I wasn’t lucky enough to be around back in the 80’s when the world was shouting MJ MJ! I certainly am lucky they had recorders back then. When I finally got the sense of a ball that was supposed to be put in a hoop countless times, I turned for inspiration and saw a couple of numbers, the most prominent ones being 23 (not MJ) and 24.Today, with the playoffs gripping feverish momentum, with Kobe inching every second towards that elusive 5th ring to join all time greats, with LeBron having passed for yet another MVP and failed for yet another ring, with the Big4 in Boston Garden riding on smothering defense to rout the league , with older players playing with new lives in Phoenix, with super-stars like Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony still in hunt for team support, the ball-fanatic’s mind sways to ponder: While all these events are weighed enough for the future course of basketball, but will the sport actually ever see the truly one person who rose from a flu to single handedly guide to his team to a championship win, who had to wait for 7 years for his first ring and yet finished with more than a hand can take, who undisputedly led the league in scoring ,defense and shattering every possible record there was before for nearly half a decade, the one true ball handler without whose image ,the basketball looks incomplete?
How long does the world have to wait before it gets to see a Michael rise from the ranks of players to superstars to eternal glory! Sure we have the King who looks virtually unstoppable right now but without a ring, sure we have the Black Mamba who seems to be possessed to amass rings and numbers like a man chasing himself before he fades away, sure we have rising sensations in Durant, but what is MJ if not the king, a slithering mamba on the court, and a rising sensation till the day he retired!
With the trade deals looming and free agency contracts round the corner, it will be no wonder if Wade leaves Biscayne County or LBJ chooses not to be with Shaq, but the fact essentially remains. Not one of these players has come to a team that was in shambles, took the reigns over, found players and honed them shoulder to shoulder, led like a leader should, dominated ruthlessly and gave the game a whole new dimension. My memory serves me right if I say now the closest to Michael has been the LA Laker number 24 this past decade. But you can only get so close to actually being the man himself. Isn’t it time we stop arguing whether Kobe’s mid range shooting is better or Nash’s team play or The King’s athletism, and once, just once, thank the good old 80’s people who had the sense to tape the greatest ball player who lives on among us. My opinion: Let’s roll back the tapes, pull down the drapes, and relish that evening where a number 23 came flying from nowhere and took a gigantic leap from the free throw line, a leap that would change the NBA world as unseen before. Let’s all scream for another AIR JORDAN.