkwardly — badly injuring her ankle. (She tore two ligaments in the ankle on the vault.) Grimacing and limping, she asked her coach, Bela Karolyi, if she needed to do the 2nd vault. “Kerri, we need you to go one more time,” he replied. “We need one more time for gold.” Shrug sprinted down the ramp and landed the vault perfectly — before quickly raising up her injured left leg and crumpling to the mat. She received a 9.712 score — and the U.S. team won the gold.

• Tiger Woods’ 2008 U.S. Open win: Following a 2nd place finish at the Masters in April, Woods underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He barely played golf — and didn’t walk 18 holes AT ALL — prior to the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in June. He was clearly hobbled throughout the event, often leaning on his putter like a cane. But, after 72 holes, he was tied with Rocco Mediate for the lead. The two played an 18-hole playoff on that Monday, the 5th round of golf Woods had played in 5 days. They were tied again after 18 holes but Woods won the Open on the 19th when he made a two-putt par after Mediate had bogeyed. Woods revealed after the tournament that he had played the entire five rounds with a torn ACL in his knee and two stress fractures in his leg. Woods later called it “probably the best ever” in terms of his many wins on the PGA Tour.