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Who taught michael jordan how to play basketball
'Nobody will ever work as hard'
In 1982, Michael Jordan was just a teenager — he wasn't even yet the best player on his University of North Carolina basketball team. He still had to write home to his mother asking for stamps and spending money.
Yet Jordan made it known to those around him that he had lofty ambitions, and that he would complement his desire to be great by working hard and always learning how to get better, according to the first installments of ESPN's 10-part documentary "The Last Dance."
While the focus of the documentary series is on the Bulls' 1997-1998 season, in which Jordan and his teammates captured their sixth NBA championship, the first episode also examines Jordan's earliest days as a public figure, starting with his freshman college season.
When he arrived at UNC, the expectations around Jordan were not befitting a player who would go on to reach the Hall of Fame and one day boast an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion. In fact, legendary UNC head coach Dean Smith said in one interview included in the documentary that Jordan was "inconsistent as a freshman," but the teenager's work ethic still stood out.
"He was one of the most competitive [players] we've ever had in our drills," Smith said. "He wanted to get better and then he had the ability to get better."
As a freshman, Jordan told UNC assistant coach Roy Williams (who is now UNC's head basketball coach) that he wanted to be the best basketball player ever to play at UNC — a school that had already won one NCAA championship, and nearly two dozen conference championships, before Jordan's arrival. Williams says in the documentary that he told the young Jordan that he would have to work even harder than he had in high school in order to accomplish that goal. (Jordan famously did not make his high school's varsity basketball team until his junior year, after he finally hit a growth spurt.)
Jordan responded by telling Williams he'd worked as hard as anyone else on his high school team, Williams says.
"I told him, 'Excuse me. I thought you just told me you wanted to be the best player to ever play here,'" Williams says he told the teenaged Jordan, who responded with an intense promise.
"'I'm going to show you. Nobody will ever work as hard as I work,'" Williams says Jordan told him.
From there, Williams tells ESPN he spent the next "three years watching that youngster get better and better and better."
Williams was amazed at Jordan's ability to maintain an intense work ethic and strong desire to learn and become a better player throughout his career.
"He never freaking turned it off," Williams says.
Indeed, Jordan's UNC teammates can confirm that the freshman player worked intensely to get better and better on the court, including continuing to practice after the rest of his teammates were ready to head home, according to former UNC teammate James Worthy.
"After about 2.5 hours of hard practice, I'm walking off the floor, like, drenched [in] sweat, tired. And, here comes Michael pushing me back on the floor, wanting to play a little one-on-one, wanting to see where his game was," says Worthy of Jordan.
It's no coincidence that Jordan would challenge Worthy, specifically, to extra work on the court. A junior when Jordan was a freshman, Worthy was UNC's best player in 1982 and would help lead the team to a national championship on his way to becoming the first overall pick of the 1982 NBA Draft.
"He wanted to learn, he wanted to grow quickly," Worthy says in the documentary of Jordan's rabid desire to improve his basketball skills as a freshman. "From month to month, from game to game, he was soaking up information. Once he got something and added it to the raw talent that he already had, it was really exposive to see."
Another former UNC teammate, Matt Doherty, echoed that sentiment in a recent interview. All of the UNC players respected Jordan, Doherty said, because while he was extremely talented, he was also "a sponge, he listened, he learned and he competed."
And Jordan definitely got better as his freshman season went on. Worthy, who went on to have a Hall of Fame career himself, jokes in the documentary that he started their season at UNC together as the better player, but that didn't last long.
"I was better than he was ... for about two weeks," Worthy says of Jordan.
By the end of his freshman season, Jordan "was a great player," Worthy says.
In fact, by the end of the season, Jordan had learned enough and improved his basketball skills to the point where he was comfortable stepping into the national spotlight. When UNC made it to the NCAA's 1982 national championship game against powerhouse Georgetown, Jordan calmly sank the game-winning shot with time expiring on the game clock.
"I was young, but I had no time to be nervous," Jordan tells ESPN of the now iconic shot that put the precocious teenager on the road to becoming a household name.
Even with his success in the championship game, Jordan continued working to get better. Jordan managed to "improve considerably between his freshman and sophomore year," former UNC coach Dean Smith said in one interview that's included in the ESPN documentary.
Jordan would play three seasons at UNC before the Bulls selected him with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA Draft. Once he entered the NBA, Jordan once again found himself needing to work harder than ever to improve his skills and prove himself to his teammates.
"From the first day of practice, my mentality was: 'Whoever is the team leader of the team, I'm going to be going after him. And I'm not going to do it with my voice.' Because I had no voice. I had no status. I had to do it with the way that I played," Jordan tells ESPN about his rookie year in Chicago.
Today, Jordan's intense work ethic is legendary, as reporters and former teammates often recount how the iconic athlete often competed just as hard in practice as he did in actual games. One famous quote from Jordan seems to sum up that ethos: "I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."
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Michael Jordan Was the Envy of Many NBA Players but Who Was His Basketball Idol?
Be like Mike. Nearly everyone who grew up playing basketball in the 1980 and 90s wanted to do just that. They emulated Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time. Jordan racked up six NBA titles and five MVPs during his reign with the Chicago Bulls. Everyone wanted to be like Mike, but whom did Mike want to be like when he was growing up?
Michael Jordan brought the NBA to a whole new level
Chicago Bull Michael Jordan chases after a ball that he couldn’t control in the first half as Toronto Raptor John Wallace looks on at Toronto’s Skydome 19 February. AFP PHOTO/Carlo ALLEGRI (Photo by CARLO ALLEGRI / AFP)
RELATED: Michael Jordan Stunned Serena Williams With the Perfect Gift After Her 2017 Australian Open Title
Is Michael Jordan the GOAT of the NBA? It’s a question that will forever be debated, but he’ll always be in the running. Jordan’s six championships, five MVPs, and 10 scoring titles are tough to beat. He got all of his titles with the Chicago Bulls and got them all before creating super teams became a thing.
Jordan helped the NBA’s popularity reach new heights. His athleticism and high-flying dunks helped turn the NBA into a global sport. He was a marketing machine and his Jordan brand was everywhere.
Jordan was a major force in boosting television ratings. That helped lead to bigger contracts for NBA players. According to Sports Illustrated, Jordan is credited with driving gate receipts to NBA games, as well as generating sales of merchandise, apparel, and various other products. It opened doors for sneaker deals to unproven rookies such as Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady. Jordan’s presence was felt just as much off the court as it did on it.
What player did Jordan look up to when he was young?
Most young basketball players had hoop heroes while they were growing up. Michael Jordan was that hero to many. Players pretended to be No. 23 for the Bulls, sticking their tongue out and trying to see if it was actually possible to fly from the foul line to the rim.
When Jordan was growing up, his basketball idol was Walter Davis. Davis spent 15 years in the NBA, 11 with the Phoenix Suns, who drafted him with the fifth overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft. Davis was a six-time NBA All-Star, and Jordan modeled his game after Davis.
“It is humbling to hear him say that I was an influence on him growing up, that he was a fan of mine,” David said of Jordan, according to Basketball Network. “But that is one of the things about the game of basketball, the way it gets passed on from one group to the next and how each generation influences the next. I got tips from my brothers, their friends, so I tried to return the favor when I got back to Carolina. I showed Michael a couple of moves.”
Jordan and Davis both played college ball at North Carolina
Michael Jordan watched and learned from his basketball hero Walter Davis, who also played collegiately at the University of North Carolina eight years before Jordan. Davis took Jordan under his wing early and then he watched Jordan’s work ethic take over. Jordan’s work habits are what impressed Davis the most.
“I worked with him on the jab-step and the pump fake, which were some of my favorite moves,” Davis once said, according to Basketball Network. “The mid-range shot was something I emphasized, I remember telling him that it was important to make that shot. When he helped us win the 82 national championships, that was a midrange shot. Michael had a lot of natural ability with that shot.
“What stood out to me was Michael listened to instruction. He wanted to get better. If you told him something, he was going to work on it. We would be out there playing pick-up for two hours, I get done, go shower, get dressed, and go to dinner. That would take us an hour. When we would come back from dinner, Michael would still be out there practicing. He was practicing an hour after we had been playing for two hours.”
All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, perhaps one of the most outstanding basketball players of the end of the second and beginning of the third millennium, was born on February 17, 1963 in New York City in an ordinary American family. His father, James, worked as an electrician, and his mother, Deloris, was an ordinary bank employee. It was an ordinary large family with below average income. Michael was the fourth child out of five, and, as he himself later admitted, the laziest. However, he was lazy when it came to studying; when it was necessary to play some kind of sports game, Michael Jordan instantly became very mobile and interested. At first, the boy was attracted to baseball, which he decided to do, imitating his father. Together with the children's team, he won the North Carolina championship and was named the most valuable player of his team. Time passed, sports preferences changed. Now Michael was seriously fascinated by basketball. This happened not without the influence of his older brother Harry, who often took the boy with him. Therefore, by the time he entered high school, Michael had finally decided what he would do next. The choice was made in favor of basketball. In a one-on-one game, the brothers often competed with each other, and, without a doubt, the eldest, Harry, won at first, as he was much more powerful and taller than his brother. However, Michael Jordan did not get tired of training, and soon he learned to defeat his brother. By the way, then the growth of the future star by basketball standards was not very high - only 1.75 m, but Michael Jordan was diligently engaged in special gymnastics and eventually grew to the current 1.98 m. What did Michael Jordan get? Perseverance and dedication he was not to occupy, and besides, he was distinguished by a rare discipline, which favorably distinguished the guy from other basketball players. He was invariably drawn to the gym to hit the ball into the basket again and again. It came to constant scolding from the physical education teacher, who literally kicked Michael to the lessons.
And yet, perseverance and determination did not help Jordan Jr. in 1978 get into the national team of the school. Michael at that time was small in stature, which decided his sporting fate in the near future. But this failure did not break Michael Jordan, and in a year he managed to prove to skeptics that he can play basketball at the highest level. His performance was so impressive that after his first season on the high school team, Michael was invited to the Five Stars summer basketball camp, which brings together the most promising high school players for varsity coaches to look at. For Jordan, this trip was a high point - the first of many. Michael approached the basket with lightning speed, made spectacular shots, and reliably defended his team's basket. These qualities allowed Michael to become the hero of the camp. Naturally, after such a “heroism”, he had no need to worry about entering a university - several prestigious universities offered him sports scholarships at once. Jordan settled on the University of North Carolina, whose basketball team was at that moment one of the strongest student teams in the United States. It should be noted that Michael was lucky: usually freshmen were not enrolled in the national team. However, this rule did not affect Michael Jordan, he played so well. Michael did not let down coach Dean Smith, who had high hopes for him. It was Jordan's shot that gave the team the chance to win the US Collegiate Championship decider 63-62.0003
In 1984, Michael Jordan made his first appearance on the US Olympic team, became the champion and was named the best player of the tournament. In the match with China, he scored 14 points, with Canada - 20, with Uruguay - 16. The game against Spain was Jordan's benefit: he brought the team 24 points. As a result, the Americans won with a score of 101:68. The triumph in Los Angeles was the peak of Michael Jordan's amateur career, after which he turned professional. As the third overall pick in the NBA draft, Jordan accepted an invitation from the Chicago Bulls. And although the "bulls" did not manage to get into the final of the championship - "playoffs", however, the popularity of the young player Michael Jordan grew every day. It was his game that basketball fans came to watch. Therefore, it is not surprising that already in the first season he was recognized as the best newcomer, and in terms of performance he took third place in the league. The audience responded to Michael with great love for his magnificent game, not without reason after a short time Michael Jordan was dubbed His Airiness. Michael tried his best; he didn't want to let down his coaches or his fans.
However, one should not attribute the increased popularity of the basketball player only to his brilliant success on the court. Just in 1984, Michael Jordan began to cooperate with a successful company that produces equipment for athletes - Nike, which brought him considerable "dividends" in this case. The company was founded in 1972, so its desire to reach heights in business was clear to everyone. She made an attempt to "recruit" Jordan, who at that time preferred to play in Adidas sneakers. And although Michael did not like red (the sneakers were red), he did not refuse the contract. Still: according to the contract, he annually - for five years - brought him a million dollars. The company did not fail: a year later, almost every boy dreamed of buying such sneakers as Jordan had. The most interesting thing is that even the ancestor of the company, Philip Knight, did not expect such a success. In the first year of their partnership with Jordan alone, Nike managed to sell $130 million worth of Air Jordan sneakers instead of the expected $10 million. It was all about Michael's charm, hard work and sportsmanship. Surprisingly, not only Jordan fans, but also people who are far from sports became the “fans” of Nike. Still, the name of Mackle Jordan is known even to those who have never been fond of hammering the ball into the basket.
The name of Michael Jordan continued to rumble not only in America but throughout the world. This gave Nike the opportunity to increase their capital, and Jordan did not remain at a loss. The company managed to "jump" "Reebok", which was also at that time on the crest of success. It was because of this that the conflict arose at the Games in 1992 in Barcelona. Jordan (followed by a good half of the players who have contracts with Nike) refused to wear the official team uniform to the awards ceremony due to the fact that it featured the logo of the hostile Reebok. Jordan was persuaded for a long time and finally his resistance was broken. However, Michael still hid the emblem under ... the American flag. Later, Michael Jordan entered into deals with many large companies that gave him a considerable income. However, such a commercial attitude to basketball revealed by no means the most attractive features of athletes. As a result, this sport turned into a demonstration not of a team game, but of a game of singles, albeit talented ones.
In 1998, Fortune magazine published an article titled "The Jordan Effect", which claimed that Michael Jordan had helped the NBA raise about $10 billion since his entry into the NBA in 1984, primarily by raising the price of tickets and sales of rights to broadcast matches with his participation. And Jordan's official salary in the NBA in the 1997-98 season - $ 33.1 million - still remains a record for earning professional athletes. So the title of "Most Valuable Player", which Michael Jordan received repeatedly, is also true financially.
Jordan's career flourished in the early 1990s.
During this period, the Chicago Bull received a new coach, Phil Jackson, who finally managed to lead the team to the long-awaited victory in the championship. The first violin was played, of course, by Jordan, who managed not to get lost against the backdrop of collective success. And the already mentioned victory at the 1992 Olympic Games put him on a par with the legends of the sports world.
However, in 1993, after the tragic death of Jordan Sr., which occurred under unclear circumstances, Michael announced his retirement from basketball. He decided that he should realize his father's old dream and become a professional baseball player. Jordan trained hard and achieved the fact that he was taken to the freelance Birmingham Barons team. His popularity did not decrease at all, although Jordan, a baseball player, did not have enough stars from the sky. Spectators poured into matches with Jordan, and opponents took autographs from him before the match.
Jordan's vacation lasted a year and a half. In the end, the emotional wounds healed, and Jordan decided to return. The rumors alone caused a stir on the stock exchange. Nike, McDonald's and a number of other major Jordan-linked firms soared in value, generating $2.3 billion in revenue. In Las Vegas, the betting odds for the Chicago Bulls to win the championship rose from 40:1 to 5:1. From the box offices of the stadiums where the next matches of the team were to be held, tickets were redeemed cleanly. And the public was not disappointed. 18 March 19'95 Michael Jordan said he's coming back.
The first season after the return of Michael Jordan was only a shadow of his former Vozdushestvo. But the very next year, Michael regained his former form and helped the Chicago Bulls win three league titles in a row. And in 1999 he again left big basketball. Again, millions of fans were plunged into a state of shock, although deep down they believed that this time Michael Jordan would return.
He returned. Michael soon acquired a stake in the Washington Whizzards and took a key position as Director of Basketball Operations. But sculpting a new team turned out to be a lot more difficult than getting points on your own. As a result, Michael Jordan again entered the court (2001). In the two seasons that he spent with Washington, he managed to drag a hopeless outsider into a strong middle peasant, break the defeatist psychology of the players, and most importantly, revive the fans' interest in the team.
However, Michael Jordan left the sport. Since then he has been a successful businessman.
One thing is undeniable: he is the greatest basketball player of his time and his fans will remember him not as a member of the Washington Whizzards team, but as a player in the Chicago Bulls, in which he spent 13 seasons, became the NBA champion 6 times.
Twice, on May 9, 1989 and June 2, he made a triple-double in the playoffs against New York. In 1993, he was the first and only basketball player to record a triple-double in an NBA All-Star Game at 19.97, scoring 14 points, made 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Professional career achievements
In 1996, he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history.
Captain of the Chicago Bulls - six-time NBA champion 1991-93, 1996-98.
Named NBA Finals MVP 6 times in 1991-93,1996-98.
5 times named NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998.
10th All-Defensive First Team selection at 1987-93, 1996-98, once in the second - in 1086.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year 1988
9 times was selected in the first five best defensive players in the NBA (All-Defensive First Team) in 1987-93, 1997 , 1998.
11 NBA First Team All-Star Team in 1985, 1987-93, 1996-98, 10 games (missed one due to injury).
3 times named Most Valuable Player of the NBA All-Star game in 1988, 1996, 1998.
NBA Rookie of the Year, Rookie Match At 1985
Member of the US team that won the 1984 and 1992 Olympic gold medals.
Two-time Slam-Dunk Champion in 1987 and 1988.
Two-time IBM Award winner in 1985 and 1989.
NBA steals leader in 1988, 1990, 1993.
All-time NBA leader in scoring per game — 31.5 points.
NBA all-time leader in average playoff scoring—33.4 points.
Third behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain for career points in NBA history, 29,277.
First NBA scoring record in playoff games — 5987 points.
Fourth all-time playoff assist in NBA history with 1,022 assists.
Shares with Karl Malone the record for most seasons over 2000 points - 11.
Chicago Bulls all-time points leader - 29277, assists 5,012, and steals 2,306. 90,003 90,002 With 63 points against Boston on 4/21/86, he set and holds the NBA playoff scoring record to date.
Highest scoring in a match - 69 points in a game-winning game with Cleveland on March 28, 1990.
Set an NBA record with 23 consecutive points against Atlanta on April 16, '87.
All-time NBA Finals scoring average with 41 points in 1993.
Scored 50 or more points in eight playoff games.
Wu set a record 10 times leading the NBA in average performance per season.
Set a record for leading the NBA in average scoring season 7 times in a row from 1986-87 to 1992-93.
Set a record by scoring 35 points in half of the final match (June 3, 1992).
Set a record scoring over 20 points in 35 consecutive NBA Finals games (June 2, 1991 - July 14, 1998).
All-time NBA all-star scoring average with 21.3 points.
Recorded 28 triple-doubles in NBA games.
The number 23 jersey has been hanging in the United Center, Chicago since November 11, 1994.
1982 NCAA (Collegiate Championship) Champion, Twice College Player of the Year in America 1983-84.
Personal
Michael and his wife Juanita have three children. And if the sons are quite traditionally called Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, then the daughter was named Jasmine Michael.
Lives in Highland Park.
Always wears University of North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck.
He starred in the film Space Jam (in the Russian video distribution "Space Jam", or "Space Basketball"), released in 1996.
Participated in several famous Golf Association tournaments.
Thinks Jerry West is the best player in NBA history and would love to play one on one with him.
Eats steak and eggs before the game.
Besides the United Center in Chicago, the NBA's favorite arena is Madison Square Garden in New York.
Mathematics was my favorite subject at school.
Has a dog - Akita.
Wears size 13 shoes.
Why is Michael Jordan considered the greatest? We explain to everyone who did not happen to see him - Lantern - Blogs
Help for an inquisitive student.
The premier sporting event of this bleak spring kicks off today on ESPN+, The Last Dance, a 10-episode documentary about Michael Jordan's final season at Chicago and its cultural impact.
For all to share, here's why Jordan continues to be at the top even 20 years after his retirement.
Can't wait for Sunday? Neither can we.
So we’re dropping five minutes from the first episode of #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/qW0Z3rmSxr
— ESPN (@espn) April 17, 2020
Jordan had no equal
, explained Hakim Olajuwon. - Most superstars, when they go against each other in the same position, neutralize each other. When you come up with a game plan, you understand that if one of them does not play a brilliant match, then you have a draw here - their partners will decide the outcome. But Michael Jordan cannot be neutralized. He is different. Michael Jordan dominates superstars: he can do everything that defenders do, but he is bigger and stronger than them, and when he plays against the big guys, he beats them with speed and ball handling.
The lack of competition has always distinguished the greatest Michael Jordan from all contenders for the illusory place.
Chamberlain's statistical record was Bill Russell with his endless titles.
For Oscar Roberston's triple-doubles - Jerry West with his endless finals.
On Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - his own failed seasons and dependence on the little ones.
On Magic Johnson - Larry Bird. And vice versa.
Shaquille O'Neal - Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant - Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal.
And so on.
Jordan consistently destroyed everything next to him:
- took out with a dry score and brought the Pistons champion gang to hysterics;
- Destroyed recently great Lakers Magic Johnson and James Worthy;
- threw three-pointers at Clyde Drexler, who was positioned as his opponent;
- robbed Charles Barkley of his self-confidence, who was dared to hand over Jordan's MVP;
- set Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing as reference chokers;
- asserted himself at the expense of Reggie Miller, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, Sean Kemp and Gary Payton . ..
. And the only one who was more or less lucky in these meetings (and was lucky to avoid a direct confrontation in the playoffs) is Hakim Olajuwon himself, in fact, the author of the metaphor.
“He wanted to play against the best,” said Dominic Wilkins. “And he always tried to show them how good he is. That was his attitude. He was so passionate about this that he seemed angry ... I remember one episode very well. We were playing in Chicago, and before the game he came into our dressing room and said to Randy Whitman, “Let's lace up your fucking slippers. You're going to have a hard day today." Went in in a regular suit, in street clothes! After that, I asked myself more than once: “Did he really just come into our locker room and did this?” It speaks to his confidence in his abilities."
Hakim Olajuwon
Even his teammate Scotty Pippen was out of luck. The role of the striker in the victories of Chicago became noticeable only decades after these very victories. In the 90s, he was considered a capable squire, nothing more: Jordan severely mocked him in the early 90s and recognized him as an equal only in 97, Jerry Krause all the time tried to trade Pippen, at least for a draft pick, to take Tracey McGrady, or Mitch Richmond, rivals humiliated him, constantly saying that he was nothing without an older comrade ...
Jordan is the only NBA superstar who didn't have anyone to help keep him motivated to stay at the top. That is why he twice retired from the sport after three-pits unprecedented in the NBA.
Jordan gave the impression of a maniac turned on victories
Jordan, of course, knew how to play basketball. But what made him special was a pathological unwillingness to lose, a passion that very rarely waned and spilled over into countless tales of Jordan the Ripper.
"He looked like a killer who came to the site to destroy you and cut out your heart." Danny Ainge's phrase appeared in the early 90s, and then it already echoed endlessly: Jordan was a predator, a maniac, a butcher, a sociopath, a doctor who disconnects an opponent from a life support machine, a hunter who aims for the heart, a shark that feels blood . ..
When LeBron is teased with simple numbers 6-0, they mean exactly this: Jordan became a model not because of impressive statistics, winning streaks, levitation abilities. Jordan gradually turned into a cinematic athlete and forced reality to adapt to the dramaturgy he built: when he was doubted - he avenged doubts, when challenged - he cut out hearts, when something incredible was expected of him - he never failed .
In sport, the most important thing is not talent, hard work, entertainment - the most important thing is the spirit, it is he who makes you empathize. No wonder Muhammad Ali is closest to Jordan - his rivals, his wars, his challenges are well known to everyone. Jordan's nature made sure that he didn't just play basketball, didn't just compete with abstract people. Isaiah Thomas, Clyde Drexler, Dennis Rodman, Tony Kukoch, Glen Rice, Dan Marley and so on - with each he had his own personal scores, each of them squeezed something else out of Jordan, there was conflict, confrontation, the highest degree of emotion. Someone stole the MVP from him, someone talked a lot, someone offended his partner - and Jordan took revenge.
At the same time, in some incredible way, he achieved the best cinematic effect - the victory of the protagonist always seemed a matter of time, and its deliberate anticipation made the process of rooting for him even more pleasant.
After Portland's Game 4 victory over Chicago, a Portland journalist approached Drexler:
- Clyde, you read Jordan brilliantly, that was a great interception.
He shook his head:
– Wait, wait, you don't understand. Most players have two or three signature moves, Jordan has nine. I got lucky and I guessed right. That's all. By chance you can overwhelm the bear, but sooner or later the bear will overcome you.
Yes, Jordan was also a bear who would still wreck you. In practice, this resulted in numerous winning shots, in the fourth quarters, which took place under his complete and sole dominance, in six years (three plus three) of total superiority over the entire league.
For today's world of metrosexuals, ubiquitous tolerance, intoxicating all-positiveness, Jordan may be seen as a bully, tyrant, bully, or at least a "bad person". But for his time, he turned out to be a perfect hero. Because he lived only by playing and victories. Because he pushed even those partners who did not want it to triumph. Because he was not lost either in a shootout of super-gifted stars, or in a meat grinder with brutal men. Jordan was one of the people who brought animal designations like "alpha male" into sports - he was the ideal of masculinity: harsh, taciturn, merciless .
Many years later, Mike Krzyszewski confesses: "I have great respect for Mike, but there is one thing - he does not know how to be kind." By the early 90s, the entire league was in awe of Jordan - coaches begged the players not to provoke him, hoping that he would get bored, come out relaxed, lose focus.
Jordan's entire career is a chain of endless stories, like 1) someone forgot and acted impudently, 2) got the top / 50 points in load / ball in the last seconds / all together . ..
And the special piquancy here is that that for the most part he invented all these challenges himself. Willingly caught sidelong glances. I was glad to hear a direct challenge in an indistinct muttering. He broke into other people's locker rooms before matches and scheduled executions. Misinterpreting coaches' words…
“I always thought Michael had this inner rage,” said Doug Collins. “It's not exactly the right word, but I don't know how else to describe a man flying onto the site with such fury, as if something was possessing him. He came to training and also raged there. Never relaxed. I told him: "Michael, please sit down." And he answered: “No, we train further.” This is a dream for any coach. Your first job, the greatest player in the history of basketball under your leadership, and he is also the main hard worker in the team.
I have always said that Michael was not satisfied with playing every match at the highest level. He believed that he had to do something incredible so that when the fans left, they said: "We have never seen anything like this. " He never admitted this to me. But in every match he came out with this attitude: “ I will show them something today that they will never forget this ” - as if he was a great artist.
Jordan filled sports with the highest meaning. He, like no one else, has gone as far as possible from the image of a bored millionaire who condescendingly strains himself at the main moments of the season, and the rest of the time he endures the love of fans and languishes from the problems of rich people. From the first to the last match, it was clear that he did not need any external impulses: neither money, nor fans in the stands, nor significant episodes. He appeared almost more aimed at destruction at training sessions behind closed doors: he freaked out when the coaches confused the score, destroyed partners, fought ...
Jordan was invulnerable
The easiest way to find excuses in a team sport is: wrong teammates, too many injuries, 321 referees, tough schedule… Jordan conquered the world, among other things, because he always overcame any adversity.
Played through injury and pain.
Went out with a hangover or the flu, almost passing out from dehydration.
I did not look at the injuries and incomprehensible play of partners.
Didn't think that a superstar could go into the shadows in decisive minutes
In the end, he drummed into the fans the idea that neither the disease nor the injuries of could stop him. He seemed to be able to focus solely on the target and forced his body to move towards it.
“You're like Jake LaMotta,” Jerry Krause told him. "You can only be stopped by killing."
“His pain threshold was incredible,” said Bill Wannington. - We all played through injuries. Everyone knew what it was like to go out with a sprained ankle or hamstring. But he did it all the time. He led by example. How could you skip games on the pretext that you had a sore knee or something. He expected everyone to come out on the court. I remember his first year after returning. Tony and Ron Harper considered missing a couple of matches. Michael walked into the fitness coach's office, "Guys, what are you doing here?" They say: "Yes, something hurts, we will not play." He said, "Come on, let's get out of here." And it worked. Michael Jordan never missed practice. How could you miss them?"
“He was ruthless,” testifies Rod Thorne. “Even when I was in my 40s with Washington. I was with the Nets at the time and he scored 40 against us. After the game, he came up to me and said, “Explain to that stinky Kenyon Martin – at the beginning of the game, Michael hit a few times, and Martin told him: “Something is bothering my back. I don’t know if I should have played today” – tell that smelly Martin not to come on the court if he can’t play. And that's all. There is no need to complain that something hurts you. Go to the bank. Sit there. I want to see the best you can do."
Such stories smack of madness. But Jordan has a million. He became the main athlete in history for one simple reason - he easily succeeded in consistently translating sports into a heroic plane, regularly demonstrating the superiority of spirit over matter, and from all adversities he invariably emerged victorious .
He fought up to seven games with the Pistons. When Scottie Pippen suffered from migraines, and Chicago players were thrown to the floor and bludgeoned under the shield.
He snatched a seven-game streak from the Knicks, merciless blockheads of overwhelming size.
He did something incredible when he saved a seven-game streak from Indiana. In a furious cabin under shields, in games, when he couldn’t hit at all, and there was nowhere to wait for help.
Jordan is the king of winning goals. No one so often came up with a way to save himself by throwing under a siren. For him, this phenomenal vitality, this readiness to turn the game at any moment, this ability to put the squeeze on at the last moment, are completely organic.
Jordan is the ultimate offensive dominance
“If we talk about the differences between Kobe and Michael, I would say that Kobe made and converted much more difficult throws. The difference is in the complexity of execution, it is much higher for Bryant, - Grant Hill explained. – This does not mean that Kobe is better. This means that Jordan did what he wanted. He wanted to shoot from a certain point - he did it . It seemed to me that Kobe sometimes broke the course of the attack and said: “Now I will make some crazy throw.” But in Jordan there was a special grace, grace and just an understanding of when and where to score.
A noticeable lightness on the court resulted not only in dunks through Dikembe Mutombo. Here are Jordan's top scoring achievements:
Jordan was the top scorer 10 times. (That's as much as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal did together.) 90,003 90,002 Jordan still has a career-best scoring average (30.1 points) despite years in Washington. (Chamberlain has the same amount, but seven more minutes of playing time and with a completely different level of competition).
Jordan is still an anomaly when it comes to workload/efficiency. James Harden, even in three-point basketball, even with an obsession with analytics and efficiency zones, even without huge centers under the shields, even resting on defense, got close to him in only one season.
Jordan set the bar even higher in the playoffs. Unlike almost all superstars, who have a harder time under tighter guardianship.
All this was achieved due to the fact that Michael Jordan always allowed "Chicago" to find an unequal exchange: he easily got away from strong and big opponents, he pushed through those who kept up with him on their feet. His unfailing reception is a shot from an average distance, thanks to which the opponent relied only on his mercy. And judging by the percentage of hits, mercy was rather alien to him.
Here is how one of the best defenders of the 90s, Steve Smith, spoke about the game against Jordan.
“People like Reggie Miller were running around and using screens. Michael didn't waste energy, he didn't play with you. .. He got the ball, gave you the opportunity to take a defensive position, and then did whatever he wanted. He didn't have a favorite trick: he could go to the left, he could go to the right. Walked through or jumped out. You just tried your best and hoped that eventually he would stop scoring."
All this despite the fact that in the days of Jordan, the defenders could still hold the opponent with their hands.
Michael Jordan Changed Basketball
Mid-range work – regular shots, deflection shots, backhandling – was the backbone of Chicago's offense. In the 90s, everyone moved the ball down - on the centers, who beat under the shield. The Bulls did not have such a skilled center, but they also moved the ball down - but only to the pushing defender.
Jordan thundered at the university, but in the NBA draft he left only with the third number. Centers were chosen under the first two.
The NBA of the mid-80s is still a league of huge guys who are the backbone of their clubs.
Jordan broke into it with 63 points against Boston's massive defense. Jordan burst into it with almost 40 points per game in the course of the whole season. Jordan stormed into her with that measured dance that Smith describes - one-on-one basketball, in which the opponent could only hope for a miss.
First, he took the league away from the "big ones" - he became the first defender who, at such a significant time distance, can determine the result without any cool centers and prolific forwards behind his back.
Then he showed the functionaries that little basketball is much more sympathetic to the audience, and set a trend that resulted in open courts and playing with Tucker in the center position. He even managed to predict what seems to be the newest trend in today's NBA - to act as a huge point guard, almost a quarterback, leading the entire offense - when Chicago needed it, Jordan took the ball in his hands and collected triple-doubles no worse than our LeBron James.
Michael Jordan is just as good on defense
In '88, Jordan averaged 35 points per game, the most in the league. In the same year, he received the league's Defensive Player of the Year award (a prize traditionally awarded to "big players"). In the same year, he became the MVP.
Nothing like it ever happened again.
What made Jordan irreproachable was that he had no visible weaknesses. Unlike almost everyone who can hypothetically be nominated for the position of the greatest player, he is perfect and defiantly stable. Mainly because no offensive exploits ever prevented him from giving his best in his own half, becoming one of the best interceptions in history, blocking more shots than many of the “big ones”, resting against the best perimeter players and, of course, himself, to act as a Dementor for very very impressionable personalities.
Jordan was named to the league's All-Defensive Five nine times and was part of a defensive elite year after year throughout the '90s (in '96, under a motivated Rodman, they were the best in the NBA).
The main thing to take away from all this is that Jordan's greatness was built on two components that he was always denied.
"Michael's weakest point in attack is the shot," said Phil Jackson. “So it's obvious that he's perfected something that has always been said since university days that he can't do it. And he did: throw, throw, throw, throw. And he got his way.
Another thing is protection. They always said he didn't defend very well. And he found a way to not only be a good defender, but also the best defensive player in the entire league. The guy said to himself: “These are my weaknesses. I will find a way to make them my strengths." And he did it."
That's what his farewell final of '98 is about. With a relaxed Rodman, with a non-playing Pippen, with a damaged team, Jordan at the age of 36 took the sixth match alone - he scored 45 points out of 87 team points. And he gave the main moment in the history of basketball - 40 seconds before the end at -3, he exploded with a pass from ring to ring, then on defense he took the ball from Karl Malone, and after that he immediately put the winning throw. During this time, none of his partners touched the ball.
Michael Jordan is aesthetic perfection
Jordan is the epitome of everything that is aesthetically valuable in sports and basketball, grace itself.
All his movements seemed perfect. Every step he took attracted attention. The hovering gave a feeling of absolute weightlessness and violation of the laws of physics. Each intention was filled with inner content, elegance and beauty.
It seems that aesthetics are secondary, but they are not.
Jordan came across as the ideal basketball player in large part because he was the perfect basketball player in every move.
Danks, both powerful and graceful. Perfect shooting line, huge closing brush, incredible hits with flying away from the ring. Virtuoso passages that hide incredible strength, but emphasize the agility of a wild cat. Malicious feints with the help of a ball held in his hand and displays that were believed even from the stands. And impeccable footwork, so impeccable that when the ball hit his foot, it surprised him.
Jordan had predecessors: the soaring Julius Irving and David Thompson, fantasizing with the ball Kuzi, Maravich and Magic, magicians from the Harlem Globetrotters ... But he was the first to give such a strong sense of aesthetic perfection on the basketball court and, perhaps, still times of Kobe, Iverson, Carter, Irving - left the strongest impression.
“He gave his best both offensively and defensively on every possession throughout the match,” Gregg Popovich recalled. – I can’t even imagine guys who could do this both physically and psychologically. And he could. This may seem like a simplistic vision, but it is. There were a lot of players who looked brilliant in attack, but they were not noticeable in defense. And add to this that he also picked up. That is what makes it unique. Where does it come from? Obviously, this is partly due to his passion for winning. Something similar could be seen in two or three other people. Then he was well versed in the relationship on the site, he knew how to read the game. When it came to attack, he saw vulnerable points, knew where to go into the passage, which way to go. Defensively, he knew when and where to try to intercept, whether it was going to secure against a player in post or getting the right position to close the pass lane. Many players don't have that instinctive understanding of space on the court, and he was just incredible in that sense .
I worked as an assistant to Larry Brown in '88 and was just in a daze. I still remember everything to the smallest detail - I was sitting on the bench, and everything went to the point that we would win. I don't remember the score, but we seemed to be leading five or six points. There were a few minutes left. I sit next to Brown, and Michael comes to the side. He caught my eye and said, "Don't even think about it." Apparently, it was read on my face that we would win - after which he kicked our ass.
I didn't do much of the match. I didn't help Larry Brown at all, I just watched Jordan play. I was very excited just because I was there and could see it. You know what it's like - just a different energy. It's like when you come to New York - you walk down the street and you feel electrical impulses all over your body. Here to watch him - the same . I think I liked to watch him then, as he flew around the site. He jumped so high. He played the pass so well. His huge palms, long arms, his playing qualities - it was all incredible. I looked at him like a fan. And I thought I couldn't wait to see him on TV again."0003
Jordan is a powerful cultural symbol
Jordan's hysteria followed the Bulls during the first three-pit. According to a then poll among black children in the United States, he equaled the Lord as the most respected figure after his parents; when asked by a Chicago radio station whether he should be called the master of the world, 41% of respondents answered "yes"; people came to pray in front of the statue at the United Center. Thousands of parcels were sent to his name with various things that needed to be signed - most were attached to dollar bills of various values.
In 1992, a princess from Saudi Arabia arrived in Chicago and expressed her desire to meet Jordan. The Bulls spokesman apologized, but then remarked: "The royals are waiting for Michael in every city, and we have one."
In Barcelona during the Olympic Games, Jordan did not leave his room, as any of his appearances turned into a pandemonium.
When Chicago came to a friendly tournament in Paris in '97, the French newspaper France-Soir came out with the subtitle: "This is much cooler than the Pope. It is the Lord Himself."
“I remember when the Bulls press office asked us to fill out a questionnaire before one of the seasons for a media guide,” said Will Perdue. - And I wrote there: "I would like to be Michael Jordan." I meant from the point of view of basketball - to be as talented. But after the first season, I said that I wouldn't trade places with this guy for the world.
Something constantly appeared. For example, we flew into Detroit at 2:30 in the morning, on a street below zero, and there was a crowd of three hundred people lined up in front of our hotel - at 2:30 in the morning! – hoping to get an autograph. No guarantee for this! When we flew to New York, people were always waiting in front of the hotel - they guarded the team there day and night. We get off the plane, go to the toilet. Michael enters the booth so that he won't be disturbed there - the man tears off the paper and slips it along with the pen from the bottom under the door and says: "Hey, listen, while you're sitting there, could you sign for me?" I'm like, "Yes, let the person relax." I've seen grown-ups stomp on kids trying to get his autograph. There was a feeling that when he appears, everyone seemed to go crazy. I've lived in the US where everyone idolizes actors but I can't imagine anyone like that... let's imagine that all the actors are in the same room as Michael - who will be the center of attention? If you put an ordinary person there, will he be interested in an actor / actress or Michael? It's just crazy. And so it continues to this day. I remember they had a Rider Cup in Louisville. I went there every day, and every day Michael was surrounded by a crowd of guards. Exactly him! And not the participants of the tournament.
Jordan has taken a position in American society that no black athlete has ever held before him. The legends of the past could be admired, but they never left the limited arena of the sport. Muhammad Ali, in his best years, alienated part of white America with his political views. Magic Johnson shared the podium with Byrd. And in the case of Jordan, everything came together: his game, the original promotion of Nike, changes in culture and interracial relations in the 90s led to the fact that Jordan was one of the main spokesmen for these changes, along with Michael Jackson, Oprah and in ultimately Barack Obama.
His cultural influence has not diminished to this day. The entire league has switched to oversized shorts. Bald heads have become fashionable as a symbol of masculinity. And still cool selling sneakers turned Jordan into the first billionaire among athletes.
And at the same time a model of accessibility and humanity
Jordan became his own for everyone. Kids from all over the world, from all walks of life, didn't see him as black or white, watched Space Jam, grew up listening to We Wanna Be Like Mike, endless commercials of the coolest Jordan, and took him as a role model. Not so much even sports, but simply universal.
Perhaps it was determined by charisma. But Jordan's uniqueness in this sense is a combination of almost comprehensible divinity and human weakness, the feeling of "he is the same."
That "Chicago" of the 90's didn't really look like a sports team. It has much more of a fast-paced religious movement, a spirit-lifting outburst embracing everyone, a process of converting ever new hundreds of thousands of people, even strangers from basketball, to their faith. Neither before nor since has any sports team experienced such media attention, galvanized adoration from fans in other cities, attempts to penetrate into the smallest details of their lives and relationships. Jordan did not leave the hotels, and when he was somewhere in public, he invariably gathered a crowd around him.
And under such all-encompassing pressure from the outside, he managed not to close, but to behave as naturally as Hollywood stars. Moreover, it was never noticed that this meticulous attention somehow tired him. (Although it could not help but tire).
At that time journalists were allowed much more.
The legendary book "Jordan's Rules" was published, where he was butchered for the terrible treatment of partners.
He was criticized so much for losing money in golf that it gave rise to a conspiracy theory that his father was killed for his son's debts, and he himself was forced to retire from the sport.
The most insignificant details were exaggerated: swearing at time-outs, personal life events, negotiations about a new contract, internal conflicts.
And it so happened that Jordan, in these moments understandable to everyone, written in a bunch of details, maintained a balance between dignity and vulnerability. Then, when I almost lost consciousness during the “flu game”. Then when he won his fourth title on father's day and mourned his father. Then, when I collapsed from impotence after the first victory, the victory to which I had been going for so long.
Any weakness, any negative background eventually helped him to become even closer, even more attractive.
Oddly enough, even Jordan's manic nature made him absolutely transparent, familiar and empathetic: in every moment he strived for victory, any problems responded with pain.
What is there not to understand?
Jordan is not going anywhere
All of the above are perfectly rational arguments.
What's not entirely clear is why the commonly held notion of Jordan as the greatest basketball player, if not an athlete, isn't fading out of popular culture.
“People will get bored with my skills. And what I have achieved will no longer be perceived as perfection, ”MJ once said, in the same way, waiting for the changing of the guard over time.
The media always put forward someone fresh for this role: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain have come to replace Mikan. They were replaced by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although no one talked about this, because he had the foresight to send all of America. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird reinvented basketball. They both had to give in to Jordan. But then nothing happens. Any comparisons to Kobe or LeBron remain purely speculative. Jordan is an unattainable "ghost" for modern athletes and is not going to leave this post .
This is only partly due to the time factor. Jordan was hailed as a god at a time when the NBA had just begun conquering the world. In the wake of the first and strongest sensations from “professional basketball”, the 90s remained the “golden era”, and its symbol is the best basketball player of all time.
But that's not all.
At the same time, an impenetrable mythological basis conveniently formed around Jordan with brilliant anecdotes, stories about trash talk and manifestations of that same obsession, classic hits or bombardment explosions.
A junior when Jordan was a freshman, Worthy was UNC's best player in 1982 and would help lead the team to a national championship on his way to becoming the first overall pick of the 1982 NBA Draft. 
Once he entered the NBA, Jordan once again found himself needing to work harder than ever to improve his skills and prove himself to his teammates.
Nearly everyone who grew up playing basketball in the 1980 and 90s wanted to do just that. They emulated Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time. Jordan racked up six NBA titles and five MVPs during his reign with the Chicago Bulls. Everyone wanted to be like Mike, but whom did Mike want to be like when he was growing up?
“But that is one of the things about the game of basketball, the way it gets passed on from one group to the next and how each generation influences the next. I got tips from my brothers, their friends, so I tried to return the favor when I got back to Carolina. I showed Michael a couple of moves.”
Davis took Jordan under his wing early and then he watched Jordan’s work ethic take over. Jordan’s work habits are what impressed Davis the most.
Therefore, by the time he entered high school, Michael had finally decided what he would do next. The choice was made in favor of basketball. In a one-on-one game, the brothers often competed with each other, and, without a doubt, the eldest, Harry, won at first, as he was much more powerful and taller than his brother. However, Michael Jordan did not get tired of training, and soon he learned to defeat his brother. By the way, then the growth of the future star by basketball standards was not very high - only 1.75 m, but Michael Jordan was diligently engaged in special gymnastics and eventually grew to the current 1.98 m. What did Michael Jordan get? Perseverance and dedication he was not to occupy, and besides, he was distinguished by a rare discipline, which favorably distinguished the guy from other basketball players. He was invariably drawn to the gym to hit the ball into the basket again and again. It came to constant scolding from the physical education teacher, who literally kicked Michael to the lessons.
Jordan settled on the University of North Carolina, whose basketball team was at that moment one of the strongest student teams in the United States. It should be noted that Michael was lucky: usually freshmen were not enrolled in the national team. However, this rule did not affect Michael Jordan, he played so well. Michael did not let down coach Dean Smith, who had high hopes for him. It was Jordan's shot that gave the team the chance to win the US Collegiate Championship decider 63-62.0003 
And although the "bulls" did not manage to get into the final of the championship - "playoffs", however, the popularity of the young player Michael Jordan grew every day. It was his game that basketball fans came to watch. Therefore, it is not surprising that already in the first season he was recognized as the best newcomer, and in terms of performance he took third place in the league. The audience responded to Michael with great love for his magnificent game, not without reason after a short time Michael Jordan was dubbed His Airiness. Michael tried his best; he didn't want to let down his coaches or his fans. 
She made an attempt to "recruit" Jordan, who at that time preferred to play in Adidas sneakers. And although Michael did not like red (the sneakers were red), he did not refuse the contract. Still: according to the contract, he annually - for five years - brought him a million dollars. The company did not fail: a year later, almost every boy dreamed of buying such sneakers as Jordan had. The most interesting thing is that even the ancestor of the company, Philip Knight, did not expect such a success. In the first year of their partnership with Jordan alone, Nike managed to sell $130 million worth of Air Jordan sneakers instead of the expected $10 million. It was all about Michael's charm, hard work and sportsmanship. Surprisingly, not only Jordan fans, but also people who are far from sports became the “fans” of Nike. Still, the name of Mackle Jordan is known even to those who have never been fond of hammering the ball into the basket. 
This gave Nike the opportunity to increase their capital, and Jordan did not remain at a loss. The company managed to "jump" "Reebok", which was also at that time on the crest of success. It was because of this that the conflict arose at the Games in 1992 in Barcelona. Jordan (followed by a good half of the players who have contracts with Nike) refused to wear the official team uniform to the awards ceremony due to the fact that it featured the logo of the hostile Reebok. Jordan was persuaded for a long time and finally his resistance was broken. However, Michael still hid the emblem under ... the American flag. Later, Michael Jordan entered into deals with many large companies that gave him a considerable income. However, such a commercial attitude to basketball revealed by no means the most attractive features of athletes. As a result, this sport turned into a demonstration not of a team game, but of a game of singles, albeit talented ones. 
And Jordan's official salary in the NBA in the 1997-98 season - $ 33.1 million - still remains a record for earning professional athletes. So the title of "Most Valuable Player", which Michael Jordan received repeatedly, is also true financially. 
His popularity did not decrease at all, although Jordan, a baseball player, did not have enough stars from the sky. Spectators poured into matches with Jordan, and opponents took autographs from him before the match. 
And in 1999 he again left big basketball. Again, millions of fans were plunged into a state of shock, although deep down they believed that this time Michael Jordan would return. 
And if the sons are quite traditionally called Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, then the daughter was named Jasmine Michael. 
.. 
In the 90s, he was considered a capable squire, nothing more: Jordan severely mocked him in the early 90s and recognized him as an equal only in 97, Jerry Krause all the time tried to trade Pippen, at least for a draft pick, to take Tracey McGrady, or Mitch Richmond, rivals humiliated him, constantly saying that he was nothing without an older comrade ... 
.. 
Someone stole the MVP from him, someone talked a lot, someone offended his partner - and Jordan took revenge. 
.. 
" He never admitted this to me. But in every match he came out with this attitude: “ I will show them something today that they will never forget this ” - as if he was a great artist. 
Tony and Ron Harper considered missing a couple of matches. Michael walked into the fitness coach's office, "Guys, what are you doing here?" They say: "Yes, something hurts, we will not play." He said, "Come on, let's get out of here." And it worked. Michael Jordan never missed practice. How could you miss them?" 
The difference is in the complexity of execution, it is much higher for Bryant, - Grant Hill explained. – This does not mean that Kobe is better. This means that Jordan did what he wanted. He wanted to shoot from a certain point - he did it . It seemed to me that Kobe sometimes broke the course of the attack and said: “Now I will make some crazy throw.” But in Jordan there was a special grace, grace and just an understanding of when and where to score. 
James Harden, even in three-point basketball, even with an obsession with analytics and efficiency zones, even without huge centers under the shields, even resting on defense, got close to him in only one season. 
.. He got the ball, gave you the opportunity to take a defensive position, and then did whatever he wanted. He didn't have a favorite trick: he could go to the left, he could go to the right. Walked through or jumped out. You just tried your best and hoped that eventually he would stop scoring." 
During this time, none of his partners touched the ball. 
And impeccable footwork, so impeccable that when the ball hit his foot, it surprised him. 
Then he was well versed in the relationship on the site, he knew how to read the game. When it came to attack, he saw vulnerable points, knew where to go into the passage, which way to go. Defensively, he knew when and where to try to intercept, whether it was going to secure against a player in post or getting the right position to close the pass lane. Many players don't have that instinctive understanding of space on the court, and he was just incredible in that sense . 
Thousands of parcels were sent to his name with various things that needed to be signed - most were attached to dollar bills of various values. 
And so it continues to this day. I remember they had a Rider Cup in Louisville. I went there every day, and every day Michael was surrounded by a crowd of guards. Exactly him! And not the participants of the tournament. 
And still cool selling sneakers turned Jordan into the first billionaire among athletes. 
Jordan did not leave the hotels, and when he was somewhere in public, he invariably gathered a crowd around him. 
Then, when I almost lost consciousness during the “flu game”. Then when he won his fourth title on father's day and mourned his father. Then, when I collapsed from impotence after the first victory, the victory to which I had been going for so long. 
