The Curse of Air Jordan Haunts LeBron James
- Image by San Diego Shooter via Flickr
Michael Jordan is the worst thing to ever happen to the NBA. Worse than the Kermit Washington punch, worse than the pre-shot clock era, and certainly worse than the cocaine epidemic of the late 70’s and early 80’s. He’s also the cause, both directly and indirectly, of most of the game’s modern problems. The blame for over-inflated contracts, death of team basketball at crunch time, kowtowing to corporate interests and awful officiating all can be attributed to His Airness. But his true legacy will always be something very difficult to make tangible or quantifiable… impossible expectations. For that, LeBron may suffer forever.
There is no doubt that LeBron’s season came to a disappointing end. His Cleveland Cavaliers were thoroughly dispatched by the Orlando Magic, in what could’ve easily been a sweep. LeBron is a genetic anomaly and the best all-around player on the planet, so when you add that to a 66 win regular season, one could understand why virtually everyone assumed that this would translate into an NBA Finals appearance. However, that assumption isn’t grounded in basketball reality. In the history of the sport, it’s actually rare for the team with the biggest star to win the title. If don’t believe me, check out this chart). The 50-60’s Celtics dominate the list, but Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan are the only superstars in their primes that led their teams’ to all the titles. Even then, Magic had multiple Hall of Famers on those Lakers’ teams while people tend to overlook how Scottie Pippen made Jordan’s life much easier. At the minimum, you need two superstars supported by competent veterans to win an NBA title. Usually, the more talented and focused team will triumph over the best individual, despite what the NBA would like you to believe.
Michael Jordan’s career is a perfect storm of factors that can never be duplicated in the sport of basketball again. He ascended to his prime during the time corporate interests became a much larger part of sports leagues and the start of a 24 hour media cycle, which allowed him to become the face for the league. Free agency was a reality, but salaries were still reasonable. He caught several superstars at the end of their career (Bird, Magic, Dr. J, Isiah) and missed the prime of contemporary players (Shaq, Kobe, Duncan). Outside of the environmental factors, he also had a number of things break his way. Pippen, his aforementioned sidekick with a team-focused attitude, was quite unique, as was getting a young, quality coach who was perfect for Jordan’s personality in Phil Jackson. His popularity literally changed the way games were officiated which has set the precedent for the train wreck the NBA has on its hands. Combine all of these things with the fact Jordan was quite literally a sociopath when it came to competing and you have a scenario that will be duplicated about as much than a lunar eclipse that projects an Aniston-Pitt-Jolie menage a trois sex tape into the sky.
Thanks to Jordan’s mythical six titles, winning a championship has become a prerequisite for greatness in the mind of many sports fans and members of the media. For whatever reason, it somehow legitimizes an entire career even though its governed by many factors out of a player’s control. Now after failing to reach the NBA Finals, I’ve begun to hear rumblings that LeBron’s accomplishments mean nothing until he wins a title. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s 24 years old and put on an all-time great playoff performance. He plays exciting, team-oriented basketball with physical gifts that defy logic. It’s time to appreciate James’ talent before we burden him any further with the curse of being the next Air Apparent to a level beyond psychological repair.
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I dunno… I agree that it isn’t LeBron’s fault that his teammates flopped in the conference final, but I do think it’s fair to measure players by their rings. Especially in basketball, where one player can make all the others better in such direct and obvious ways, if you’re not winning championships, it’s a reflection on you. It’s not like baseball, where you really can’t fault a guy like Ernie Banks for never winning the big one (although you can fault A-Rod, for sure). In basketball, unless you have four total stiffs playing alongside you, you should win a ring if you’re the best player.
I think the real question is what LeBron needs around him to win a championship.
He could’ve used Boozer.
He could’ve used Shawn Marion.
A championship team usually has 2 – 3 all-stars on it along with an assortment of great bench players. LeBron is the only all-star in Cleveland.
Lebron will get his rings, he’s only 24. MJ didn’t get his first until he was 28.
The issue is the media… it wants and needs another Jordan. Everyone cast in the role disappoints. Just remember what it took Jordan to get past the Pistons.
My nominee for the next Air Jordan: Michael Roston.
I’d rather be the next Walter Payton. They name high schools after him in Chicago.
In response to another comment. See in context »“X is the new Jordan” is pointless.
Having seen him play a lot – and him destroying my Knicks a lot – it’s odd to come to his “defense,” but most of the factors you state above don’t have to do directly with Jordan. Overblown contracts suck. Me, Me play sucks, too. Over-corporatization of sports takes some fun out of it. Jordan, IMO, didn’t invent any of these things. But you seem pretty down on the man.
The “if x played / boxed when y or z were in their prime, they wouldn’t be All That” is another one I work to avoid. It’s too much work and impossible to be anything but inconclusive.
And to what do you refer with this:
All I can think of is the golf wagering; was that sociopathic? Or am I forgetting other infractions?
LeBron wants to be the next LeBron. He’s doing well at it so far. Seems more of this loathing is better directed at the Scott Borasses of the world than at a tremendously talented and entertaining guy like Mike.
As a long-time Knicks fan, Jordan broke my heart more times than I can remember. But there was that Starks dunk that will always live on (and I’m NO Starks fan).
In response to another comment. See in context »Steve-
Michael Jordan is a compulsive competitor and egomaniac. Most celebs are egomaniacs so I can discount that, but his obsession with competing has really started to stand out to me. Judging by his behavior, he’s addicted to gambling, most likely because that’s the only way he can get the rush he used to get while playing.
Did you see his Hall of Fame press conference? One of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t honored, he was depressed because he couldn’t play anymore. I think life away from basketball will continue to expose the dark side of his personality in a real life setting. He probably has enough money to insulate himself but ultimately I think that same competitive fire that made him a world renowned basketball player will also serve as his worst enemy as a civilian.
In response to another comment. See in context »It seems basketball is the only sport so obsessed with finding “The Next Jordan.” And I don’t think it’s just media fascination that drives it… it’s the culture of the sport, to the detriment of the sport, ultimately.
The same media covers baseball and football and hockey (if that still counts), but you hear far, far less theorizing about some new kid who could be the next Derek Jeter or Walter Payton or Mark Messier.
Why is that?
That’s part of the problem. David Stern and the NBA emphasized Jordan way too much during his time playing, which essentially created this Jordan vacuum nobody could ever fill. They created a monster that eventually turned on them.
In response to another comment. See in context »