Twelve years after his third and final retirement, everyone still wants to be "Like Mike." At this year's NBA All-Star spectacle last week in New York, slam dunk champion Zach Lavine of the Minnesota Timberwolves wore with pride the no. 23 Looney Toons jersey of MJ. And even though the names of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant have cropped up, 'His Airness' is beyond compare in terms of passion on winning.
Already past his prime, Michael Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. At that age, he averaged a mind-boggling .445 field goal percentage, making 679 of 1,527 shots during his final comeback year with the Washington Wizards. He almost towed the struggling Wizards in qualifying for the playoffs during the 2002-2003 season. By the end of the season, the Wizards finished with a decent 37-45 record. In a fitting end to what had been an illustrious career, Jordan was the only Wizard to see action in all 82 games, averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 37.0 minutes per game. He scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30-plus nine times, and at least 40 points three times. His desire to win does not end during an NBA game. Even on pick-up, off-season game, and All-Star games, he always gave his best shot. Most probably that's the reason why his desire to win stretches through the world of gambling. He even once bribed an airport employee to win a bet with teammates over whose luggage would be the first to roll off the baggage conveyor.
Jordan started his career as offensive player known for his spectacular dunks and tongue-lashing drives to the basket. He was not known to be an outside or a 3-point threat nor a defensive player during the early years of his pro journey. But every season, he polished his skills and has always shown vast improvements on all facets of the game. He worked hard during off-season and comes back better and stronger the next season. He is best at that. Evolving into an all-round hardcourt machine, he was chosen nine times to the all-defensive team and once crowned as defensive player of the year. He had his personal best 3-point field goal percentage of .427 during a breakout season in 1995-96 where he powered the Chicago Bulls to an NBA record of 72 wins against only 10 losses. Nineteen years after, it still stands as an all-time best.
Sad to say that looking at the present crop of talents, it seems to me that there will be no next Michael Jordan. That is partly because most of the young guns today in the NBA are recruited based on their potentials. They are being paid millions and millions of dollars based on potential. Jordan, in an interview with OPRAH, said:“If you look back on the era of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they earned what they got. Then the corporate sponsors came to them because they have a game to validate or back it up. But the young guns now get corporate sponsors even before playing one game. In essence, they are being paid based on potential. They maybe great, but it creates a bad work ethic when you get something so easily you don’t work as hard”.
On the business side, Jordan, who turned 52 years old last February 17, single-handedly transform Nike from a fledgling shoe company into a worldwide giant that it is now today. Brand Jordan generates a whopping $500 million in sales a year for Nike.
The debate on who will be the next Michael Jordan is never ending. But it is beyond argument that Jordan has left an indelible mark in the basketball planet that is hard to equal, much more surpass by any of the present crop of stars, and perhaps the future generation. Just take a look at these figures - six championship rings, 10 scoring titles, six Finals and five regular season MVP trophies, three-time leader in steals, and one-time Defensive Player of the Year. Overall in his career, he logged impressive averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals.
To wrap up everything, let me borrow a quote from Lenny Wilkens, one of the winningest coaches in NBA history, that said:"People come and go but there will never be another Michael Jordan."
SIDELINE:Congratulations to the Durabend PPR Pipes-sponsored UAP-Datu Lapu-Lapu Chapter for winning the championship of the United Architects Basketball Club (UABC) last Sunday. It's been five years since the team won its last crown.