Noyze
10-16-2016, 04:40 PM
One thing my favorite player Michael Jordan taught me a long time ago is that it's not about how many rings you win but how you do it. in 1990 if you asked fans who the greatest player of all time was the discussion was all over the place. Since we were fresh in the 90's the first names you'd get were Magic and Bird, but hardcore fans knew Kareem and Wilt were better, at least it was arguable. With push back Jordan would get mentioned too. The point is you'd get multiple names, but by the summer of 1993 it was pretty much definitive. Jordan was the greatest player of all time.
We gotta ask ourselves, why is that? Jordan had only 3 rings at the time. Magic had 5, Bird had 3, Kareem had 6, and he only had 1 more then Wilt. Well, part of it is because Jordan came in a different form then the players before him. Jordan's athletic ability made him seem elemental to us at the time. It stretched our imagination. There weren't as many players jumping that high at the time which helped raise him to an incredible level in the minds of the public.
Also he won 3 in a row. Something that hadn't been done in 20 years before him, a feat Bird and Magic weren't able to achieve. On average we as fans aren't fascinated by Kareem and Wilt. You can't identify with a 7 footer so you gravitate to the thing closest to you.
It's memorable performances to the ultimate goal that elevate a player in the minds of his peers and the fans. Jordan beat Magic in 91, goes up for a dunk with the right hand and switches mid air for a left hand layup. In 92 he shuts down the Drexler vs Jordan debate, scores 35 in the first half of game 1. In 93 he scores 55 against the Suns to help secure his 3rd championship in a row. The picture is in your mind, you remember the And 1 against Barkley, you remember Jordan shrugging his arms in somewhat disbelief after hitting his 6th three pointer in a row against Portland.
Although Jordan retired in 93, when he came back everything he did after that was just adding to his legacy. But he was already cemented as the greatest despite having less Rings then a few great players before him. It was the way it was done that captivated us.
The law of diminishing returns. In the NBA there are hundreds of players who jump as high as Jordan now. Hitting 6 three pointers in the first or 2nd half of a game is impressive still, but has been done a few times since then. The Lakers have won 3 in a row twice since The Bulls did it, almost 3 times. Miami almost got 3 in a row.
Our fascination today with rings today is borderline wreckless. One thing I argued in regards to Kobe chasing Jordan is that Kobe doesn't stretch our imagination, he just reminds us of the past. Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant (or any other great player you think can get to GOAT level) all come in a different form. When I watched Jordan's Imax movie in 1999 I remember at the end of it he said something like "there will be another player better then me." Not sure if he actually meant it at the time but it opened my eyes. "Oh shit, is this possible?" Indeed, there will be a greater player and he wont look like or play like Jordan. For the next great player, it wont be about how many Rings he has but what he does to get them that will elevate him to a status high enough to rival Michael Jordan.....In My Opinion.
We gotta ask ourselves, why is that? Jordan had only 3 rings at the time. Magic had 5, Bird had 3, Kareem had 6, and he only had 1 more then Wilt. Well, part of it is because Jordan came in a different form then the players before him. Jordan's athletic ability made him seem elemental to us at the time. It stretched our imagination. There weren't as many players jumping that high at the time which helped raise him to an incredible level in the minds of the public.
Also he won 3 in a row. Something that hadn't been done in 20 years before him, a feat Bird and Magic weren't able to achieve. On average we as fans aren't fascinated by Kareem and Wilt. You can't identify with a 7 footer so you gravitate to the thing closest to you.
It's memorable performances to the ultimate goal that elevate a player in the minds of his peers and the fans. Jordan beat Magic in 91, goes up for a dunk with the right hand and switches mid air for a left hand layup. In 92 he shuts down the Drexler vs Jordan debate, scores 35 in the first half of game 1. In 93 he scores 55 against the Suns to help secure his 3rd championship in a row. The picture is in your mind, you remember the And 1 against Barkley, you remember Jordan shrugging his arms in somewhat disbelief after hitting his 6th three pointer in a row against Portland.
Although Jordan retired in 93, when he came back everything he did after that was just adding to his legacy. But he was already cemented as the greatest despite having less Rings then a few great players before him. It was the way it was done that captivated us.
The law of diminishing returns. In the NBA there are hundreds of players who jump as high as Jordan now. Hitting 6 three pointers in the first or 2nd half of a game is impressive still, but has been done a few times since then. The Lakers have won 3 in a row twice since The Bulls did it, almost 3 times. Miami almost got 3 in a row.
Our fascination today with rings today is borderline wreckless. One thing I argued in regards to Kobe chasing Jordan is that Kobe doesn't stretch our imagination, he just reminds us of the past. Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant (or any other great player you think can get to GOAT level) all come in a different form. When I watched Jordan's Imax movie in 1999 I remember at the end of it he said something like "there will be another player better then me." Not sure if he actually meant it at the time but it opened my eyes. "Oh shit, is this possible?" Indeed, there will be a greater player and he wont look like or play like Jordan. For the next great player, it wont be about how many Rings he has but what he does to get them that will elevate him to a status high enough to rival Michael Jordan.....In My Opinion.