,
37 tweets,
20 min read
Read on Twitter
He earned a championship ring with the Bulls in 1997, gave MJ his chair in the Flu Game but played only 12 minutes all season.
This is the true story of Matt Steigenga, who turns 49 today and owns one of the most fortuitous places in Chicago sports history.
A thread.
This is the true story of Matt Steigenga, who turns 49 today and owns one of the most fortuitous places in Chicago sports history.
A thread.
Matt Steigenga famously became a Bull for the final four games of the 1997 season, but his story in Chicago began four seasons earlier, when Jerry Krause drafted him out of Michigan State with the 3rd to last pick of the entire draft, #52 overall in the 2nd round.
The local press immediately jumped on the story of the (relatively) local kid making good, the Michigan native suiting up with the two-time defending champion Bulls. He was Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 1988, 3 years after Glen Rice, 3 years before Chris Webber.
Instead, the Bulls cut Steigenga before the start of the 1992-93 season, leading to a fairly typical basketball journeymen career: two international stops, three smaller U.S. stops, and significant time in the CBA.
Steigenga returned to the Bulls in the fall of 1996, signing in the preseason. He even found himself starting a preseason game next to Michael Jordan on a day when Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman were all injured.
He scored nine points and fouled out.
He scored nine points and fouled out.
Steigenga played well in the preseason and was waived just before the season in favor of Jud Buechler. He returned to the CBA and played 17 games with the Quad City Thunder while his former team drove toward its 5th championship in seven years.
This is where his story turns.
This is where his story turns.
On April 11, 1997, Steigenga was home in Milwaukee with his fiance and, as he said, "nothing to do." So he called Krause in hopes of scoring tickets for one of the team's final two home games.
Krause called back the next day at 9 a.m. and asked him if he'd like to play instead.
Krause called back the next day at 9 a.m. and asked him if he'd like to play instead.
Toni Kukoc was hurt, the team was 68-10 and they could use more bodies to let guys rest. The 6'7 Steigenga signed a 10-day contract for 1997's final four games, starting with the Pistons.
"How soon can you make it?" Krause asked. "Our plane leaves for Detroit in four hours."
"How soon can you make it?" Krause asked. "Our plane leaves for Detroit in four hours."
Steigenga played four minutes in a loss against the Pistons, missing his two field goal attempts and splitting a pair from the line to score one point. His prorated salary of the league minimum of $247,000 was about $12,000, or $3,000 per game.
The Bulls were home the next night against the Raptors. In a game he'd hoped to watch from the stands, Matt Steigenga stuffed the stat sheet: eight minutes, two points, two boards, two assists, one block, one steal, and one play that made him a lowkey Bulls legend.
In the Bulls final win of the season, and in the pinnacle of his NBA career, Matt Steigenga made his minutes count. He was all over the floor, showing off the same skills that nearly landed him on the roster for the start of the regular season.
In his trademark NBA moment, to say the least, Matt Steigenga put the finishing touches on Bulls win #69. He stole a pass, led a two-on-one break with Steve Kerr, passed to Kerr, shot his hand in the air, and gathered in a one-handed alley-oop for a show-stopping slam.
On a night when the Bulls became the 2nd winningest team ever and MJ had a triple double, Matt Steigenga managed to steal headlines.
"There's only one other guy on this team who could have made that catch, and his number is 23," Jud Buechler said. "That was just amazing."
"There's only one other guy on this team who could have made that catch, and his number is 23," Jud Buechler said. "That was just amazing."
The Bulls played two more games, losing both to finish the year 69-13. They kept Steigenga on the injured list for the playoffs, letting him be an extra body in practice with a seat on the bench for games. The promise of '92 had come true: Jordan, Pippen, Steigenga.
Steigenga was now an official Chicago Bull, with front row seats for a legendary postseason. The highlight of his playoffs was giving up his seat to MJ during the famous timeout at the end of the Flu Game.
"He was so sick, I thought he was going to die," Steigenga said later.
"He was so sick, I thought he was going to die," Steigenga said later.
A little over two months after he asked Jerry Krause for Bulls tickets, Matt Steigenga — who played 12 minutes in two games total — was the first Bull announced at Grant Park for the championship rally.
The dream was realized. Matt Steigenga, NBA champion.
The dream was realized. Matt Steigenga, NBA champion.
Matt Steigenga is not on the 1997 Bulls championship banner, wasn't at the ring ceremony, and never played in the NBA again.
But he did get a ring. And he is a champion. And he does have one of the oddest, most fun success stories in NBA history.
But he did get a ring. And he is a champion. And he does have one of the oddest, most fun success stories in NBA history.
So happy 49th birthday to Matt Steigenga! Thank you for being a fun, surprising piece of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.
#6Rings #SeeRed
For more fun Chicago sports history, hit my IG. You'll like it :) instagram.com/ashotonehlo/
#6Rings #SeeRed
For more fun Chicago sports history, hit my IG. You'll like it :) instagram.com/ashotonehlo/
RT if you don’t remember Matt Steigenga’s Bulls career or had forgotten it
Fav if you’ve been celebrating his illustrious two Bulls games and The Alley Oop Heard Round the World lo these 22 years
I know how I’ll vote 😂
Fav if you’ve been celebrating his illustrious two Bulls games and The Alley Oop Heard Round the World lo these 22 years
I know how I’ll vote 😂
I checked to see if Matt was on Twitter. He is not, but he's still working with the Spartans.
#SteigengaStories
#SteigengaStories
The first of a few people who have responded who were at the Steigenga game. Love it.
#SteigengaStories
#SteigengaStories
I had no idea Steigenga passed on UNC for Michigan State. He would have been a junior on the 1991 Tar Heels team that went to the Final Four.
#SteigengaStories
#SteigengaStories
This is wild. h/t to @Kane_1200: Matt Steigenga, 3-time champion.
1990 Big Ten
1997 NBA
1998 CBA (won Game 7 two days before the Bulls opened the playoffs)
He also won the dunk contest at the 1988 McDonald's All-American Game.
#SteigengaStories
1990 Big Ten
1997 NBA
1998 CBA (won Game 7 two days before the Bulls opened the playoffs)
He also won the dunk contest at the 1988 McDonald's All-American Game.
#SteigengaStories
Holy moly: Matt Steigenga beat three future NBA players to win the 1988 McDonald's All-American dunk contest: LaPhonso Ellis, Chris Jackson (later Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) and Chris Mills.
Check out the Air Jordan pose!
#SteigengaStories
Check out the Air Jordan pose!
#SteigengaStories
I read that Steigenga gave MJ his Gatorade after the Flu Game. Per @SethNewman32, that's because someone offered MJ Powerade, and MJ, ever the upholder of corporate endorsements, declined it. I'm geeking hard.
#SteigengaStories
#SteigengaStories
Per @detroitmarc, the day after the Bulls won the '97 title, Matt Steigenga sat in the bleachers for a Cubs game against his then-hometown Brewers. Cubs won 9-5.
baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN1…
#SteigengaStories
baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN1…
#SteigengaStories
This ongoing #MattSteigenga #ChicagoBulls thread is brought to you by...
My book! It's free. You'll love it :)
readjack.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/how-th…
And to learn my favorite underground MJ statistic and how it plays into the Flu Game, enjoy this:
readjack.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/a-l…
My book! It's free. You'll love it :)
readjack.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/how-th…
And to learn my favorite underground MJ statistic and how it plays into the Flu Game, enjoy this:
readjack.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/a-l…
OH MY GOODNESS IT'S THE STEIGENGA RING!!!
Aaaaaand the 2019 Matt Steigenga Bulls revival is underway 😎
