Michael Jordan: Tainted

He was a young teenager, an athlete full of potential and possibilities. 

He was stellar on the baseball diamond, being named Mr. Baseball (an honor given to one of the top youths in little league) as a 12-year-old, but had recently started to turn even more heads on the basketball court.

An 11th-grader filled with hopes and dreams. Michael Jordan tried out for his high school’s varsity basketball team. He hustled, showed off his athletics, and put all grit on sweat during the tryouts.

Then MJ received one of his few professional downfalls—he was cut by his high school’s team. 

Cue the violin, pass the Kleenex, get some dark motif going. 

Jordan, sadly, did not make the varsity team.

Everyone who knows about Jordan’s legacy knows this story. 

Fathers use it for their sons if they too don’t make the team or don’t attribute the type of success they had hoped. 

Problem is, 100 percent of children would rather take the Jordan route. 

Don’t make the team as a junior in high school, grow exponentially the next year, and simply dominate as a senior. 

Fathers probably shy away from telling their kids that MJ did indeed have one more year of high school, and relished the opportunity. Then he played at North Carolina, was drafted by Chicago, dunked from the foul line blah blah blah, shot over Ehlo, yah yah, three-pointers against Portland, jumper over Russell… yada yada yada.

And then came Jordan's dubious Hall of Fame speech, for which he received some much-deserved criticism. 

Instead of simply thanking everyone who had helped him reach his journey and shape his career, Jordan decided to bash.

He started explaining how he used every little aspect of his life to motivate him. 

Jordan seemed more sensitive than Doug Christie’s wife.

How do you think “99.9 percent” (his percentage of coming back to the league, which can be mathematically translated as .1% chance he doesn’t come back) of the crowd felt hearing that? 

"Wow, Jordan, you really had some doubters!" 

"No one thought you were going to be this incredible athlete—not Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Jerry Krause, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, Dean Smith, David Stern etc."

"Yeesh, you really had it, tough."

The NBA knew once Jordan started leading the league in scoring and winning dunk contests that he was going to be the golden boy of basketball.

Jordan’s first break-out moment in the league was the 63-point outburst at Boston in the ’86 playoffs, then the dunk contests, and to cap off the '80s, the shot over Craig Ehlo.

Commissioner David Stern had his moneybag, and so did a slew of sponsors.

Jordan Mania was born.

Years later, athletes like Ken Griffey, Jr., Deion Sanders, and Kobe Bryant would receive a hoard of endorsement deals, but would be met by far more public distaste.

One does not have to search too far to find a Kobe hater. In fact, you’re reading an article by the head chairman.

Yes, Kobe had a humbling arrogance to him. 

At times he would try and act so humble to the extent that he was extremely arrogant. 

Few legends can really reach Kobe’s level of pure haughtiness  He should already be enshrined in the haughty tautly hall of fame.

Jordan carried himself with far more grace and was universally respected. 

Like Kobe, he did yell at teammates on occasion, but when he did, his team knew it was because he wanted to win a title and not simply score 81 points in a ball game.

Still, after all the media and colleague praising Jordan experienced in his career, didn’t we really see the true MJ during that Hall of Fame speech?

Perhaps all of the past ads, postgame interviews, and brief cameos were a fabrication. 

Actually they probably were. 

You think brands like Nike, Gatorade, or even Ball Park Franks would shell out their money to such a hateable figure? 

Throughout his career, steps were taken to ensure MJ was saying and doing the right things, regardless of whether he himself was indeed a quality individual.

On Hall of Fame night, Jordan showed us a peak into his closet of arrogance with such quotes as:

“Tex Winter told me there is no 'i' in team; yeah Tex, but there’s an 'i' in win.”

Jordan received the same type of crowd reactions Brittney Spears did during her infamous 2007 VMA performance. 

It was as if many people were cringing saying, “Yeah you’re doing a…um…great…job…but thinking, “Jeez, who didn’t he rip on.”

Was Jordan even THAT great to warrant such arrogance? Does it even matter?

He sure sounded like he was talking about the best player that ever played the game (regardless of mentioning Baylor, Johnson, Russell, etc. during his speech…you can hear it), but does he indeed deserve such a unanimous accolade?

Ready…let’s try this in one breath:  Heeeeep...

14 All-Stars, 10 All-NBA First Teams, 10 scoring titles, nine All-Defensive Teams, six Titles, 6 Finals MVPs, 5 Regular Season MVPs, three-time Steals Champion, one Defensive Player of the Year, highest career scoring average, highest playoff career scoring average, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Let’s further dissect what really makes him standout: The leader of half a dozen championships.

There is no question Jordan was the best Bull during each Chicago title, but should he really deserve the hefty bulk of the credit for all six?

In the 1990s Scottie Pippen continually lived in Jordan’s shadow. 

He allowed Jordan to cheat on steals (by covering him when he missed) and gave others the impression that MJ was a defensive stalwart. 

He also constantly covered the opposition's best wing player (or even point guard in Magic’s case), allowing Jordan to focus more on the offensive end.

Many teams arrange their lineups in such a way, but no offensive-minded wing ever had the support of a Scottie Pippen-caliber player.

In fact, few title contenders in the past 20 years had a supporting player quite as talented as Mr. Pippen.

You know what’s coming next...

Let’s now analyze some contenders during the past two decades and see how their second-best player stacks up against Pippen.

Some close calls…

Utah Jazz John Stockton

Stockton’s career credentials speak for themselves: All-time leader in assists and steals, 10-time All-Star, and two-time All-NBA First Team.

John still could not dominate a game both defensively and offensively the way Pippen could. 

Scottie could prevent your path to the basket whether you were 6'0" or 6'9" (see the 1991 Finals vs. Johnson and 1997-98 Finals vs. Stockton as key examples).

Scottie was also an exceptional scorer, topping 20 points per game four times in the '90s. No easy feat when you play alongside the league’s top scorer every season.

Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant

Here’s one that could sway the other way. 

Keep in mind this was a younger and more immature Kobe Bryant (is that even possible?  See…told you I was a Kobe hater) who thought 14,525,768,575 times before giving up a contested jump shot for a post entry feed to the Big Aristotle. 

Kobe may have been more talented and a better overall offensive-minded player than Scottie during the Lakers’ reign in the early 2000s, but given the lack of intellect and overall basketball IQ, the argument can be made for Scottie. 

I do hear this one the other way, though. 

Houston Rockets Clyde Drexler

During his brief stint with Houston in the 1994-95 season, Drexler did average more than 21.4 points per game, was elected All-NBA Third Team, and was a major factor in Houston’s title run. 

Still, the Glide’s accomplishments fall far short of Pippen’s when it comes to postseason play.

Seattle Supersonics Gary Payton

GP was coming into his own when Seattle faced Chicago in the 1996 Finals, topping an at the time career-high scoring average (21.8).

Payton was dominant defensively, but had limited range on his jumper and could not find a way to use his premier offensive ability, posting smaller guards, against Scottie in the Finals.

Some that fall way short…

Teams like the '90s Knicks (Starks), Spurs (Sean Elliot, or later with Duncan, an old David Robinson), Blazers (Porter), Rockets (Maxwell), Suns (KJ), Heat (Tim Hardaway), Pacers (Mark Jackson/Rik Smits), Magic (Young Penny), or the '00s Spurs (Parker/Manu), Nets (Martin), Sixers (Deke), Pistons (Wallaces), Celtics (Pierce), and Kings (Bibby/Peja) never had a role player that even compared to the great Scottie Pippen.

In fact, Pippen could be considered a superior all-time player than many of the above teams' premier players (Ewing, Billups, Kidd, Robinson, Mourning, Miller, Iverson, Kemp, and Webber).

Did Pippen receive any major accolades? 

Can you even recall a Scottie Pippen ad from the '90s? 

Another item that exemplifies Michael’s greatness was how he ended his career: The shot over Byron Russell (as noted by his undertone of revenge during the Hall of Fame speech).

Ummm…wait a tic …that’s not where he ended his career? 

That’s right…you almost forgo…didn’t you.

Michael Jordan ended his career with an insignificant 15-point performance in a pathetic Washington Wizards 20-point regular season loss.

What a memorable way to go.

Hmmm…sounds more like Mitch Richmond than Michael Jordan. 

Scratch that—Mitch Richmond actually ended his career winning a title for the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers.

Sorry Michael.

Jordan isn’t alone with the notion of ending your playing days on a low note. 

A list of many NBA greats, including Patrick Ewing (Orlando), Hakeem Olajuwon (Toronto), Dominique Wilkins (Orlando), and Moses Malone (Spurs, who by the way ended his career with a buzzer-beating 3-point shot from 80 feet—incredible), ended their career far past their prime.

It is the way in which Jordan both joined and ended his career with the Washington Wizards that make him standout.

Jordan was part owner of the Wizards in 2000, but elected to turn around a dismounting franchise…by playing for them.

Umm…Mr. Jordan…you’re not doing us any favors here.

Yes, he did donate his salary to the 9/11 fund, but Jordan hurt the Washington franchise for future development.

In 2001, the Wizards were coming off a paltry 19-win season and had some expensive contracts finally coming off the books (most notably Rod Strickland, Mitch Richmond, and Juwan Howard). 

They then won the 2001 lottery and the rights to the first pick of the draft. 

Sounds like the perfect script for a rebuilding franchise.

The Wizards just drafted a high school project (Kwame Brown), and had a nice up-and-coming two-guard already in place (Richard Hamilton). 

The best idea for the Wizards franchise was to develop their youth, snag a couple of top picks in the next several drafts, and become a contender in three-plus seasons.

Only Michael had other ideas. 

Jordan signed himself to the veteran minimum contract and in the process stunted the development of the franchise. 

Michael hired his former coach, Doug Collins (no coincidence that only under Collins’ reign in the '80s and not under Phil, did Jordan burst for his highest scoring averages) and used the extra cap space on a tired veteran (Christian Laettner) and a backup guard who had just excelled in one-half of an NBA Finals game (Tyrone Lue). 

These signings were indications that Jordan was determined to completely turn around the Wizards franchise, to a large extent, all by himself. 

Delusional Michael failed to realize that a major factor to his past successes should be attributed to Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, and physical grace. 

After his initial 37-win disappointing season, Michael tried to build himself another contender and dealt Washington’s premier prospect, Richard Hamilton, for the older Jerry Stackhouse. 

Of course the Wizards once again finished with 37 wins, and Hamilton would later lead the Detroit Pistons to a title of their own.

Washington became the worst thing for an NBA team, a perennial No. 9-11 seed. 

They would not be poor enough to finish with a high draft pick and could never accumulate enough talent for a deep post season run.

This can be somewhat comparable to the Cousy debacle of 1970. 

Bob Cousy was coaching the Cincinnati Royals, who were led by Hall of Fame do-it-all guard, Oscar Robertson. 

The Big O was a prolific scorer, but was restricted to playing point guard and delegating the basketball (rather than simply scoring it), since the team lacked an adequate floor general. 

Bob Cousy was 41-years-old, and like Michael, was determined to turn around an abysmal franchise.

Cousy decided to suit up for the Royals and play the point, allowing for Oscar to flourish in his natural two-guard role. 

Like Jordan, Cousy boosted ticket sales. 

Also like Jordan, Cousy was brash and arrogant, but was far worse than the player he was in his prime. 

And like Jordan, the experiment failed.

Two major differences, though, between Jordan’s tenure with the Wizards and that of Bob Cousy’s with the Cincinnati Royals.

One: The Royals actually needed a point guard. 

The original idea was to bolster ticket sales, but the notion of pairing Cousy alongside Robertson did warrant some credibility.

Second: Cousy was not the owner, but a mere coach and was asked by management to suit up for the team in order to boost ticket sales.

Conversely, Washington had no need for another wing (they already had Courtney Alexander and Richard Hamilton), and Jordan was the owner. 

He coerced his own return!

After the 1970 Royals debacle, Cousy would never coach an NBA team again, nor even work as a filler in someone's front office.

Meanwhile, look at Jordan now!  He’s running Basketball Operations for the Charlotte Bobcats. 

My deepest sympathies, Charlotte fans.

Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech was indeed an apropos ending. 

He started off his career brash and arrogant, and ended it tearing up a rebuilding franchise, all for the pursuit of his massive ego. 

Walk down the street; ask your co-worker, the paper boy, your neighbor: "who’s the greatest player of all-time?"

Without a doubt the overwhelming majority of fans consider Jordan for this honor. 

Most put him on a pedestal that is God-like.

Michael Jordan is arguably the best player of all time.  

He changed the game around the world: how it’s played and increased its overall appeal.

Still, let not us continually throw ridiculous anthropomorphism Jordan’s way, much of which he experienced his entire career. 

There are a few blemishes on this NBA legend, and we all need to recognize that.