I’ve never been a very big basketball fan, so I don’t really know why I ever played Jordan vs. Bird. It’s very possible that I ran out of both money and fun games to play.
Jordan vs. Bird is primarily a basketball game where you can take control of one of the titular characters, Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, in a one-on-one basketball contest. Since Bird is apparently known for his 3-point shots, and Jordan for his dunking ability, playing a game pitting the strengths of each of these pros should be pretty close: one player plays well close to the goal, and the other further away. However, Bird is able to dunk, while Jordan has pretty appalling performance from 3-point land, almost completely destroying the already tenuous balance between near range and far range.
Of course there are other things you can do, you can play as either Jordan or Bird in a dunking contest or a 3-point shooting contest respectively. Neither one was very fun, but the song from the 3-point contest is incredibly catchy, in the bad way.
This game is really only fun if you have two players… and you get to be Larry Bird. And even then, only just.