Ok, first off, I have to admit,I've never been a Michael Jordan fan...Yes, I was ( although quite young at the time) excited to see his highlight reel plays in his early career. And yes, I believe he is among the more talented players of his generation...What is more, there are two things about Michael Jordan I DO greatly admire; 1) His unbelievable competitive fire. He is amongst the most competitive athletes I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot. His desire for challenges, and his thirst for victory are incredible, and worthy of considerable praise, as a professional athlete, even if they might be unhealthy personality traits in day-to-day life. And 2) His career adjustment. When comparing someone like Vince Carter to an early Michael Jordan, most people are guilty of telescoping his career...Early on, MJ was nowhere near the shooter Carter is at a similar stage of development. He was a decent-at best shooter who could get it off at will because people guarding him were afraid of letting him drive, so gave him lots of room...And by the time he originally left the game, he was amongst the best all-around shooters in the league, with perhaps no peers at going up for the mid-range jumper from any angle, and squaring his shoulders to the basket in flight...That's quite an adjustment, and is also worthy of accolades... However, when all is said and done, I believe that Michael Jordan is amongst the most overrated athletes in the history of pro sports. The benefit he recieved from the refs' calls was above and beyond what anyone, before or since, has ever come close to getting. And that has an almost incalculable effect on a player's success and numbers... 1) The most obvious effect is that the player goes to the line a lot, a fact which the numbers support...During most of his career, Jordan would consistently be amongst the league leaders in FTA's, in amongst all the big men , despite having developed into a predominantly jump-shooting perimiter player. 2) Defenders are extremely wary of coming near him when he's got the ball...Especially at crunch time, Jordan had carte blanche, because if anyone came near him, and he made the shot, it was 50-50 whether he'd be going to the line for an extra...and if he missed, it was a gimme. This has an ENORMOUS effect, one which people dismiss way too easily. When you are talking about an elite level athlete, which he was, the difference that this makes over someone ( like, say, Drexler) is insurmountable...Drexler would have to be significantly better than Jordan, with Jordan getting this carte blance, to stay even on the score sheet...Remember Jordan's "last shot" against Utah? He clearly pushed his defender away, so, yes, he was open...My grandmother could get open if she was allowed to shove her defender away, but would go to the line if said defender breathed on her..And it's not even debated..I remember at the time, when reviewing the play, Isiah THomas openly admitted Jordan shoved Russell, but claimed that was evidence of how smart jordan was, by knowing how much he could get away with...Please, how smart do you have to be? I mean, if you can get away with shoving an isolated defender to the ground, on the perimiter, in crunch time, what exactly CAN'T you get away with? Was Jordan smart enough to realize that re-encating the opening sequence of the Last Boy Scout, b-ball style might not get the call? I mean, we're not talking splitting hairs here, the guy knew he could basically get away with ANYTHING... 3) Confidence and development...If you, as a player, know that you are either going to make the shot or go to the line the vast majority of the times you drive or put up off-balance shots, aren't you going to try a lot of highlight reel shots? And aren't some of them going to go in? If another player tried as many, but didn't get the calls, his coach would be 'resting' him a lot...And, what is more, if you have years and years of trying these shots, aren't you going to get better at them than most? I mean, could you help it? And thirdly...and for anyone who has played, you'll agree this is incalculable, if you are so protected by the refs, isn't your confidence ( shooting) going to be virtually invulnerable..As such, you will shoot a lot better. Much has often been made about Jordan as a "complete " player, as a 2-way player, and to a degree, this is merited...He did give a lot more consistent effort at the defensive end than, say, Carter does so far, but again, he could get away with stuff Carter couldn't...The effect this has on your overall game, and the amount of open floor points the ability to push-and-steal adds to your box score is also significant.. People, I'm not talking about a gray area here...there was an SI article, mid-90's, wherein they did a league wide poll about players getting calls, and it wasn't even close...Virtually every player asked put Jordan head and shoulders above everybody else, and a common comment went like " At crunch time, don't even look at him funny or he'll go to the line..." I'll bet you and I could make a lot of "clutch" open jumpers...Not as many as Jordan, obviously, but quite a few...The article, in case you're interested ( it was good, beyond Jordan...ex: Olajuwon, Ewing, and D. Robinson were the top 3 "stars" who DIDN'T really get star treatment, according to their peers,and there was an interesting discussion about the fact that all three were also known as "classy" and "gentlemen", whereas the guys who got the calls were mostly constant whiners and complainers, like Jordan, Barkley, and Malone...) was called "The Jordan Rules", just as is this rant... And the other factor which leads me to believe that Jordan was overrated is the amount of shots he took...No one playing currently, not even Iverson, comes close...In fact, I believe Jordan is again leading the league in shot attempts per game, although I'm not certain...But in his prime, Jordan jacked up shots at an unbelievable rate..There was a year where Jordan and Bird finished 1-2 in the league in scoring, where Jordan MISSED MORE SHOTS THAN BIRD ATTEMPTED...And, with Bird, we're not exactly talking about a shrinking violet ( I hate Bird too...)..Think about that, it virtually boggles the mind...Anyone who gets that many shot attempts, especially with that kind of protection, SHOULD put up great numbers.. Now, about the apologists... Argument 1) The calls were no big deal. You either never watched the games, or never played it...If you don't know the degree to which he got calls above every one else, you're not watching..If you don't know the degree to which getting them improves your success, you've never played. Argument 2) It was just the Jordan getting the "respect" he was due... This is the most cited argument, and the least well-founded...At what point did getting treatment like that become due him? Befoe Jordan, Magic and Bird set the standard for star-treatment, and they didn't get anything near Jordan...Are you seriously telling me that, when Jordan BEGAN getting this kind of treatment, he was already a BETTER player than Bird or Magic had been? If not, there is no correesponding link between the degree to which you get calls, and the level of your play.Besides, it's a chicken and egg argument...If how great Jordan was justifies the calls he gets, how do we know how great he would have been without them? It's not like the Jordan Rules were just enacted in his last year or something..Conversely, how great might, say, Drexler have been had he gotten the same treatment? If you look at their numbers during their primes, they're pretty close, and, in fact, Drexler did more of the "other things" like rebound and dish out assists...In their primes, I would also say that Drexler was the superior athlete...He never developed into the shooter Jordan did, but I'm not sure he was given the same chance... Argument 3) It was just the league protecting it's prime asset, and it IS a business..True, although he was their prime asset in large part because of the Jordan Rules, which were enacted as a result of 3 factors...1) His incredible athleticism...2) His playing in a prime market, concurrent with it's two marquee players' careers tailing off, and with Stern expanding his star-lead marketing strategy..and 3) Because he was putting up great numbers, due in large part o the fact that he was putting up even more impressive numbers of shots... But really, this point is moot..I'm not saying that it wasn't wise marketing strategy, it may have been...What I am saying is that it contributed to Jordan's stature vastly exceeding his worth as a player in his own right... I'm not saying that he wasn't one of the best players of his generation, if not ever...Clearly he was...But people who go on about him being THE best ever, by far, are, in my opinion, wearing blinders...What could his contemporaries, like Drexler, or players now, like Carter or Iverson, have done with the same ref treatment and the same shots, not to mention guys like Chamberlain or Oscar Robertson?
Hod diggity that is a long ass post! I read half of it, Ill read the other half tomorrow. Anyways I also think that Jordan is just a tad bit overrated. I mean yeah he is one of the top 3 players of all time. But he got away with a lot of crap. Also the argument that he carried his team to 6 championships is crap. He always had Quitten, who played like an all star back then. He had either Rodman or Horace. Kukoc is no joke either. Give Hakeem a sidekick like Pippen or Drexler since the beginning of his carrer and I bet the Rockets are the ones with 4 or 5 championships!
I think that's what people forget about Jordan, he had help winning all those rings it's not like he could have done it alone.
I agree that Jordan is slightly overrated skillwise. I mean he was definitely much betterr than averrage offensively and better than average defensively, but to say he even came close to simply dominating the overall gaame in a way, for examplle, that Wilt Chamberlain did, is to just not understand the evolution of basketball. As a competitor, though, Jordan may be at the top. But that is suchh a hard thing to judge. He did have help winning his titles, but everybody does. I mean, how good was Scottie really. Defensively, he was amazinng, but he is definitely NO top 50 player and I beleive his overall career would be more like the one he had in Houston/Portland hadd Jordan never been there. Rodman was a great rebounder, but hadnt had success in helping another team win a championshiip since the Pistons days due to his attitude. What Im saying is Jordan undoubtedly made it all work because of his drive and compettiveness - not necessarily because of his skill. Bottom line: Jordan got the calls (Have you ever seen a more obvious noncall than the one against Byron Russel in the finals) and jhis skills are slightly overrated, but he is a top 5 player of all time.
I didn't read all of that post, but, on his getting away with calls, he had to have earned the respect from the officials. I assume he didn't get this respect in his first full three seasons, In which averaged 28, 37, and 35 points a game. In those seasons he shot 52%, 48%, and 54%.
Which brings up another question: Why does gaining a certain amount of respect allow a player to subvert the rules of the game? Why not call the game evenly
That's not really a question the way I see it but an answer. Just because a player has gained the respect of the officials the game/call shouldn't be called in his or his team's favor. The game should be called evenly at all times and if it is called in somebody's favor then there is simply no point of playing the game.
I hate Pippen with a passion too, but ya gotta give the man his props. In his prime, he was one of the best SF's in the game. Fact.........he carried the Bulls farther by himself that Mike ever did. It's no coincidence that the Bulls finally started winning titles once he (and Grant) arrived. One of the only players that I ever saw control a series on the defensive end. Nice post Jag.
