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It was the summer of '85; a 22-year-old MJ went on a European tour. London, Paris and—for some reason—Trieste, Italy, where he shattered the basketball universe.

Signore e signori. From the City of Wind, Chicago, Michael Jordan! It was supposed to be a friendly exhibition.

Stoppata! But friendly and exhibition were not in MJ's vocabulary. Da due Jordan! Ancora Jordan! Ma che vuoi?Jordan canestro! Jordan da due! Time out. Time out. Jordan, Jordan, Jordan!

Dominazione! Zucchero, Michael? MJ was supposed to switch teams at the break …

But Michael wasn't finished. And then boom—it happened.

In the land of Michelangelo and da Vinci, Michael created a masterpiece. Grazie Michael, grazie! A gift to the Italian people, to his teammates, his opponents and the world.

But what about the shoes? Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!

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