Reasons I Admire The Inimitable Michael Jordan
Posted: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
I consider it an honor to have lived in the same time period as that of Michael Jordan. And the title of this article does not mean I will list all the reasons, because I won't. This man is a most amazing fellow and it is still highly entertaining simply to read of him. The National Basketball Association's acclamation naming him the "greatest basketball player of all time" is an admirable achievement, yet, even that is inadequate to fully express the greatness of this one fellow. It leaves so many things unsaid.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn New York to James R. Jordan, Sr., and Delores Peoples Jordan. The family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina while he was a toddler. He was the fourth born of five siblings. He has two older brothers, Larry and James, an older sister, Deloris and a younger sister, Roslyn.
Michael attended high school at the Emsley A. Laney High school in Wilmington, NC where he began his athletic career, playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried for the Varsity basketball team in his sophomore year but was rejected because his 5'11" height at the time was deemed to be too short. He proved his ability on the Junior Varsity team where he turned in several 40 point games and became the star of that team. He also grew 4 inches taller that year.
Upon acceptance into the Varsity squad in his Junior year, he averaged 20 points per game for the last too years in high school. His senior year he averaged, per game, 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists! He continued to excel throughout his college career. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft.
During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game on 51.5% shooting! He appeared on the front of Sports Illustrated onemonth after his career began with a heading: "A Star Is Born". Little did they realize how true a statement they had made. Avid basketball fans also voted him in as an All Star Starter during his first season. A number of the seasoned All Stars were upset at the publicity and raves he was getting and chose not to pass him the ball in the game. But Michael came away undaunted.
There were many great basketball players during the career of Michael Jordan, but try as they might, they could never come from beneath the shadow of this most talented great. I never had the honor or privilege to actually see him play in person, but the outstanding performances on television were enough to make you gasp for breath. No one has ever perfected the one handed back over the shoulder shot as has this fellow. To see such a shot, time and again, is electrifying to an audience, even for the opposing team's fans.
Needless to say, his notoriety, his continuing success and media coverage earned him many millions of dollars from player contracts, product endorsements and other sources. He reportedly earned $30 million per year for some of his contracts with the Bulls and is estimated to have eared $40 million per year from endorsements
He and his wife filed for divorce in January 2002, but were reconciled later. Then they again filed in December 2006 which was granted. It is reported that his wife, Juanita, was awarded $168 million as settlement.
Michael reportedly was sued by Karla Knafel in July, 2006 for $5 Million. He had allegedly paid her $250,000 for her to keep there relationship secret, but she claimed that he had promised her $5 million in a paternity suit. A DNA test showed that Jordan was not the father of her child.
Jordan's list of honors, awards and achievement is enormous, including two Olympic Gold Medals, and I will not attempt to list them here, even if there exists a complete list. I will give links to some of them plus some videos of some of his great shots that boggles the mind just to watch.
Michael retired three times. The third time when he was over 40 years old, a glimpse of the admiration held for him, even by his opponents is illustrated in the following brief description given in Wikipedia:
Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star game history. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line. Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times.
On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road.[80] However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of the number one draft pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown.
With the recognition that 200203 would be Jordan's final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at his old home court, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation.[83] The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan had never played for the team.[84] At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, but refused both; in the end, however, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter, who decided to give it up under great public pressure.
Jordan's final NBA game was on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia. After scoring only 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and with his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers, 7556. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!". After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game for Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, and a crowd of 21,257 fans.
It is my opinion that Michael Jordan's NBA acclamation as "The greatest basketball player of all time" may never be superceded by another person. If it is, that person has his work cut out for him plus having unimaginable talent. I'm not sure but that he actually out performed ME! To see a long length of his (not mine) achievements plus some great videos of his great shots, visit these links;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Michael_Jordan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WmNHGA5jh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9QPMy__xKQ & NR=1
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