Michael Jordan’s Big Night
[Guest post by DRJ]
Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last night. Tears ran down his face several times during the speech as he thanked the people who helped him reach his goals. But even in his moment of glory, Jordan didn’t forget the people he thinks slighted him:
“Jordan cried before beginning his acceptance speech, then entertained the crowd with memories of any slights that inspired him to get to basketball’s birthplace:
• The coach who cut him from the varsity as a North Carolina schoolboy.
“I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”
• Isiah Thomas, who allegedly orchestrated a “freezeout” of Jordan in his first All-Star game.
“I wanted to prove to you, Magic [Johnson], Larry [Bird], George [Gervin], everybody that I deserved [to be there] just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I’ve done that without a doubt.”
• Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy — Jordan called him Pat Riley’s “little guy” — who accused Jordan of “conning” players by acting friendly toward them, then attacking them in games.
“I just so happen to be a friendly guy. I get along with everybody, but at the same time, when the light comes on, I’m as competitive as anybody you know.”
• The media who said Jordan, though a great player, would never win like Bird or Johnson.
“I had to listen to all that, and that put so much wood on that fire that it kept me each and every day trying to get better as a basketball player.”
• Lastly, Utah’s Bryon Russell. Jordan recalled meeting Russell while he was retired and playing minor league baseball in 1994 — and with Sloan looking on in horror — told of how Russell insisted he could have covered him if Jordan was still playing. Russell later got two cracks at Jordan in the NBA finals, and he was the defender when Jordan hit the clinching shot to win the 1998 title.
“From this day forward, if I ever see him in shorts, I’m coming at him.”
Jordan is competitive and maybe that’s all this was. I still think Jordan is the greatest player I’ve ever seen, but using his induction speech to get even shows he’s far from the greatest person.
— DRJ
Byron Russell: On YouTube there is a video of Jordan’s Top 10 buzzer-beaters. #2 is a jumper over Russell to win Game 1 of their first Finals meeting with Utah, #1 is a jumper over Russell to win Game 6 of their second Finals meeting with Utah.
Remember also before making the Game 6 jumper, Jordan first stole the ball from Karl Malone.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:05 pmIsaiah Thomas: I absolutely hated the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons (sidenote: I am not happy with the Wolves bringing in Bill Laimbeer) and I became a very partisan MJ fan when the Bulls smoked the Pistons in the 1991 playoffs 4-0. Thomas showed how classy he is by going into the locker room without shaking hands after the last game.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:10 pmThe Media: here is the ultimate shut up stat: in the history of the NBA, only seven times has the league scoring champion also played on the league championship winning team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it once, with the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan has the other six.
And he did this while making one of the all-defensive team each time.
Oh, by the way: Magic won five championships, Bird won three. Jordan’s Bulls beat Magic’s Lakers to win the first one.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:18 pmPaul right before he makes his final shot with the Bulls you will notice his right hand is shoving Byron Russel out of the way. A foul, but as you should know Jordan never got any fouls called on him after his first championship and subsequent Demi-god status.
Mr. Pink (7841a9) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:22 pmAnother great Jordan moment was in the finals vs. Utah where Scotty Pippen takes a wide open three and drills it only to have Jordan come over and start yelling at him for taking the shot. Scotty Pippen mouths back “I was open.”
Mr. Pink (7841a9) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:24 pmLastly:
Jordan is competitive and maybe that’s all this was.
…using his induction speech to get even shows he’s far from the greatest person.
I disagree. His “get even” was the accomplishments. This was just a serving of reminder crow to his detractors.
The unwritten rule in the NBA while Jordan was in the league was this: never trash talk with Jordan, never let him see any bulletin board motivational slights, because that would amp him up to very high levels. To say Jordan was competitive is like saying the Pacific Ocean is “only” a body of water.
How competitive was Jordan? A story to illustrate:
The Bulls were playing the Jazz in Salt Lake during the regular season. At one point, Jordan dunked on fellow enshrinee John Stockton. Some guy sitting courtside got up, almost following jordan downcourt, yelling, “Hey Jordan! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”
So the next time down Jordan dunked on Mel Turpin, a guy who eventually ate himself out of the league. Jordan then looks at the guy, and asks, “Was he big enough?”
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:35 pmRight. Not the time and place for a reverse roast. No need to be humble, just grateful would have shown greatness in acceptance. Yet, shrug, this is what serves as acceptable speech these days. Anyone care to blame Bush?
political agnostic (bd307b) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:39 pmPaul right before he makes his final shot with the Bulls you will notice his right hand is shoving Byron Russel out of the way.
Mr. Pink, Russell was already going that way, and Jordan’s arm was fully extended all the way through. Almost no one gets called for that, not just Jordan.
And if you think Jordan got calls, I suggest you do research on how many times Wilt Chamberlain fouled out.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:41 pmJordan was a brilliant basketball player and pitchman for various products, but since retiring he has been awful as a general manager, his marriage has failed, and several of his business ventures have crumbled. Perhaps he has to hold on to the one area where he was undeniably a success, since he seems unqualified to do much of anything else.
JVW (d1215a) — 9/12/2009 @ 12:48 pmsince retiring he has been awful as a general manager
You got that right. As I’ve wrote in the last Jordan thread, he’s following the Bill Russell path to excellence: as bad a front-office executive as he was good a player.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 1:09 pmLook, no one loves Jordan more than me – having lived in Chicago all of my life, we had become accustomed to all of our sports teams being perennial losers, and he changed the local sports culture forever with his incredible drive and competitiveness. But this was not the appropriate venue to air past grievances, no matter how big they may appear to Jordan. I was surprised at his speech, he’s always been classy and respectful when the moment calls for it.
A foul, but as you should know Jordan never got any fouls called on him after his first championship and subsequent Demi-god status.
This comment indicates your substandard knowledge of the NBA game – Jordan was routinely hammered and thrown to the ground when he drove to the basket for years before he started getting the calls. The old NBA refs like Earl Strom treated all the players like that back in the 80’s and up till the late 90’s – but once you proved to them that not only could you take it, but come back and play even better, then you’d start getting the calls. The great ones always get the benefit of the doubt, no matter what sport we’re tallking about. This comment just sounds like more sour grapes from someone who’s team must have gotten regularly pasted by the Bulls during the glory days.
Dmac (a93b13) — 9/12/2009 @ 1:35 pmPoor timing for the best player and fiercest competitor ever to set foot on the court. Some of my college teammates played either with or against him, and have told hours of stories. You simply do not cross this man on the court, even in practice.
JD (bb7add) — 9/12/2009 @ 1:44 pmAsk Ron Artest about crossing Jordan in practice.
JD (bb7add) — 9/12/2009 @ 1:57 pmBill Cartwright took Jordan on during a critical practice in their 1st championship season. Jordan often tried to humiliate lesser players in practice – but Cartwright had enough of his throwing the ball at his face too quickly during practices, and basically threw down on him. Jordan backed off – because he respected Cartwright. So you could cross him in practice – but you’d better have the chops in the first place. This tale is from Sam Smith’s book “The Jordan Rules.”
Dmac (a93b13) — 9/12/2009 @ 2:21 pmDidn’t he break Artest’s ribs in practice?
JD (bb7add) — 9/12/2009 @ 2:30 pmDid he say anything about the two years he was allwed to try his hand at baseball when any other player would have been permanently been banned from the game?
nk (df76d4) — 9/12/2009 @ 2:44 pmAs far as I can tell, I am one of about five or six people in the U.S. who does not care for Michael Jordan.
While I certainly don’t deny his greatness on the basketball court, I was turned off by the cruelty that he displayed toward certain teammates. (If you’ve read “The Jordan Rules”, you know what I’m talking about.)
Now, I realize that Jordan fans will rationalize his treatment of certain teammates as an unfortunate “side effect” of the desire and determination that drove him to his individual and team successes.
Be that as it may, I think Jordan’s treatment of certain teammates – even if they “deserved” it for not meeting his expectations – was truly reprehensible.
Beyond that, I’ve heard enough about Jordan’s off-the-court lifestyle to consider him a scumbag in that department, too.
Obviously, Jordan wasn’t the first married professional athlete to have a harem on the side, nor will he be the last.
However, through his numerous product endorsements, Jordan liked to portray a “wholesome” image. His personal behavior was anything but wholesome, and that’s a kind of hypocrisy I can’t overlook. I won’t even get into the gambling “allegations”.
As far as Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech is concerned … well, it was in EXTREMELY poor taste. (The excerpts above don’t even mention the cheap shots he took at Jerry Krause, the former GM of the Bulls.)
At any rate, like Obama and Tiger Woods, Jordan has the media in his hip pocket, so he can get away with being a jackass.
Bubba Maximus (456175) — 9/12/2009 @ 2:48 pmDid he say anything about the two years he was allwed to try his hand at baseball when any other player would have been permanently been banned from the game?
You mean like Charles Barkley getting away with the exact same offences? These guys will gamble on anything, so unless they’re gambling the games they’re playing in, where do you draw the line?
Dmac (a93b13) — 9/12/2009 @ 3:23 pmThis comment just sounds like more sour grapes from someone who’s team must have gotten regularly pasted by the Bulls during the glory days.
Actually he was stating the truth.
Rookies never “get the calls” (which is why most NBA games are now boring, because the officials suck and the last 4 minutes of the game take a half our because of the timeouts & the bewilderment over what the officials will call next) but the guys who “earn their cred” get the calls. The rule book? Eh, who needs that, let’s just rely on the status of the player. Right.
Jordan got the calls. Period.
Wilt never fouled out because he was a man among boys & didn’t need to foul a 6’9″ center. The guy averaged 50 points & 27 rebounds for an entire season, so wacky stats are nothing when it came to Wilt.
You sound like a Jordan mark…yes, he committed an offensive foul on Russell, but that sort of thing is never called on a last second shot because the NBA has decided that “the players determine the outcome, not the officials”, even though the officials determine the outcome by swallowing their whistles when the “made” players, like Jordan, get the edge over workman players like Russell.
BTW, Jordan’s personally picked two drat picks: Kwami Brown at number one for the Wizards & Adam Morrison at number 3 for the Bobcats. He is to management what Elgin Baylor was.
Greatest player in NBA history, though. Crappy speech, Mike. Get over yourself, we know you like competition. When you say it during every interview, it starts to resemble the guys who give themselves nicknames….let it go.
Cam Winston (96ec19) — 9/12/2009 @ 3:41 pmYou know if he had stopped at the first remark it would have been amusing. Anything after that was just out of place. Graciousness isn’t just for losers. The truly great (those who not only excel at what they do, but excel as people) don’t have to keep reminding you.
Caroline S. (4e3063) — 9/12/2009 @ 4:14 pmMJ was electrifying to watch. He trained and pushed himself mercilessly and he played both hurt and sick. Some said he was a selfish player but there is no question that he made his fellow team mates on the Bulls championship teams better players, too. But the same drive and competitiveness which made him the best player ever is also making it hard for him to live anything resembling a normal off-court retirement. It’s actually kind of sad.
elissa (ca7c81) — 9/12/2009 @ 4:19 pm# 19 – Comment by Cam Winston — 9/12/2009 @ 3:41 pm
Jordan got the calls. Period.
Didn’t watch his early years, did you? Or the years when the Bulls were routinely losing to the Pistons. Oh yeah, he was getting all the calls when guys like Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn pounded him like a drum.
Wilt never fouled out because he was a man among boys & didn’t need to foul a 6′9″ center.
Well. I’m sure Bill Russell and Willis Reed will appreciate being referred to as boys.
The guy averaged 50 points & 27 rebounds for an entire season, so wacky stats are nothing when it came to Wilt.
Whoopee. Did he win a championship while racking up all those points and rebounds? Wilt won two championships, neither of which he led the league in scoring. He had to sacrifice scoring in order to finally end the eight-year Celtic stranglehold on the league. Jordan didn’t, winning the scoring championship while leading his team to an NBA title. Not once, but six times.
You sound like a Jordan mark…yes, he committed an offensive foul on Russell, but that sort of thing is never called on a last second shot because the NBA has decided that “the players determine the outcome, not the officials”, even though the officials determine the outcome by swallowing their whistles when the “made” players, like Jordan, get the edge over workman players like Russell.
And you sound like someone that doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Try shoving someone while standing still with your arm fully extended. Damn hard, huh? Oh, you need to bend you arm and extend it out get a good push? Ah.
That’s why it wasn’t called. Once again, Byron Russell was already moving in that direction, and Jordan’s arm was fully extended all the way during the “shove.” Unless you piss off the refs, you’re not going to get called for that. As I said earlier, almost no one gets called for that.
BTW, Jordan’s personally picked two drat picks: Kwami Brown at number one for the Wizards & Adam Morrison at number 3 for the Bobcats. He is to management what Elgin Baylor was.
Already trashed Jordan for that several times now. And Elgin Baylor isn’t even the best example. That would be Bill Russell. Russell makes Baylor look like Jerry West.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/12/2009 @ 5:01 pmPaul:
First, Bill Russell had the best timing at rebounding and shot blocking of any player I’ve ever seen, and he has to be in the top 10 in competitiveness.
But Wilt Chamberlain set his record of 55 rebounds in a single game playing against Russell. And I remember watching a game in which which Bill Russell blocked one of Wilt’s dunks. On the following possession, Chamberlain backed off to tempt Russell into trying a dunk himself. Wilt blocked the dunk all the way to the ground, with Russell forced down with it. Clean block, but from the moment he touched the ball it was going down, and so was anything else in the way.
In Kareem’s first season, Wilt blocked four consecutive sky hooks. The ref called three of the blocks goaltending, but I was convinced that there was only one that was even close.
Gary Coleman (a97711) — 9/13/2009 @ 12:01 amWhile certainly not a better basketball player, David Robinson is more of a man than Michael Jordan could ever dream of being.
Mike LaRoche (82fa1f) — 9/13/2009 @ 12:17 amWow! So this Jordan guy was good, no, GREAT at throwing a ball through a hoop. Sounds like a transcendant character. Um, at least until he speaks. But hey, the bar is set so low for these pro athletes – unless he was caught non-consentually sodomizing a hotel desk clerk somewhere they can….uh, um. Opps. I mean – go Lakers!
Californio (2f8afb) — 9/13/2009 @ 1:09 amI can’t understand why the greatest player in basketball history, who’s still so respected and admired he’s making commercials years after he’s retired, would be so damn petty.
JEA (b0a657) — 9/13/2009 @ 5:34 amComment by Gary Coleman — 9/13/2009 @ 12:01 am
Gary, the original point Cam made was that Jordan got all the calls, every time, all the way throughout his career. I countered that if there was ever a player who got the benefit of the calls, every time, all the way throughout his career, it was Wilt, who played his entire career–regular season, All-Star or playoff–without ever fouling out.
Not once.
That is statistically impossible without help.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (784fd8) — 9/13/2009 @ 10:17 amDidn’t watch his early years, did you?
Watched him live in college, my friend. He got the calls in Carolina, as well. A few times, the ACC refs picked up on his penchant for traveling, but he got away with a lot more than, say, Matt Doherty or Ricky Stokes or Johnny Dawkins or Mark Price or Yvonne Joesph.
Look, just because you say something, it doesn’t mean people who disagree are ignorant. Maybe if you dialed down your ‘arrogant’ level to “obscene”?
Oh yeah, he was getting all the calls when guys like Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn pounded him like a drum.
As stated earlier, the NBA let many folks get away with murder. For some reason, they let the Pistons maul pretty much everyone (no idea why). FYI, there were teams on the Bulls schedule those seasons that were NOT the Detroit Pistons. Further, when one picks up their pivot foot, it’s a walk…..which happened one out of ever 3 Jordan possessions. But, yes, the Pistons got away with murder. Jordan got away with larceny, theft and mayhem during that short period, before being elevated to ‘murder is okay’ status.
I’m sure Bill Russell and Willis Reed will appreciate being referred to as boys.
Alongside Wilt Chamberlain, they were physically inferior. Simple mathematics backs me up on that one. ??????
Or are you going left & accusing me of for an innocuous statement? If so, please tell me now so that I can simply ignore you from here on out.
He had to sacrifice scoring in order to finally end the eight-year Celtic stranglehold on the league.
It helped that the Celts consisted of 8 hall-of-famers during most of that period, and a total of 13 during that tenure. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Celtics were the BEST TEAM? The Celtics of the 60’s were dominant & Wilt’s teams were usually 2nd best. Same with Karl Malone’s Jazz squads, they simply weren’t as good.
Not once, but six times.
Jordan is the best of all time. Are you under the assumption that anyone is saying he’s not? Is your big argument that Jordan accomplished more than Wilt team-wise? That’s indisputable. Doesn’t change the fact that he got the benefit of the calls & was given many gifts when the opposition made good defensive plays.
Once again, Byron Russell was already moving in that direction
THAT.DOES.NOT.MATTER. Do you not know that the defensive player doesn’t need to be still in order for the offensive player to commit an offensive foul?
No big deal, they were going to win the series anyway, as they were better, but to assume that Russell had to be motionless in order for there to be a foul on Jordan is ridiculous.
Russell makes Baylor look like Jerry West.
Well, aside from those two championships he won as coach. Ahem.
Gary, the original point Cam made was that Jordan got all the calls, every time, all the way throughout his career.
No it wasn’t. You need to read for comprehension. Good lord.
That is statistically impossible without help.
Illogical statement. Of course it is statistically possible, since statistics have nothing to do with it. Statistically, Wilt made scoring 100 points possible, grabbing 55 rebounds, causing basketball (the entity) to change umpteen rules (he’s the reason the lane was widened, for example), made scoring 4,000 points in a season possible…I could go on. Perhaps you meant the “probability of it happening without help” was slight?
Kinda like a 6’6″ guard who wasn’t even chosen #1 in the draft going on to make the “who was the best of all time, Wilt or Russel” argument obsolete since he became the best we’ve ever seen?
[side note: Wilt rarely fouled, as he was so physically dominant that he didn’t need to “man up” his player & could back off and let them shoot and he’d simply block the shot, with little difficulty]
Your contention that the NBA officials colluded to intentionally help Wilt Chamberlain stay in games (aka, cheating) is duly noted. And if I asked you how many NBA games you saw Wilt Chamberlain play, so as to gauge how you conjured up such a conspiracy theory, I’m betting the answer is between “none” and “zero”.
Cam Winston (96ec19) — 9/13/2009 @ 5:45 pmCam Winston:
Impossible and statistics rarely go together. Impossible implies that the probability is zero, so as long as the probability of each event is nonzero then the cumulative probability will also be.
In the games I watched (unfortunately always on television) Wilt would play incredibly soft defense on the few occasions he got in foul trouble, just to avoid fouling out. He was obviously proud of that record, at least late in his career.
Given how bad Wilt was at free throws, he was often fouled intentionally when the game was close and he had the ball in scoring position, an early version of Hack-a-Shaq. Even when his opponents weren’t intentionally fouling, they were often playing very physically in an attempt to balance Wilt’s height and strength advantages. It’s hard to call fouls on a player without calling the same type of fouls (when they occur) against his opponent. Several teams seemed to have backup centers whose primary function was to foul out in games against the 76ers or Lakers.
On the other hand, there were a few good centers in the league besides Russell and Willis. Nate Thurmond probably belongs in the top 5 list of all-time best defensive centers, and Wayne Embry had potential. Of course there were a different group of centers at the end of his career, including Kareem.
Gary Coleman (d55c91) — 9/13/2009 @ 6:40 pmIf the NBA lets officials swallow the whistle for its star players, it shouldn’t have been surprised when those same officials took advantage of their control over the game for their own purposes.
L.N. Smithee (32682d) — 9/13/2009 @ 7:04 pmI know about Obama. I know about Jordan. I have not yet heard about jackassery coming from Tiger Woods. What did I miss?
President Obama: Tiger Woods? Or Michelle Wie?
L.N. Smithee (32682d) — 9/13/2009 @ 7:18 pmGary Coleman,
Agree on all points.
Cam Winston (96ec19) — 9/13/2009 @ 7:45 pm@ 24 Mike LaRoche: +10
Jordan: Awesome player, classless otherwise. Unless he’s dominating a game, he’s a fish outta water.
Robinson: great player, awesome human being. Happily left basketball behind and is on to his next success. ROLE MODEL.
Tex Lovera (456ded) — 9/14/2009 @ 9:26 amMaybe not really a fair reading.
I simply think he was letting people know what drove him to be so great, giving people some inside information – a more personal look than they normally would ever see.
He’s definetly kissed and made up with Magic and Larry, as well as Pat Riley. Those guys all understand to play the game at that level requires something extra and I’m sure they didn’t take it personally.
They were just props on the stage.
headhunt23 (9e1243) — 9/14/2009 @ 10:12 amAll you Jordan hatters, get over it. If some asshole would not have killed his father, he would have EIGHT rings. Merry X-Mas to the sorry Rockets. Is he an Angel ?? No. The best ever…
Chicagologan (2b2fa6) — 9/15/2009 @ 1:51 amYou know it if your I.Q. is more then 60. If you really watch the film, Suns, game six, and the last one against the Jazz you will understand. The Bulls were not the best team, they just got it done in the clutch. His name is Mr. Micheal Jorden. So bow down and shut up.
Hey JVW. Just a stat for your dumb ass. Half of all maariages end in divorce, flip a coin. As far as his endorsements, I don’t see any of them complaining on the Hundreds of Millions(Nike) or the Tens of Millions(Gatorade) I could go down the list…. or maybe you can name the other seven for me ?? No ?? Then shut up.
Chicagologan (2b2fa6) — 9/15/2009 @ 1:59 amYou know it if your I.Q. is more then 60.
If your I.Q. is more than 60 when you realize that the the name is Michael Jordan.
The Bulls were not the best team, they just got it done in the clutch.
Intellect in par with Mike Wilbon. Let me guess, you watch ESPN 3 hours per day, are 60 pounds overweight and consider yourself a sports guru?
[note: fished from spam filter — Stashiu]
Cam Winston (689026) — 9/15/2009 @ 5:48 am