Yep. I nearly deleted the Kobe part so as not to derail the thread but I thought it was important to show how great I thought Dominique was compared to the modern day elite wing player.
I think some of the replies here are remembering mike w/ the wiz with rose-colored glasses. Yes he did put up about 20/5/5 but he was a ridiculously streaky shooter and I honestly think he stunted the growth of a lot of his teammates. If you guys get a chance you should check out "When Nothing Else Matters" its a great book by a DC sportswriter who was basically a fly on the wall for the Mike's entire stay within the Washington organization from his days as an executive to this final retirement and dismissal from management. It airs a lot of dirty laundry about the environment inside the locker room and how Jordan being Jordan affected the team. *As a side note I'm actually curious about 'Niques performance as an OG (old guy). I honestly don't remember it. Was it that year the Spurs tanked to get Duncan?
Oh yea, those pump fakes were viscous tho. Kobe definitely was taking notes during the Mikes time with the Wiz and he has incorporated that into his game a great deal now.
MJ injured his ribs when working out before the season, thanks to Ron-Ron. He began the season out of shape and immediately suffered from severe tendinitis in his knee, which had to be drained constantly throughout the season. He basically was playing on one-leg and was much more of a jump-shooter and lost some of his explosiveness If you want to read a good book about MJ's Wizards days, I suggest "When Nothing Else Matters" Good look at the real Jordan...a fiery competitor who had trouble accepting his physical limitations
He was still better than 85% of the NBA now, he dropped a couple of nickel nickel games when he was with washington," he led the team in scoring (22.90 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg)."- wiki
His mid-range jump shot was still money, as was his fadeaway in the post. Had the veteran savvy to use screens really well to free himself for that shot. He had lost leaping ability and quicks but not strength. I don't think he was a "very good" defender on an absolute standard, for a 40 year old definitely, but overall I'd say a decent to good defender.
it's a shame they screwed Nique over on the 50 greatest when it first came out. so he played more seasons than he should have, so what? it shows love of the game.
No doubt. I was/am a huge fan of the guy. I too and shocked he didn't get mentioned as one of the top 50 but for some reason, he never gets respect.
I remember talking to Nique, he said he destroy most of the dudes in the L now, back in the day http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=123154
I agree that he would. The guy gave every player in the league all they could handle and more during the height of the NBA. This game sticks out in my mind more than any: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jxqKLEMTBo4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jxqKLEMTBo4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
My best memory of Jordan as a Wizard was in his last All-star game (2003?) when he hit what should have been the game winner on a turnaround fadeaway over Shawn Marion at then end of the first OT. After that shot Iverson ran up to him, and Jordan put up his hand expecting a high five, instead Iverson chest-bumped him (probably the only time that happened to Jordan in his entire career), and Jordan couldn't stop laughing. Great, great moment.
