Jordan, arguably the best basketball player ever, spoke well, used humor, and complemented his teammates, opponents, coaches (especially the ones who wouldn't start him), for "putting logs" onto his competitive fire. It is clear that Jordan still has drive, and he said he wouldn't rule out returning to play in the NBA when he's 50. He's 46, now.
So I went onto ESPN's site and they had lots of content dedicated to Jordan, including the top 23 (Jordan's uniform number)highlights of his career. Included were many game-winning shots, the 63-point (losing) performance against the Celtics in 1986, which I think I watched as a 13-year-old, monstrous dunks, including one when he drove the baseline and dunked over 7-foot-tall Patrick Ewing, and the layup he made when he switched hands in midair even though he didn't have to.
It is difficult to compare players. For a long time, Jordan didn't play for competitive teams. The Bulls sucked for the first few years he played. But then Jordan learned, thanks to the astute coaching of Phil Jackson, to involve his teammates and make them better. This launched the careers of Scottie Pippen, John Paxton, and even Will Perdue. Jordan ended up making everyone on his team better.
Was Jordan, though, better than Magic? Or Larry Bird? How would he fare in a one-on-one game against LeBron James? One-on-one ball may not be an appropriate measure of one's ability on the basketball court, but I'd have to believe Jordan would take these guys. True, there were better passers, rebounders, and long-range shooters. But, man, Jordan was clutch. Watch the ESPN videos and you'll (if you watched hoops back in the 80s and 90s) remember.
Jordan was the perfect combination of grace and power. This, coupled with his skills, led to his dominance. Few could guard him well. It was hard even to keep up with him and foul him. After many of his best plays, opponents were left shaking their hands and walking away from the play. He was that good.
Watching Jordan, I began to realize, although it was a bit late in his career, was a spectacle worth doing. You he wasn't going to play forever, and that what he was doing was special. I felt the same way when Pedro Martinez was in his prime while pitching for the Red Sox. The way he dominated, with power and location and deceptive speed changes, was amazing to watch.
Jordan, whose name now graces steakhouses and obviously the Nike brand even in retirement, talked in his speech about hard work. When you watch him, though, it seems effortless. But he lost often, has said he was frustrated when he played because of these losses, and ultimately it made him more determined. He could have been an Allen Iverson, a player with outstanding skill but unwilling to make sacrifices and do what it took to win. Jordan changed his game over the course of his career, and the improvements he made - learning to make assists consistently, rebound, and make his teammates better - turned him into an improved player.
Years ago, after Jordan's retirement, or one of them, I saw a Jordan poster that was so good I had to buy it. It's posted in my classroom, and has a quote on it that says:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Clearly, Jordan was in control of his emotions during his playing days. One point he drove home tonight was his absolute desire to win and how that motivated him. Tonight, he closed his speech, speaking about his own confidence and commenting that, for him, "losing, like fear, is an illusion."
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