Happy Birthday, Michael Jordan

My dad didn’t like Michael Jordan.

But, to be fair, my dad tended root against anyone or any team that won all the time. And there hasn’t been a bigger winner than MJ (sorry Donald).

I inherited this strange, if not totally unexplainable trait; as evidenced by my terminal case of loathing Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots (being a Colts fan might have a little to do with it as well).

To the best of my knowledge, this penchant for hating the constantly-successful had to do with my father’s upbringing: having money and “stuff” simply weren’t part of his existence. It’s not hard to see how feelings of revulsion for those who were so well off grew into a cornerstone of his worldview. Although, on past middle age, these feelings for him seem to be specifically focused on sports.

Luckily for me, I didn’t allow this always-cheer-for-the-underdog mantra to permeate so deep within me that I couldn’t simply enjoy the brilliance of Michael Jordan. I loved basketball. I loved Michael Jordan because he was the best at basketball.

MJ turns 54 today.

Quite obviously, there is no need to list all of Jordan’s stats, records, championships, and honors. Most, if not all, of you have seen his greatest plays hundreds of times. I won’t try, and fail, to describe what he meant to the sport, how much of larger-than-life personality he was, or estimate how many kids — and adults — he inspired to try to be like him.

Instead, I would like to zoom in on one MJ play. A play that maybe isn’t discussed in the same way his more well-known plays are, but, to me at least, epitomizes everything that made Jordan great.

It happened during his second comeback from retirement. You know, when he came back to play for the Washington Wizards. (I’ll pause for the cascade of groans to stop.) My brother-in-law — the biggest Michael Jordan fan I know personally — is still furious about this mostly disastrous comeback attempt because it nearly knocked Jordan off the top spot as all-time leader in points per game. Although, when pressed, we will both admit that, in the end, we are happy he did it because we were old enough to distinctly remember Michael Jordan playing basketball. His time with the Bulls comes off as semi-folklore because we weren’t at an age to fully internalize, or realize, his greatness on a game-by-game basis.

Additionally, it was a defensive play — a block, to be precise. MJ’s defensive ability is the most criminally undervalued part of his game. When, in fact, it will be what forever separates him from LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, and any other great player that comes along. Jordan was selected to the NBA All-Defensive team nine times; he won Defensive Player of the Year during his fourth season in the league. He was the most complete basketball player we will ever see.

In early January 2002, the Washington Wizards hosted the Chicago Bulls. It was Jordan’s first time squaring off against his old team. The team he made world-famous and delivered six championships to. The team that would never be the same after he left.

The Wizards were up six with under 30 seconds left and Jordan had the ball. He muscled his way to elbow and went up for the game sealing jumper. It was blocked by Ron Artest. Here, you can see how much affect father time had had on MJ: he couldn’t get to the rim, he couldn’t elevate high enough to get his shot off. But what he could still do was get pissed off. This is what happened next:

Poor Ron Mercer. He couldn’t have possibly foreseen it playing out like that. What had he done to deserve such treatment?

It wasn’t just a regular chase down block. It was a two-handed smush against the backboard and hey I’ll just hang onto it vengeful type block. It was a “how dare you presume to score at this precise moment of the game, sir?” block. It was a direct insult to Mercer and his entire extended family. It’s fair to say that this was the highest Jordan jumped during his time with the Wizards.

My favorite part of the play is MJ’s reaction after coming down with ball and passing it to a teammate. He flat out snarls. And then he barks at Mercer as they go down the court. This is why Jordan is the greatest of all time. He simply refused to lose. He was an insane competitor. No one, no one was getting the better of him, regardless of his age and current athletic ability. He came to bury you, and spit on your grave.

Next: Western Conference: Six teams battling for one playoff spot

My dad is a reasonable guy. He eventually came around on Michael Jordan. He knows he’s the greatest basketball player ever. In the same way I inherited my inclination to root for the underdog to punch the favorite in the mouth from him, so to did I inherit my love of basketball. We love the game. And we love Michael Jordan because he’s the best to ever play it.

Happy Birthday, MJ.

Home/NBA