MICHAEL JORDAN'S DEBUT, 30 YEARS AGO

Discussion in 'Chicago Bulls' started by truebluefan, Oct 26, 2014.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    There was considerable anticipation for Oct. 26, 1984, 30 years ago today, Michael Jordan’s first regular season NBA game. It would not exactly signal what was to come as Jordan had a comfortable 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a Bulls 109-93 victory over the Washington Bullets. The Bulls scorers of the day were Orlando Woolridge and Quintin Dailey, neither of whom much passed the ball and Dailey who pretty openly resented Jordan coming for his job. The Bullets were on notice as well about the acclaimed rookie coming off an Olympic gold medal triumph. Jordan was the only Bulls player that night to get a regular double team from the Bullets. Not quite the All-Star freezeout to come, but word was out. Which made what Jordan would accomplish that season even more remarkable, averaging 28.2 points amidst recalcitrant teammates and onerous opposition. There would be one highlight for the fans of plays to come, a full court dash with a behind the back dribble and long armed layup, the hints there of the hang, the tongue, the excitement. In considering the anniversary a year ago, I began to realize there’s an entire generation now who knows Jordan but never truly saw him in his fabulous developmental years leading to the Bulls dynasty and his incredible fame, what sort of person he was and is and how this all occurred. So I decided to write my third book about Jordan, though Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy shouldn’t be threatened. It’s a combined narrative about Jordan’s effect on society and culture—why there cannot be a Next Jordan no matter how anyone plays and thus the title—and oral history from a cross section of the people there who were involved and impacted by the phenomenon. Thirty years ago today it all began to change.

    EXCERPT FROM "THERE IS NO NEXT: NBA LEGENDS ON THE LEGACY OF MICHAEL JORDAN" BY SAM SMITH

    The 1984 Olympics had provided a welcome anticipation for Jordan to the NBA and Chicago. And although NBA marketing was in its relative infancy, the Bulls believed they might finally have something with a take-off on an old Hollywood movie, “Here Comes Mr. Jordan.” That fantasy was about a boxer who died before his time and is returned to the world in another body. So maybe there was something to this Bulls fantasy as the Olympic team’s scrimmages suddenly became otherworldly.

    Rod Thorn: “Michael blew up during the Olympics. When he came back to us and we’re playing exhibitions, everywhere we went people were waiting on him. When he played you could see the incredible athleticism. The first day in camp I get a call after the evening practice from assistant Bill Blair and he said, ‘You didn’t [screw] this draft up. This guy’s pretty good.’

    Kevin Loughery: For me, the surprise was that a guy could come in and take over a team like that right from the start. I’ve been around great players. Not many guys could do that. I had Dr. J in the ABA. In his final year, he had as good a season as I’ve ever seen. I honestly think the NBA never saw the real Doc. We asked him to do everything in the ABA and when he went to Philadelphia they had other guys. If Michael went into Philadelphia like that, he would’ve taken over the team in five minutes. I don’t care who was there. I played with Earl Monroe in Baltimore: unbelievable superstar for us. He went to the Knicks and played a different style. He was still an All-Star, but he didn’t have that personality to say, “Hey, I’m the man.” When he was with Baltimore, we played a style that was conducive to his game and he was the man. But when he went to the Knicks it was a different situation with Frazier and Bradley. Michael wouldn’t sacrifice to fit in. He would take over.”

    “Will it play in Peoria?” is a popular figure of speech to measure whether something, a person, product or perhaps play will appeal to the American public. It has come to supposedly represent mainstream America, sort of the center of the Heartland—the heart of the land—where if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. It’s also where Jordan, 30 years ago, on Oct. 5, 1984, began his NBA career in a preseason game, the Bulls winning 102–98 as Jordan scored 18 points in 29 minutes.

    The NBA was more so then, and even today in a sense—though with much more sophisticated international locales—a barnstorming league. It wasn’t unusual even in the 1960s for teams to seek out the fans, as opposed to fans flocking to the arenas. It’s how the most famous game ever, Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points, was played in Hershey, PA. The Celtics played for many years into the 1990s in Hartford, CT. In the Bulls’ early years, they often played “home” games in Evansville, IN, the Jerry Sloan connection. What Jordan understood immediately, even before he became an NBA star, was that players who were viewed as special owed an obligation to the fans, the community and the game. In many respects, it’s what also made Jordan like Babe Ruth. True, like Ruth, Jordan enjoyed being an entertainer. He was proud of his abilities and eager to if not necessarily show them off to simply put them on display. Like Ruth, whose feats became prodigious and generic home runs of a long distance became Ruthian, it’s similar with Jordan. You’ll to this day hear of someone special in his or her field being called the Michael Jordan of that particular discipline. Jordan would mirror Ruth in many ways with a strong affection for children. Where Ruth, an orphan, would famously visit orphanages, to the point that there would be the myth of promising ill children home runs, Jordan is the greatest ever wish-giver in the Make-A-Wish program for children with illnesses. Jordan’s appetites for life, like Ruth, also became infamous, though more publicized in Jordan’s era, especially Jordan’s prodigious gambling habits. Though condemned in the era’s morality play, it also placed Jordan with the likes of Ruth and Ali, willing to defy society’s norms and conventions and yet become accepted and celebrated. It was an American trait of independence back to the Revolutionary spirit, after all, that endeared him as well to those who wondered what they thought in Peoria. Sure, go for it Mike!

    Read more http://www.nba.com/bulls/features/michael-jordans-debut-30-years-ago
     
  2. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    A ball hog with a low basketball IQ. Couldn't hold Bird's or Magic's jock strap. Not the kind of player who wins championships.

    So I was told repeatedly by Howard the bartender at Marigold Lanes in Wrigleyville. Good call, Howie.
     
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  3. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Is Howie the guy who tells you Reinsdorf is great?
     
  4. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    No, Howard was a very negative guy...didn't like very much of anything he had, only things other people had. Sound familiar?
     
  5. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Joe Cowley?
     

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