Chicago Bulls Legend Michael Jordan’s Legacy Has Roots In Boston
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But he did circle back to his 63 points against the Celtics in the 1986 playoffs, a performance that inspired Larry Bird to proclaim, “I think it’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.” That expression of appreciation and acceptance from one of his contemporaries, Jordan said, propelled him.
“Up to that point, there were so many media guys saying, ‘Yeah, he’s good, but he’s not in the same class as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird,’” Jordan said. “And here in that game, I earned Larry Bird’s respect. And to me, that said I was on the right track to becoming a better basketball player. … He gave me the type of confidence that I needed at that level from a player. That to me was the biggest compliment I had at that particular time.
“After the so-called freeze-out [at the 1985 All-Star Game] and a lot of other things and a lot of competitive jealousies within the league,” Jordan said, “coming from him, that said I was doing the right things on the basketball court.”
Jordan from his retirement speech courtesy of CBS sportsline Mike Berger.
It amazes me how one moment can truly be the catapult to great things. Being from Boston, I always wondered how much this moment meant to Jordan. I remember being captivated at this young man dropping otherworldly shots against the vaunted Celtics defense and being floored. The performance was awe inspiring. Nobody did that to the 86 Celtics.
During his hall of fame speech, I heard him speak those words. You truly realize the grip the man has on the way people viewed him, history of the game, and his place now. Jordan knew he was entrenched in the Shadow of Bird and Magic Johnson. The All Star Game Freeze out by Zeke Thomas (Isaiah Jealous of another talent? Does not sound like him, Right?) left Jordan’s confidence shaken. I find it amazing that the man I feel embodies confidence and winning was shaken. Larry Bird to the rescue?
Bird was never a guy that was warm to the opposition, but he knew the greatness he witnessed in Jordan. Larry saw a man that was as competitive as him and respected that. I guess he knew the feeling on Jordan and gave him a friendly rub. People forget Jordan was viewed early on as a guy that scored, played D, but was not a winner or a team player. He was young and played in the shadows of Bird and Johnson. He would swallow the ball and keep shooting. People saw his stats and looked for a way to rip him. After that moment, it was O.k. to be like Mike. It was all of a sudden understood he did not have much a team around him and he needed to shoot. When he got better players around him, he differed a little. This helped shed the previous image a little more and made him that much more dangerous. However, I wonder with his psyche wounded and confidence slightly being questioned, would he have spring boarded himself if Larry had not opened his mouth with kind words. I believe he would have found his moment eventually. Cream rises to the top, but I believe it is cool that Larry Legend did have a role in the evolution of Jordan.
Seeing how Jordan responded to Larry and Magic’s shadow also makes me think of current players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James playing in the shadow of Jordan. At least they are not playing at the same time like Jordan did with Bird and Johnson. Will the future be as kind to them as it was to Mike? Probably not because Jordan’s image is that of the unstoppable force with his six rings, gold medals, MVPs, and persona of I am the guy that is winning Period!
Kobe has the titles and is the closest thing to Jordan, but he still does not give me the aura of invincibility like Jordan did. In Kobe’s defense his competitive fire is strong. Jordan is just a hair better. Kobe is great and will go down as the best of his generation, but not at Jordan’s level because of the 08 title loss to Boston in his prime. I cannot see Jordan losing like Kobe did in game six. Ever. He also is not as physically big as Jordan. Jordan had a slightly lager frame to work with and made him able to overpower more opponents than Bryant. However, genetics are not Jordan’s fault and he used them to his advantage.
LeBron has not turned into a winner, yet and I wonder if his move to Miami will change that. LeBron just does not have that it factor. The fact he constantly needs to hype himself up, ran away to Miami, and has to call himself the “King” on the court shows me that LeBron lacks the confidence in him to be the man. Can you ever picture Jordan saying he left the Bulls after losing to the Pistons saying on the way out I did not want to be 30 years old with bad knees and zero rings? Jordan never would have joined a team like that. He wanted to kill his competition. Knowing greats like Barkley, Malone, Stockton, and Ewing did not win rings because of his greatness makes Jordan the competitor smile. Jordan said it himself; he wanted to beat the best. LeBron just does not understand that kind of competitive fire.
Bottom line there is only One Michael Jordan. There never will be one quite like him and in 1986 maybe Larry was the first to really see and comment on it from a player’s perspective. Perhaps Jordan’s legacy is not as great ,if not for Bird. Score another one for Bird.
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