NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 52 Unprecedented and unprecedented (1)

"David, I need to work, I need to practice, I need to play."

"What if we could create a working environment for you where you could still make movies?"

"Make it for me."

In the summer of 1995, Jordan went to Hollywood to participate in the filming of the movie "Space Jam".He made an agreement with his agent David Falk in advance: It is impossible for me not to touch basketball for eight weeks in order to make a movie. I must train normally. I want to be able to play in the Warner Bros. Don't make this movie.

As a result, Warner Bros. Films actually built a new gymnasium the size of a parking lot, with air conditioning, card tables, a stereo system, all kinds of exercise equipment, and everything Jordan needed.In this way, Jordan can go to the gymnasium to practice strength during lunch time, and then go to practice ball from 09:30 pm to [-]:[-], making movies and playing basketball without delay.

Not only Jordan alone, many players from NBA and college joined in.Friends Oakley is naturally indispensable, Reggie Miller (Reggie Miller) and Chris Mills (Chris Mills) are never absent, the magician showed up on the last day, Tim Hardaway (Tim Hardaway), Larry Famous players such as Larry Johnson, Rod Strickland and Grant Hill also appeared successively.Jordan knew why these guys came—they were all there to learn, to get a feel for how Jordan played in order to compete next season, and that was their strategy.And Jordan actually had the same intentions, and when he was helping them, they were helping him.Through these informal workouts, Jordan could sense that his peak form was rapidly returning.

At the same time, with the help of trainer Grover, Jordan also did some unique physical training to make up for the loss caused by aging and short retirement.Close friends also noticed that Jordan worked extra hard on his mid-range jumper, especially the fadeaway, which has since become his most important scoring tool.

Fadeback jumpers often start with their backs to the basket. Jordan will get the opponent's defensive player behind him, dribble and carry the ball. When he stops the ball, it is often accompanied by shaking of his shoulders. When he stopped the opponent and caused the opponent to hesitate even for a moment, Jordan turned around and took off to shoot.The action before take-off is by no means the same. In the process of luring and forcing the opposing defender to lose his center of gravity, Jordan’s choices are ever-changing. He can fake left and turn right, or fake right and turn left. The angle of the turn, The speed, range, position, timing, and rhythm of the jump are all in the flash, as you like.

After taking off, Jordan usually shoots quickly in the air, because it is difficult for the opposing defender to react so quickly and interfere with his shooting vision with his hands.Of course, even if the defensive players really react fast enough, Jordan can also rely on his extraordinary ability to stay in the air to make adjustments, leaning back as much as possible, and throwing the ball when it almost falls. Bob McAdoo, the former scoring champion in the NBA and now an assistant coach in the Heat, said: "He is so high in the air that he can shoot over any guard in the league, and he can even shoot at any [-]rd position (small forward). ) on the head."

Jordan is not the first person to create the technique of the backward jumper, but to maintain the stability of the shooting and to practice the backward jumper to the point of perfection, a lot of repetitions are required, and muscle memory needs to be built.After unremitting practice, Jordan finally established himself later in his career as the best and most elegant master of the fade-away jumper who has ever lived.

All the efforts during the offseason are targeted, and it is a compromise of a superman to the ruthless years.Jordan understands that he has entered another stage of his sports career, and he can no longer conquer the world by relying on extraordinary physical fitness, but must use wisdom, experience, knowledge, and skills to supplement the loss of his body.He is indeed getting older, but he is also getting smarter, his basketball skills have become more refined, and his gestures are refined.

After this summer, his competitive state has returned to the peak, and along with it is a relatively peaceful mental state.Bulls insiders feel that after returning to the basketball court from the baseball field, Jordan has become easier to get along with.Before switching to baseball, Jordan's life had been going uphill, and he experienced a disastrous defeat in the professional baseball league. This may be the first time since he lost the school team in his sophomore year that he found that there were things he couldn't control.The ballpark experience changed Jordan, making him more forgiving.In the past, Jordan was always very strict with his teammates. He always felt that his teammates did not work hard enough and did not go all out. But in fact, almost no one can compare with him in talent. Jordan used his own standards to measure his teammates, which was sometimes too harsh.Now, Jordan has become less mean. His only requirement for his new teammates is to train hard and play hard-he still can't tolerate someone who is lazy in training and games.

The complete change of Jordan's mentality was also thanks to Steve Kerr getting that punch.

It was the Bulls' preseason training camp, an intra-team confrontation, and the main force was on the bench.The bench was beaten badly, and Jordan kept talking trash on the court. "He's the leader, and he's going to let everybody know who's the leader," Kerr later recalled. "I don't have a problem accepting him as the leader, that's obvious. But I think, maybe in my opinion, he's a little After that, I feel like I have to defend my dignity." Then, the confrontation intensified, Jordan's trash talking continued, and then Kerr and Jordan fought.It was the first and only fight in Cole's life.

Cole is 3 inches (7cm to 8cm) shorter than Jordan and 35 pounds (16kg) lighter, so he would definitely suffer in a fight.He was blacked out by Jordan's punch, and of course he punched Jordan a few times before his teammates pulled the two apart. "Obviously, he could have killed me," Kerr joked. "It was crazy. I left the practice field, but as soon as I got home, he left me a message on the phone saying he was upset."

According to Phil Jackson later in the book "The Eleven Commandments", punching Cole was a huge warning to Jordan. "It made me look at myself and say, 'You know what? You're an idiot through this whole process,'" Jordan recalled. "I knew I had to respect my teammates more."

Since then, Jordan and Kerr have had a great relationship. "I think I earned his respect," Kerr said. "From that day on, Michael saw me differently. He never picked on me again. He never talked trash to me. On the court he Started to trust me too."

When the Bulls were eliminated by the Magic in 1995, someone asked Jordan: The young Magic team looks so scary, so invincible, is a new era of the NBA coming?Jordan did not agree, he said: "We are only short of a rebounder, and we are short of a power forward."

The Bulls did not have a reliable and powerful center. After Grant left, the restricted area became even weaker, and rebounding was a big problem.Over the years, the big men they picked in the draft have proven to be useless, so the most important job for the front office in the summer of 1995 was to find a power forward with size, strength, quickness, and rebounding skills. .

There is a perfectly qualified power forward option on the market.This person is extremely talented, is a top rebounder, and is also very good defensively, who can meet the various needs of the Bulls.The problem is that he has a weird personality and is deviant. He is regarded as a "coach killer" or "team killer" in the NBA. If he is not well disciplined, he may destroy the team atmosphere and become a bomb buried inside.The power forward's name is Dennis Rodman.

Rodman was formerly a member of Detroit's "Bad Boys", a long-term enemy of the Bulls, and has two championship rings in his hands.At this time, he was playing for the Spurs.In San Antonio, Rodman did not follow the rules, flouted discipline, dressed in strange clothes, was late for training, and there were a lot of off-court lace news. During the 1995 playoffs, he seemed closer to pop diva Madonna than he was to basketball.The Spurs had had enough of his rebellious behavior and fined him multiple times. In the 1995 Western Conference Finals, in the fifth game of Tianwangshan, Rodman was late for training by more than half an hour the day before, and was late for more than half an hour on the day of the game. He played off the bench, which resulted in the Spurs' failure.All in all, Rodman is a thorn in the side, a big problem, and the Spurs can't wait to get rid of this burden.

"Chicago Sun Times" columnist Rick Telander (Rick Telander) interviewed Krause and asked: Will the Bulls introduce a power forward through a trade?Klaus asked Trand: Are there any candidates?Trand casually mentioned Rodman, and Klaus immediately showed an exaggerated expression on his face, denying repeatedly: "No, no, absolutely impossible, not the kind of person we want."

Indeed, many teams at the time were unwilling—or afraid—to have someone like Rodman, but Rodman's ability was not uncoveted.Bucks general manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy is chasing Rodman and has a good chance to get Rodman, and the Spurs seem to be interested in doing this deal with the Bucks.Dunleavy flew to meet with Rodman and offered Rodman an attractive incentive contract: for every point Rodman scored in the game, he could get $1000; Get $1000; every minute you play, you get the same $1.Based on his outstanding seasons, Rodman can earn about $1000 million a year, which is a very good salary in that era, and Rodman himself is very satisfied with it.However, before Dunleavy left, the phone rang, and it was Klaus.

There are three favorable conditions for the Bulls to compete for Rodman: first, the ability to compete for the championship, Rodman still has the enthusiasm to win the championship; A cynical person like Mann would not want to stand on the opposite side of Jordan, and would not be willing to be the target of people's hostility; third, Phil Jackson, whose coaching style is more flexible and flexible than ordinary coaches, perhaps the entire basketball The best coach for Rodman in the world.

Klaus asked Jackson: What do you think about the introduction of Rodman?Jackson replied: This is not just a coach's decision, this is a team's decision, because no matter how well you do, problems will inevitably occur, so the team leaders have to express their opinions.

Jackson talked with Jordan and Pippen, and both captains expressed their support for the introduction of Rodman.In fact, Jordan's attitude was clearer than Pippen's.In Jordan's view, the past is over. He and Pippen both know how hard Rodman plays, and that Rodman can provide the Bulls with the rebounding and inside defense they desperately need.

Jackson also called Chuck Daly.Jackson actually had more concerns about his reputation as "selfish" than Rodman's personality.Jackson heard some coaches who worked with Rodman say that Rodman was obsessed with rebounding. In order to grab more rebounds, he would try to get as close to the basket as possible in his defensive position, and he was not willing to help his teammates defend.Daly told Jackson: Rodman is indeed a bit selfish in terms of rebounding, but even so, he is still a player who works extremely hard and is willing to follow the coach's instructions.

Daly knew Rodman, and to Rodman, Daly was incredibly important.Rodman lacked paternal love since he was a child. His father, Philander Rodman, was an Air Force pilot. When he was very young, Philander abandoned him and his mother, Shirley Rodman. And his two younger sisters.Rodman joined the Pistons as an adult, and Daly played the father role to some extent.From the beginning, Daly recognized Rodman's ability and appreciated his enthusiasm.Daly told him: If you can work hard on defense and rebounding, and do things that others are unwilling to do, you can survive in the league for a long time and live a good life. Daly left the Pistons in 1992, and Rodman was deeply shocked.

Later, Rodman was very depressed in the Spurs, and he also talked to Daly.Once, when Daly and Rodman met at a Chicago steakhouse, Rodman looked sullen.He was labeled a bad boy in San Antonio, and at the same time, he was very dissatisfied with the contract offered by the Spurs.Rodman complained: "Coach, I don't know what to do. I found a new agent, I was the best defensive player of the year, I was an All-Star defensive player, I was always the best player in the league. I've done everything they asked me to do as a rebounder and still no one knows who I am and they're still only paying me $200 million a year. They tell you they want you to play like this, Wants you to give up yourself for the team, wants you to do all the dirty work, and when they pay you, it doesn't seem like it matters at all." Rodman paused, then added: "I I have to reform myself."

From then on, Daly believes, a new Rodman emerged.He began to deviant, using tattoos, dyeing his hair to show his personality, and deliberately showing some gay-oriented lifestyle.These are learned from Madonna.Rodman himself is a bit eccentric, and now adding more human factors, in order to cater to the special culture of a certain group of people, thereby enhancing his own value.This set has had many successful cases in the field of music, regardless of style, and Rodman wants to blaze a trail in the field of sports.

Beneath the weird appearance, Rodman is actually childish and shy.His teammate in Detroit, John Salley, had a very close relationship with him. When Salley first met Rodman, he also thought Rodman was a bit strange.At that time, the two were jointly invited to play an exhibition game in Hawaii and were arranged to live in the same room.When Sally walked into the room for the first time on a sunny day, she found her new roommate wrapped in a blanket watching cartoons, with the air conditioner on full blast and the TV blaring.Rodman was obviously very cold by the air conditioner, but he didn't intend to get up and turn it off.Sally was extroverted by nature. He tried to talk to Rodman, and Rodman replied with only one or two words.When Sally said something again, Rodman still replied with one or two words.Sally tried for the third time, Rodman's answer was still short, Sally finally gave up, and the two couldn't talk.It wasn't until he became a teammate in the Pistons and got along with him for a long time that Sally believed that what he saw was the real Rodman: shy, not good at dealing with people, nervous, and reticent.

The friends Rodman met in Detroit were the ones who really knew him.When they meet again, they will make fun of Rodman's tattoos and colorful hair.For example, a former teammate would say: "Come on, Dennis, what's the matter with this hair?" Rodman replied: "I know, I know, I'm just trying to make money."

When Rodman met Maureen Malone, the wife of former Pistons assistant coach Brendan Malone, Maureen would say: "Hey, Dennis, I see you have deceived a lot of people recently." Rodman Man looked embarrassed when he was caught on the spot, and smiled and said to his friends: "Look, I didn't fool her."

Sometimes it looks like Rodman is an adult whose mental world is stuck in childhood.He communicates very well with children, but poorly with adults.In fact, he seems to have a better relationship with his coach's kids than with many of his teammates.After becoming a star in Detroit, Rodman bought a big house filled with various game consoles. Teenagers in the neighborhood often flocked to him to play pinball and Pac-to-Man with him. people.

(End of this chapter)