by Carlo Turchetto and Alessandra Ressa
You don’t have to be into basketball to know who Michael Jordan is. Even the least athletic person will tell you that Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players of all times. He played in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, and in the US National Team with legendary stars, among which Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Karl Malone. However, apart from Triestinis, not many people know that Michael Jordan left an indelible sign, in the literal sense of the word, in Trieste.
The year was 1985 and a very popular local team Stefanel Pallacanestro Trieste was testing new players in the attempt to enter playoffs after disappointing results of the previous year. For this occasion several well-known international athletes were in town, many from the United States. This coming and going of excellent players increased the popularity of Trieste and its basketball team internationally, to the point that Nike brand chose Trieste as one of the European locations to introduce the ‘golden boy’ Jordan to a Continental audience. The Trieste club organized a friendly match between Stefanel and Juve Caserta.
The understanding was that Jordan would play half the match with one team, and the other half with the other. But half way through the game Jordan, who probably felt very comfortable with Trieste’s cheering fans, decided to stay with the local team, causing great displeasure of the opponents. Although it was only a friendly match, Trieste’s fans were very encouraging. Cheering and competitiveness have always been a trait of Trieste’s basketball fans (then and now). With their enthusiasm, screaming and banging, they managed to convince the legendary champion to play on their side.
Needless to say, Pallacanestro Trieste won the game. The match became one of those legendary events still talked about in cafes in front of capo-in-bs (espresso coffee with milk served in a tiny glass – a typical coffee drink in Trieste).
It wasn’t just the victory that made this match so legendary. During one of his powerful dunks Jordan shook the arena by hitting the basket so hard that the backboard shattered. Thousands of glass splinters exploded in the court with a loud bang. Some of the glass injured a Caserta player who had to be replaced. But the game went on. It was the only time Jordan destroyed a basket in his whole career. This particular unforgettable incident turned him into a local hero.
Thirty years later, Jordan Brand honored that magical moment with the famous black, white, and orange Shattered Backboard Air Jordan 1. The insole featured an image of a shattered backboard. Owing to a compelling story and plenty of hype, the $160 Shattered Backboard sold out immediately after going on sale on June 27, 2015. Today when you walk through the new Allianz Dome before the beginning of a Pallacanestro Trieste game, you’ll see many t-shirts representing the legendary black and orange jersey that Michael Jordan wore in 1985 in Trieste.
After that match, many other famous American players came into town to play for Pallacanestro Trieste, some just for one game, like Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley. In more recent times Boston Celtics star Javonte Damar Green played in Trieste for two consecutive years before his NBA career launched. Green is cherished by Triestino fans because he was part of the dream team that won the second Division Championship in 2018.
