Basketball has seen many players that have left their mark on the game in good ways and bad. Yet none of them compare to the effect that Michael Jordan had on the sport which propelled the NBA to what it is today.
When asking any pundit, ex-professional or fan of Basketball who they think the best player of all time is? The same name will be echoed from every mouth, Michael Jordan. Powerful driving at the basket, his ability to win games by himself and of course his gift to out-jump and out-dunk opponents are all traits the great man owned. Yet it all could have been so much different for the number 23.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, yet the family relocated to North Carolina when Michael was just a toddler. At the age of 18 he accepted a Basketball scholarship from the state he moved to as a child and majored in cultural Geography three years later. He managed to average 17.7 points per game and five rebounds per game over his stint at college before being drafted in 1984 by the Chicago Bulls.
His first season in the NBA he managed to better his college records by averaging 28.2 ppg which would soon see him become a fan favourite, not only in Chicago but at away games too. He was also voted in to the All Star game as a starter by fans in his rookie season.
The following five seasons would see Jordan’s game improve as he started beating his own averages every year. His second season, he missed 64 games with a broken foot, however the Bulls made the playoffs and Michael shot an incredible 63 in game two. They went on however to lose the series. His third season saw him starting to become iconic in the game, as he managed to score 3000 points in a season, only ever done by Wilt Chamberlain. He also showed he was not just an attacking machine with his record of 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season.
In the following two seasons he led the league in scoring averages and won his first ever Most Valuable Player award. Yet it was still not enough to take the Chicago Bulls all the way to winning an NBA Championship. Yet things were to change in the 1990/91 season.
With Phil Jackson at the helm and a young Scottie Pippen developing into an All Star, Jordan had what he needed around him to help the Bulls finally make the step to their first ring. When finally winning their first Championship, Michael clutched the trophy and cried whilst alongside his father whom he had a strong bond with. Led by Jordan and his incredible scoring averages, the Bulls went on to win an NBA Championship three years running.
Yet on October 6th 1993, Michael Jordan called a press conference to announce his retirement from basketball at the age of 30. He explained that he had lost his passion for the game and would not like to pursue a career in the sport any longer. However he later cited that his reason was more due to the death of his father earlier in the year.
He then made the shock decision to sign for a minor league Baseball side. MJ said it was the wish of his late father that he saw his son become a Major League Ball player. He stuck at it for nearly 18 months before calling a press conference on the 18th of March to announce his return to Basketball with the two words, “Im Back”. He did well on his return to the game but could not help the Bulls to a Championship as they lost to Orlando.
The following season, Jordan was back to full fitness and back to his best leading the Bulls with new defensive addition Dennis Rodman, and with both they dominated the league winning another Championship. MJ recorded another great ppg average of 30.4 and even won his fourth MVP finals award. They continued their success for another two years winning both Championship’s on the bounce.
Michael Jordan then retired for a second time in 1999 at the age of 36 to become Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations. Instead of pulling the strings on the court, he had to learn to do it off of it, and although he was quoted in saying there was a “99.9% chance he would never return to playing Basketball”, he then returned for a third time to play for the Washington Wizards in 2001.
He played for two more seasons averaging around 20 ppg in both seasons; he finally retired for good in 2003 at the age of 40 in front of a 21,257 crowd, to a three minute standing ovation from fans, officials and players.
Michael Jordan is the reason that the NBA is as big as it is today. A career that spans nearly 20 years in the league with awards that every young player dreams of winning. The number so synonymous on the back of the shirt that every fan knows whose name was above it even 10 years after his retirement.
Yes you have players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain even the most decorated of all Bill Russell who are all a cut above the rest. But none of them can compare to Michael Jordan who without doubt boosted the sport to where it is, with his incredible skill, the Air Jordan brand, and of course career like none other. He is the best there has been and it will be a long time before we see another like him.
By Jack Griffiths
Image supplied by Ani Dimova via Flickr
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