What the hell is a Johnny Kilroy?
So I have been collecting NBA cards for some time now. I have stopped buying packs for at least a month (I have an eBay shipment due this month) but I don’t know if I want to collect any new stars other than Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and LaMelo Ball (although I am not giving up on my Darius Bazley collection).
With that said, I am going back to the time I love NBA basketball the most – the 90s. At the moment, I am beefing up my collection that comprises Shaquille O’Neal, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Anfernee Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, Kobe Bryant (at least some of his less expensive cards), Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Chris Webber, and of course, Michael Jordan.
And then, as I look in Facebook Marketplace for potential collection additions, I stumbled on Johnny Kilroy.
I thought I knew a lot about Michael Jordan but I never thought of the time when he “faked” his retirement to play for the Bulls under the disguise of Johnny Kilroy. Anyway, in this Nike commercial, Steve Martin tried to unravel the mystery regarding his supposed retirement.
And the thing about this is… there is a Johnny Kilroy card. Upper Deck made a card about this fictional basketball character and his insane 79 points in one NBA quarter record.
Of course, I had to buy it.
And yeah, this is the Nike Super Bowl commercial regarding this “super rookie”. Martin is at the forefront with testimonials from Chris Mullin, Marv Albert, Spike Lee, David Robinson, Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner, and Alonzo Mourning as the dude Kilroy dunked on.