If you regard Jordan as a "god" and worship him there, he is perfect. In fact, he has always been worshiped like a "god". In the eyes of almost everyone who saw him play, he was flawless. Therefore, Larry Bird's famous saying has been circulating: Jordan is God wearing the No. 23 jersey.
As more people offered sacrifices, Jordan became more and more like a "god statue." There is a difference between "god" and "god". "Idols" are used to worship, far away from the world of mortals. The Jordan who became a "god statue" is not Jordan himself. It is an abstract concept without flesh and blood.
Most people still remember how Jordan ascended to the position of "god" and how many setbacks and failures he experienced. But when he reached the top and ascended to the altar, few people really recognized his appearance. In fact, Jordan has not changed, he is still himself, and it is the same quality that propels him to the "sacred altar" and dominates the basketball world. Later, he made the choice to retire for the second time, let the Bulls disperse, came back in Washington, retired three times, and became the general manager of the Bobcats, still relying on the same quality.
The current evaluation of Jordan often ignores his political achievements with the Wizards and Bobcats, because compared with the Bulls' two and three consecutive championships, it was just an inconspicuous job for a middle-aged man to kill time. . But for Jordan himself, he has not changed at all, but he has changed the battlefield and fought in the same way. In the Wizards and Bobcats, Jordan's performance was far inferior to that of playing in the Bulls. At this time, he was a third-rate manager. If you look at his playing and managing the team as a main line, Jordan's personality runs throughout. It is some unique elements in his personality that determine him to be the dominant player on the basketball court. It is also the same personality that determines that he needs to pay a long time to recognize this personality. negative.
The unique component of Jordan's personality is his "ego". After he "entered the Hall of Fame", he accepted an interview with ESPN and once said this: "Winter told me that there should be no 'ego' in the team, but I want to say that if you want to win, you must have 'Self.'"
When Jordan says "self," he uses the English "I." The same expression was used by Iverson. Today's fans prefer to put "I" on Iverson like a label. The fact may be this: Iverson's "self" is not as much as everyone imagines, and Jordan's "self" is not as little as everyone imagines.
As a role model for a team leader, Jordan twice won the championship with the last pass in the Finals, once to Paxson and once to Cole. Such stories and scenes have always been talked about, but what is more popular is Jordan's large number of personal heroic legends. The American media only remembers to use "team" to decorate Jordan's image when needed, or when his pass is framed as a victory. Jordan does not need this kind of decoration. Fortunately, he did not become famous after 2000. Otherwise, he would be like James, Kobe, Anthony, Wade and other new generation stars, carefully maintaining the image of a "team leader" at every turn. .
In the era when he first entered the NBA, commercial endorsements were not that developed. As a result, Jordan was able to express his nature on the basketball court. The two most prominent points in his nature are "self-awareness" and "aggressiveness." He has a very aggressive personality and a strong self-esteem; at the same time, when the fate of the team is challenged, his first choice is to stand up and take the lead. This personality made Jordan the number one idol surpassing all stars in the 1980s, even if the Bulls failed to make the playoffs and repeatedly lost to the Pistons when they did.
In Jordan's long career, there are many legends circulating, which is what the emerging basketball business needs most. Counting these stories, you can find that most of the classics have a strong color of "personal heroism". For example, when he dunked on Ewing's head, the photo that was fixed as a poster was widely circulated. In fact, Jordan dunked on many people's heads, but Ewing was the representative of high center, just like Yao Ming now.
Jordan repeatedly scored high points to defeat the Cavaliers, causing Cleveland fans to still cheer him when he played away games for the Wizards. In the NBA, New York's Madison Square Garden was the most exciting venue for Jordan, where he scored 55 points after his first comeback. Playing the Finals twice with the Jazz, the most memorable thing for fans is a game and a scene: that game was when Jordan scored 38 points after having a fever, and that scene was when Russell was knocked down before the last shot.
The more challenging it is, the more excited it becomes, which is a typical expression of Jordan's character. Stackhouse was just starting out and did not take Jordan as a senior in his eyes. He threatened to defeat him in the same game. Such words were published in the newspapers. Jordan didn't say a word, and was even more terrifyingly silent during training. In the game, he pursued Stackhouse with all his strength, allowing him to score only 13 points, while he scored 38 points. Until 2001, when Jordan was with the Wizards and played away games in Detroit, he still didn't let Stackhouse go. Obviously, there is a strong revenge mentality buried behind his "personal heroism". It is this character trait that allows Jordan to perform high-profile performances every time he encounters a strong enemy, and will never disappoint the fans. It was also because of this unwillingness to admit defeat that Jordan finally won the first championship by stepping on the Pistons. What inspired him was not only the fact that he had lost to the Pistons in every playoff before, but also the Pistons' "Jordan Rules". "This defensive strategy, which is completely targeted at him, stimulates his nerves.
From "personal heroism" to the Bulls winning "three consecutive championships", Jordan's personality has become increasingly mature in the success that has followed. However, the essential component of his personality will not change, which is a strong sense of self and autonomy. In fact, four years after he joined the Bulls, general manager Krause asked Winter to introduce the "triangle offense" in order to increase Jordan's one-on-one times at the basket through teamwork. Krause said that in the first four years, Jordan did not have the opportunity to play in isolation at the basket, and it was Winter's tactics that provided the possibility. But after Jordan won his third championship, he judged that there was no challenge on the basketball court, so he chose to retire in order to find new excitement on the baseball field. Facts have proved that his choice was wrong, he only belongs to the basketball team.
The Bulls that won the first three championships were far from as mature and dominant as they were in the last three championships. After experiencing the failure of "changing careers", Jordan became more aware of the value of the team, which led to an unbeatable record of 72 wins and 10 losses. But after winning two more championships, Jordan's "self-awareness" once again dominated his choices and determined the fate of the Bulls for more than ten years. In the summer of 1997, general manager Klaus persuaded Jordan to continue playing with the revamped Bulls to help the team complete the replacement of old and new players in the shortest possible time. However, "Zen Master" Jackson and Pippen were not in Klaus's blueprint. within. Jordan angrily took himself as a "hostage" and threatened Krause to keep Pippen and renew Jackson's contract, otherwise the three of them would advance and retreat together. Klaus reluctantly agreed to Jordan's request and won his sixth championship. But then the Bulls did as Krause expected, Jordan and his comrades retreated collectively, and Chicago basketball has not turned around for more than ten years.
Jordan chose Washington for his second comeback, not to show off his skills, but to quickly get the Wizards on track. At this time, his identity is not so much an NBA player as a manager. In order to prevent the team's salary from being too high, he only received a symbolic salary of US$1 million. Jordan took managing a team as a new challenge because there was nothing to prove in playing basketball. He deliberately avoided becoming the coach of this team and chose Collins, the original Bulls coach, as head coach. Jordan said he would never be a head coach, but he couldn't stand the Wizards' young players being so miserable. At first, Jordan put on training clothes and practiced one-on-one with his men, hoping to "step by step" teach the players to mature. Later, he finally couldn't help it and put on the No. 23 jersey again.
At this time, Jordan is nearly 39 years old. Instead of treating him as a veteran coming back, it is better to regard him as a rookie coming back, because the essence of his comeback is to manage the team.
For those two years of playing experience, two completely opposite evaluations can be made: Jordan fans talk about the joy brought by the "Flying Man". At the age of 41, he is still more dominant than many young people in their 20s. This is something he was successful; as a manager, he failed to lead the team on the road by words and deeds. The "number one pick" Kwame Brown proved to be a parallel import. Hamilton had a bad relationship with him. The Wizards are no better than in the past.
The selection mistakes Jordan made with the Wizards continued with the Bobcats. The current Bobcats team was formed by him. A few years later, he sent away the newcomers he personally selected one by one and started all over again. In the early days of the Bobcats, just like in Washington, Jordan tried to stimulate his subordinates by training with them. Later, he found that it was useless, so he announced that he would never train again. Jordan challenged them with the same unyielding energy and strong self-awareness. The difficulty of running a team is obviously far less than being able to play with ease. The ball is in the hands of others instead of his own, which makes him feel helpless. But what makes Jordan more mature than in the past is that he chose Larry Brown to be the head coach of the Bobcats. This may be the only correct decision since he became a manager.
Managing the team is Jordan's second career. Only by linking this period with his heroic performance and making a comprehensive evaluation can we have a deeper understanding of Jordan. At this time, the "flying man" stepped down from the "sacred altar" and returned to the essence of an ordinary person. He is still so simple, competitive, and never admits defeat. He still persists in this character after experiencing the failures of the Wizards and Bobcats. This is what is admirable about Jordan. Most superstars have long since disappeared into the world of mortals, either enjoying themselves or falling into despair. Only Jordan still faces challenges head-on. He has long passed the age of "no doubts", and he will know his "destiny" in more than three years, but I would rather believe that Jordan will still succeed. Just as he once gave us the belief that we must win on the court, Jordan still uses his persistence to Let us believe.