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VIDEO: Throwback to when Michael Jordan shattered a backboard in Italy

Ray Stubblebine / REUTERS/

Today's 'Throwback Thursday' contribution for basketball fans: a 23-year-old Michael Jordan destroying a backboard in a Nike exhibition game.

The video, aptly paired with theme music from the 1986 cult-classic "Crocodile Dundee," shows a young MJ flying over a helpless defender en route to a glass-shattering dunk.

The game, which also took place in 1986, was held in Trieste, Italy. Jordan scored 30 points as a member of the Stefanel Trieste squad.

Jordan, who was used to delivering aerial assaults since his youth, had his second NBA campaign (1985-86) cut short due to a broken foot. He returned to game action toward the end of that season and performed at an epic level in the '86 playoffs.

After his Chicago Bulls were swept in their first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics that year, Jordan spent his offseason playing in exhibition games such as these and preparing for a season (1986-87) which would end up being one of his best ever – averaging 37.1 points per game, playing in all 82 regular-season games, and posting a god-like 29.8 PER.

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