Michael Jordan Ruined Basketball
What a blasphemous thing to say on the first night of NBA All-Star Weekend. By the way, anyone else know or care that its NBA All-Star Weekend? I actually just found out 5 minutes ago and the first thing I thought about was how I finally found something that I actually have less of a desire to watch than the Olympics. Didn’t think it was possible.
But, I digress as I’m prone to do. Back to the matter at hand: Michael Jordan ruined basketball.
Yes, that Michael Jordan and yes, I acknowledge that he was probably the best player in NBA history. So how on earth did he destroy the very same game that he is known for elevating? By BECOMING the game.
Young kids who grew up watching “His Airness” wanted to one day BE Michael Jordan. They didn’t dream of being a basketball player, they dreamed of being Michael Jordan.
And to be Michael Jordan means that you’re a brand, a celebrity, and a marketing tool. And to reach that status, you have to stand out from your competition. And to make a conscious effort to stand out from your competition is to put yourself ahead of your teammates and ahead of the game.
Well, those young kids who grew up watching MJ and hoping to “Be Like Mike” are now NBA players themselves. Their names are Kobe and AI, Kevin Garnett and Shaq. It is clear that they and many, many others in the NBA aren’t trying to win the game, they’re trying to be the game.
Michael Jordan was the rarest of rare. There will only be one MJ, just as there will never be another Babe Ruth. But unlike baseball, where The Babe popularized the sport and made kids want to play baseball, Michael Jordan made kids want to be Michael Jordan. Well, they can’t. Nobody can.
Jordan was great because while he was head and shoulders above anyone else on the court and showed it night after night, he had a knack for making his teammates around him play well beyond their capabilities. He played on a team, for a team and with a team. He won six NBA Championships.
Kobe Bryant is the best we have right now. But Kobe plays for himself. He has yet to learn how to elevate his teammates’ performances and chances are he never will. Kobe WONT win six championships but he will go down as one of NBA history’s greatest players. However, what made Jordan special, was how many of his teammates he helped to become great players.
