Since it’s you- know- who’s birthday today, I decided to pay homage to the man who helped me develop a love for the game of basketball and sports in general. Michael Jeffery Jordan turns 47 today, and amidst all of the NBA trade rumors, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on just what MJ meant to me growing up, and why he’s still the greatest. My first vivid memory of Jordan was the ‘87 dunk contest in Seattle. I attended a Lakers-Bulls game at the old Chicago Stadium in 1985, but other than a picture of my father and me, I really don’t remember. That dunk contest on a Saturday afternoon got me hooked on basketball, Jordan and the Bulls. I had my Air Jordan’s on, while watching the event with my dad in our basement, imitating all of Jordan’s dunks on the little hoop we had growing up. That was the day my love for basketball started, and thanks to MJ, it has continued to this day.

Michael Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo in Game 5 of the '89 1st round Playoffs put Jordan and the Bulls on the map. The best was yet to come.

If I ever got the chance to sit down and talk with Jordan, I have always known what I would say. I would tell him what it meant to me just to watch him play. When you can remember where you watched specific games in someone’s career, that means something. I made it a point to watch as many Bulls games as I could. Hell, even up through the final championship run, I was still doing it. I skipped the day after prom mini getaway my senior year because it was Pacers-Bulls Game 1 of the ‘98 Eastern Conference Finals. I wasn’t missing that, are you kidding? Plus, at that time, I was the complete opposite of smooth when it came to the ladies, so it wasn’t like I was getting anywhere with my date. Jordan was one of the few athletes that you made appointment-viewing. The same thing happened in June of ‘91 when I skipped a birthday party to stay home and watch Game 5 of the ‘91 Finals. “The Bulls are clinching tonight”, I told my mother. And, so it was, I didn’t go to the birthday party. Maybe it was the age I was at the time, but that’s how I was. Mike Tyson in his prime had a similar effect, but he only fought maybe 3-4 times a year in the ‘87-90 years. Michael made people, who normally didn’t give two craps about basketball, love it. My dad always hated hoops, but Jordan made him care about the Bulls. How many athletes have that effect on people? The list is short, and Jordan is on it. Hell, he is the list. When my grandfather was sick and in the hospital, some of our family were in the cafeteria hanging out and watching the Bulls.  We were all sad because my grandfather was sick, but for that hour, or so, we kind of forgot what was going on and just enjoyed the game. My cousin said to us at the time “If he only knew that just watching him play was an escape right now”. That’s part of what made Jordan so special. That and the 6 NBA Titles, 4 MVP’s, 10-time All NBA, ‘88 Defensive Player of the Year, 2-time Olympic Gold medalist, ‘85 Rookie of the Year, 6-time Finals MVP, and 9-time All Defensive 1st team awards. Oh yea, and one really bad movie “Space Jam”. Easily in the top 10 of bad sports movies. It’s ahead of Caddyshack 2, but barely. His creativity, his ability in the clutch, and his force of will are all part of what makes him the greatest basketball player of all-time.

The torch was officially passed from Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan in June of '91. Jordan's Bulls completed the first ever 5 game sweep in NBA history and the championship run was on...

People forget that the NBA in the late 70’s and early 80’s was riddled with bad guys, a massive coke problem, and a worse image problem. Even worse, the ‘80 Finals were shown on tape delay. Think how bad it was when most of the country didn’t even see Magic Johnson’s 42 point, 15 rebound, 7 assist performance in Game 6 of the Finals on live TV?!! Magic Johnson and Larry Bird took the league of that ditch and put it back on the map. Then Michael came along and the league became the most popular American professional sports league in the world. Jordan came along when globalization was occurring, and his popularity made him the most famous athlete of all time. This happened not only because of his talents, but because he was genuine. Since Jordan retired for the first time in ‘93, the NBA has seen it’s fair share of the “Next Jordan”, whether it was Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, or LeBron James. The NBA has been looking for that next guy. Keep looking. As Charles Barkley once said about Bryant….”He ain’t Michael Jordan!” In movie terms, Jordan was Goodfellas, while Bryant, James, VC, and Hill are The Italian Job. Jordan was unique because he was real. He wasn’t chasing a ghost like so many of today’s stars are. Jordan came into the league as the next Dr. J, and Michael used to say “I don’t want to be the next Dr. J, I want to be the first Michael Jordan”. That happened in April of ‘86 when Jordan dropped the Celtics (The whitest team ever) off for 63 points in Game 2 of the 1st round at the old Boston Garden. That game is on the Jordan list of “Whenever it’s on, I’m watching” games. He was no longer the next Dr. J. He was now the NBA’s marquee performer, and it was only getting started. The league was well out of the coke embattled era, and the Jordan era would make a ton of people rich. From David Stern, to Jerry Reinsdorf, to Bulls, to the bums that got paid because Jordan made them look better than they were, to entire league itself. Magic and Larry got it started, and Michael took it to limits nobody thought was possible.

Former Bulls GM Jerry Krause used to tell Jordan that if he was guarded by Dan Majerle regularly, he would never score with the ease he did. Jordan remembered that and set an NBA Finals record by averaging 41 points per game vs Majerle and the Suns in 1993.

The Blade and I used to talk about which was the best Jordan– what year  Jordan was at his peak. We settled on ‘93 Jordan for various reasons. 1. still at his physical best. 2. he had already started to perfect the fadeaway that he mastered post baseball.  3. he was a champion, and was, more than anything, driven to do what Magic and Larry never did……3-Peat. Embroiled in a gambling controversy during the ‘93 Playoffs, Jordan was at his best. After the Bulls swept the Hawks 3-0, and the Cavs (Again on a Jordan game winner) the Bulls were set to square off against the rival Knicks. The Knicks had rebuilt their roster from the previous year (added Charles Smith and Doc Rivers while subtracting Xavier Mcdaniel, Mark Jackson, and Gerald Wilkins. To this day I think the ‘92 Knicks were better, but that’s Pat Riley). The Knicks thought they finally had the team to beat Jordan. Down 2-0 in the series, the Bulls showed why they were champs as they blew out the thugs in Game 3, which was followed by Jordan’s 54 point explosion in Game 4. Scottie Pippen turned away Charles Smith 3 times in the finals seconds of Game 5, and Jordan and the boys finished off the Knicks in Game 6 despite a book detailing Jordan’s gambling problems coming out that same day. The resilience Jordan showed during that series was remarkable. He couldn’t even get away to Atlantic City between Games 1-2 without it being national news. That was taking it’s toll on Jordan, and he began a media boycott during that series. It wasn’t just sweet beating the Knicks again, but beating Spike Lee AGAIN? That was sweet. Spike was New York’s mush. He continued his dominance regardless in the Finals against Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns. His point totals for the 6 games…….31, 42, 44, 55, 41, and 33. He was at his best when it mattered the most. Part of the reason why that ‘93 Bulls team is one of their two best teams is that they beat the Knicks and Suns without home court advantage. Throw in the fact that the NBA got sick of giving him the MVP every year, and instead, decided to give it to Barkley, only fed Jordan’s fire. The Suns may have been the more talented team that year, but the cardinal rule in the NBA is if you have the best player you win. The Bulls had Michael Jordan……they won and became the first team in 27 years to win 3 NBA Championships in a row. So, if I’m picking the best Jordan of all-time, give me the ‘93 version and I’ll take my chances.

One can’t be considered the greatest without proof. Jordan’s stats back up the talk, and some of his post retirement stats stand out. After Jordan was suspended for gambling, (yes that’s what happened. Allegedly anyway…) he came back in the spring of ‘95 a different player. He wasn’t the same ultra athletic freak that lead the league in scoring from ‘87-’93. He went from being a power pitcher to a finesse pitcher, who relied on pinpoint control. He had revamped his game, yet was still the best player on the planet. After the horrible playoff loss to Orlando, Jordan started a month earlier than usual in his preparation for the ‘95-’96 season. Not only did the Bulls go 72-10  and win a title, but Jordan won his 4th MVP, and returned to his rightful place atop the NBA as the leagues best player.

From November of 1990 through the ‘98 title run, the Bulls never lost 3 games in a row with Jordan. He may have lost some athleticism, but not durability. He played in 310 out of 310 possible games post baseball, averaged his customary 30 points per game, and 33 plus in the playoffs from ‘95-’98. He battled minor back issues, knee tendonitis, and the common wear and tear, but he was there every night. No athlete has come back at age 32 and been that durable. He wasn’t only the game’s best player, but he was also it’s hardest worker.

This should have been the final Michael Jordan moment. He carried the Bulls in Game 6 of the '98 NBA Finals with 45 points. His layup, steal of Karl Malone, and 17-foot jumper is the best end of game sequence in Finals history.

Michael Jordan was genuine. There was nothing fake about who he was. Was he perfect? Hell no. The women, the gambling, the God awful Kwame Brown pick, the close 2nd Adam Morrison pick, the Hall of Fame speech, all of those things showed he’s human like anyone else. You could put Jordan in a room with anybody in the world, and he would own the room. Put him in a room with Ali in his prime, Dimaggio, Jim Brown, Magic, Bird, Ronald Reagan, and Babe Ruth, and he would be as much in his element as any of them. Take away the fame, the money, the endorsements, and he would still be the same MJ. In a world devoid of sports heroes today, I’m glad I grew up in the Jordan era. He put Chicago back on the map once the Bears fizzled out after their lone SuperBowl championship in January of ‘86. He gave people a reason to hold their heads high, and say, yea, the Cubs might suck, but we have Michael Jordan. He remains the best basketball player the world has ever seen. Chicago will always be a Bears town, but this city changed forever when David Stern and his hideous mustache uttered the famous words…..”The Chicago Bulls Pick…Michael Jordan”. The city of broad shoulders would never again be viewed as the 2nd city, not as long as number 23 was in town. The city of Chicago wouldn’t be the same after Jordan showed up, and neither would the skinny little kid wearing his Air Jordan’s watching a dunk contest with his dad. Do you have a short memory? I got your back……