NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 69 Remember Why I Write Jordan?

Bill Simmons, a well-known American sports columnist, compiled and published a book called Now I Can Die in Peace in 2005, which was translated as "Now I Can Die in Peace".The title captures the sentiments of a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan.Simmons grew up in Boston and loves every professional team in the area, including the Red Sox and Celtics. However, since 1918, the Red Sox have missed the MLB (Major League Baseball) World Series championship for a long time. It was considered to be under a curse, and it was not until he returned to the championship in 2004 and broke the curse that Simmons was satisfied, so he had the feeling of "Now I Can Die in Peace".

I thought, after finishing this biography of Michael Jordan, I would "Now I Can Die in Peace" too.But, no.

Writing such a book has been a dream of mine for a long time.

I started watching the NBA in Game 1996 of the Finals in June 6. Michael Jordan quickly became my first idol, my "god".In the normal adult world, it is advisable to make a person into a god, which is often exaggerated and ridiculous, but in the critical period of forming an independent personality in the teens, probably everyone has had an idol, has "God", the only difference is whether you call him that.Growing up, it was Michael Jordan who played that role.

In 1996, when Jordan returned to the top, I was 13 years old when I lay on the floor holding a basketball and crying bitterly on Father's Day. In 1997, Jordan played with an illness, dragging his almost dehydrated body to play the classic "Jordan Spirit" representative game, when I was 14 years old. In 1998, Jordan made a perfect end to his great career with one break and one shot, when I was 15 years old.In the next few years, Jordan retired and came back, and I finished my third year of high school, took the college entrance examination, and entered university.It is conceivable that at that stage of life, Jordan had a profound impact on my personality, preferences, habits, and my outlook on the world, life, and values.For me, Jordan is irreplaceable.

That's when I made up my mind to do the job I'm doing now.When I was going to college, I chose journalism as my major and looking for a job. My ultimate goal was to enter the basketball professional paper media. Everything traced back to the source was out of my love and admiration for Jordan.I hope that as a follower, I can use my strength and my own way to do something for Jordan.

In the past ten years, I have indeed done a lot of things.When I was in college, I was the editor-in-chief of the departmental magazine "Red Maple". In 2001, just as Jordan was coming back to the Washington Wizards, I took the lead in making an 8-page special newspaper, all of which were about Jordan.Later, in 2002, I wrote and edited a "book" by myself. Of course, it was not published and printed. I only printed it out on A4 paper and bound it with a folder. The front and back 30 pages were also full of Jordan. Bulls: My Michael Jordan".After graduating from university, I said goodbye to these cute and childish self-entertainment, and I really entered the basketball professional paper media and officially engaged in basketball text reports.At this time, Jordan has completely retired and has become a historical figure in the NBA.So during the summer offseason, I wrote and edited various historical topics in the "Basketball Pioneer" and "Sports Weekly". The subject matter is not limited to Jordan, but I put great enthusiasm into it, and my selfishness is still for Jordan. In 2006, I cooperated with Tencent Sports to launch the video program "NBA Archives Declassified". The first 60 episodes all told the story of Jordan.

All the above experiences have laid a solid foundation for me to finally write this biography of Jordan; and the completion of this book is also an account of myself.It is like a destination of a complex, like an ocean where all the rivers and rivers converge.In this matter, satisfying oneself is much more difficult than satisfying anyone else.

What's the point of writing about Michael Jordan in the second decade of the 21st century, when Kobe Bryant is nearing twilight, LeBron James is at the height of his power, and Kevin Durant is rising?The last time he retired from the NBA, definitively and irrevocably, was a decade ago, and who cares?
To this day, Michael Jordan is still worth writing about because, to this day, he is still the greatest player in basketball history.Just east of the United Center in Chicago, outside Gate 4, the pedestal of the Jordan statue reads: "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." .

The new generation of fans don't like to hear this.They haven't experienced Jordan's era, and most of them don't love Jordan from the bottom of their hearts.They know that Jordan is very good and great, but they don't have a sense of identity and substitution.They are more willing to sing the heroes of the present and live in the present.

That's right, and it's perfectly normal.People always have a good impression of those who lead them into a certain field, and they always hold the legend of personal experience as the highest. No one wants to miss the best one, so I understand.Seeing those children who are obsessed with Kobe, conquered by James, and crazy about Durant, and heard them say that their idol has caught up with or even surpassed Jordan, as a person who has experienced it, I understand their feelings-although, I absolutely disagree.

This is what it means to write Jordan and read Jordan.If you don't like him, oppose him, and reject him, at least you should know what kind of person you dislike, oppose, and reject all day long.

It may not be impossible to surpass Jordan.Jordan himself said, "There will be a player who is greater than me." It's only temporarily, not yet.

Kobe, James, and Durant are so good that they have not surpassed Jordan's certainty of victory. The reason is simple: Jordan is the best figure in the history of the NBA for more than [-] years. Of course, it is not so easy to be surpassed.Jordan was everything one of the greatest basketball players should be, and he was the yardstick of the perfect basketball player in existence.

The greatest basketball player should be synonymous with victory and championships—Jordan was.In the NBA, he led the Chicago Bulls to six championships and two three-peats.Throughout the 20s, essentially only his own departure could stop him from ascending to the throne.He is the undisputed No.90 in the six-time championship team. On the highest stage of the NBA, he has never been defeated. He has entered the finals six times and has become the final winner six times. Final MVP.In this regard, in the history of the NBA, only Bill Russell can outshine him.

The greatest basketball player should score at his fingertips—Jordan was. The average scoring average in the NBA regular season is him, 30.12 points (No.2 Wilt Chamberlain, 30.07 points); the NBA playoffs average scoring history is him, 33.45 points (No.2 Allen Iverson, 29.73 points); the person who scored the most points in a single game in the NBA playoffs was him, with 63 points; the person who averaged the most points per game in a single series in the NBA Finals was him, with 41.0 points; the number of scoring champions in NBA history He is the person with the most, 10 times; he is also the person who has been the scoring leader for the most consecutive times in NBA history, 7 times.As you know, a championship team must gather good players, and scores are easy to disperse. In the six championship seasons, Jordan has won the league's scoring title every year, and no one else has done it except him.This item, in the history of the NBA, no one can match it.

The greatest basketball player, should be all-round - Jordan is.He can score himself, and he is also good at creating opportunities for his teammates. In the 1988-1989 season, he averaged 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.9 steals per game. 1989 triple-doubles and 3 consecutive triple-doubles in 4 consecutive games. His offense is top-notch and his defense is also superb. In the 7 seasons when he was the league's scoring leader, he was also selected as the best defensive team of the year in 11 of them. Team, which was also named the best defensive player of the year in the 10-10 season.In this regard, in the history of the NBA, Oscar Robertson, "Magic" Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, and Jordan are all good at winning games, and they may be neck and neck; when James retires in the future, he should Can come out right.

The greatest basketball player should have an elegant style of play, strong viewing, and his gestures are comparable to art-Jordan is.Each player has different eyes, different positions, different styles of players, in the eyes of audiences with different tastes and preferences, they will get different or even opposite evaluations. However, for those who love basketball, Jordan played Good-looking, should be a consensus.His height of 1.98 meters is just right, neither clumsy nor thick. He was agile and quick when he was young, stretched and elegant at his peak, and refined in the next few years.In this regard, my personal point of view is that in the history of the NBA, only Kobe can be compared with Jordan.

The greatest basketball player should show his best self in the most important game, thus writing a legendary basketball epic-Jordan is.The legendary moments of his entire sports career are the most among all basketball stars and even all sports stars in the past, and 1982% of these legendary moments happened in the playoffs and finals where life and death are at stake. The winning jump shot in 1986 occurred in the NCAA National Finals; the 63 points in a single game in 1989 occurred in the NBA playoffs; "The Shot" in 1991 occurred in the last second of the first round of the playoffs; 1992 In 1997, six three-pointers and a shoulder shrug in the halftime occurred in the NBA Finals; in 38, 1998 points and key three-pointers with illness occurred in the NBA Finals. Five "Battle of Tianwang Mountain"; the last shot in [-] took place in the last game of the NBA Finals.When the team needed him the most, Jordan was always there, accomplishing what was supposed to be done by him, often surprising people and rarely disappointing.This item has a large number and high gold content, and no one can match it in the history of the NBA.

Some people will question: The above list is all about Jordan; you first set the premise of "Jordan is the greatest basketball player", and then formulate the "greatest basketball player" based on what Jordan is like. "Standard, it's not fair!
That's right, but, what is a ruler, this is a ruler.The ruler is the highest mountain in a certain field, and the ruler is Everest.Bibi knows the level of other peaks and how far they are from Everest. You should stand in front of Everest.Doesn't the standard of "the highest mountain on earth" come from Mount Everest?

In fact, before Jordan became the greatest basketball player, some of the above standards did not exist, or at least were not so important.For example, "scoring should come at your fingertips".Around 1987 and 1988, the American media seriously discussed: Is "Magic" Johnson the greatest basketball player in history?Magic has never been good at scoring, but he is a natural leader and the biggest winner in the NBA in the 20s.He can score, of course, but if scoring ability is an important criterion for "the greatest basketball player", you will not prioritize Magic, his teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his arch-nemesis Bird, and There is Chamberlain, who is more qualified than him.Why does the American media start this "greatest" discussion about magicians?Because in Magic's specific situation, the score doesn't matter that much.Also, in the specific case of Bill Russell, scoring doesn't matter that much.

Similarly, before Jordan became the greatest basketball player, defensive ability was not a necessary consideration for top superstars at all.Throughout his career, neither Magician nor Bird was a first-rate defensive player—Bird's team defensive awareness was good, but his natural physical fitness destined him not to be a top defensive player; and Magic was not even a second-rate defensive player. Players are not counted. At the point guard position, his speed often becomes the opponent's breakthrough—it is Jordan's success that has improved the status of the top superstar's defensive ability in people's minds. After Jordan, a superstar with poor defense is It is impossible to participate in the discussion of "the greatest basketball player", which is why Kobe, James, and Durant will voluntarily work on the defensive end after entering the NBA for two or three seasons.You can't reach the highest heights without a certain level of defense.

This is the power of example.When Jordan became the greatest basketball player in history, the entire basketball world's criteria for judging "greatest" naturally improved.If you can't meet Jordan's standards, then you can't catch up with Jordan; if you can't catch up with Jordan, let alone talk about surpassing Jordan.

There is a natural contradiction here: to surpass Jordan, you must first meet Jordan's standards, but to surpass Jordan, the decisive step is not to meet every one of his standards, but to create new standards.If you just follow Jordan's standards and imitate Jordan, even if you achieve all of them, the ruler is still Jordan.Only by creating and establishing your own standards can you become a new benchmark for the perfect basketball player and achieve excellence.

During his basketball career, Jordan has been creating new things of his own.He is the first player who won the championship steadily without giving up the scoring champion and built a generation of dynasty. He is also the first outside leader of the dynasty team who does not have to rely on first-class inside teammates. Superstar... In the end, these new things helped him become the greatest player, and along with his success, became part of the "greatest basketball player" criteria.

All history is contemporary history.The road that Jordan has traveled is the road that must be taken beyond Jordan.Telling the story of Jordan is actually exploring the way of a No.1 player's achievement.

Before the book was finalized, I thought I would "Now I Can Die in Peace", but after it was finalized, I had a completely different idea.I've achieved a goal, but it's not the end goal.I will continue to write.This Jordan biography is my first book, it won't be the last, and it won't be the best.

In 2009, Bill Simmons published The Book of Basketball ("The Book of Basketball"), more than 700 pages, as thick as a brick, extremely rich in content, very valuable to read, and that is his best book.

If you don't accomplish the thing you want to do most, you may not be able to let go of your hands and feet to do other things.

Duan Xu
Beijing, January 2013, 12
(End of this chapter)