Michael Jeffrey Jordan is often regarded as the greatest basketball player who ever lived. Besides his insane talent, he achieved unprecedented success, cementing his place in history well before his last game.
It’s been a while now since MJ least stepped foot on an NBA court, but ‘The Last Dance’ documentary did us all a favor by bringing us back.
Providing fans with a look backward, we got to relive MJ’s glory days, and it was quite an amazing experience at the time.
According to Jordan, who sat down for a chat on USA Today, that documentary helped show fans his desire to win:
“I think they saw my desire to win on a consistent basis, you know,” Jordan said. “And every time I stepped on the floor I represented my family, the Chicago Bulls, the NBA, because my desire was strong.”
(start at 5:55)
Jordan said he was surprised at how well the documentary was received, citing that he didn’t think fans would understand his passion for victory.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
To follow his career behind the scenes, and capture his passion and lust for the game was extraordinary and exactly the type of thing we could use more of in the sports world today.
And while we can expect many other great players to do great things in the future, Michael Jordan is truly one of a kind, and his career is not something that will ever be forgotten.
“It’s not fair, you know, but it’s a standard of measurement,” Jordan replies. “When I came in, [it was] Dr. J. It’s just a standard of measurement to compare to. But there’s never going to be another Michael Jordan. There’s never going to be another Dr. J. Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. Now, there’s gonna be a Kobe Bryant, there’s gonna be a Grant Hill, Anthony Hardaway. These guys are going to have similar traits, it’s how they manifest those traits to be the best basketball player.
No matter what the league does, in terms of trying to promote, you can’t fool the consumer, you can’t fool the fans. So I mean, the game is going to say, he’s the next, whoever. Your game is going to have to evolve to that label the league is trying to promote you with. It’s a danger to that because the credibility of the game could take a hit.”
Jordan, 58, retired in 2003 after 15 seasons in the NBA. Since then, he has had a strong presence in the world, as a businessman, team owner, and sports icon.
His documentary (‘The Last Dance’) is viewed today as one of the greatest pieces of basketball media ever released.
