Brad Daugherty schrieb:“Michael was an outstanding one-on-one basketball player and he had a lot of talent and was a super player when we played pickup basketball,” Daugherty recalls. “But a lot of guys had a chance to expose the guy who was guarding them in pickup basketball. You knew that he was a better player than most of the guys there – you could see that – but not at that level (that he achieved in the NBA). I mean, that was unbelievable. There was no one outside of maybe Coach Smith who could see that. I know that Mike Krzyzewski said that he and Len Bias were two of the best players he ever coached against. Guys like that may have been able to see it, but there was no way that any other player could see the future for Michael Jordan at that point in time. You’d never think that he would become, probably, the greatest player to ever play.”
Ja, vollkommen richtig (wobei Greg Oden zu recht an 1 weggehen würde). Das Schlimme ist, dass sich solche Jordan-Phänomene auch noch wiederholen: Von manchen Fans muss man heute schon hören, wie die Pistons denn 2003 Milicic eher als Anthony draften konnten, wenn sie doch schon Tayshaun Prince hatten, der vor dem Durchbruch stand, und bei Wade sei ja klar gewesen, dass er ein Star werden würde; wie konnte man sich den entgehen lassen etc.
Von solchen Leuten würde ich gern die Lottozahlen vorausgesagt bekommen, wenn alles Zukünftige eh so glasklar und offensichtlich ist.
mir gehts genauso bei nba.com kommen keine bilder und sport1.de sieht irgendwie deformiert aus
Ja, jeder außer denen, die unbedingt Bosh wollten (man denke an Deron Williams statt Chris Paul, oder an die Wahl von Shelden Williams). Milicic ist in seinen Anlagen einfach noch außergewöhnlicher als Bosh, obwohl dem ebenfalls eine große Karriere vorausgesagt wurde.Wenn überhaupt, dann hätten die Pistons Bosh picken können, aber bei dem Potential was Milicic versprochen hat, hätte jeder ihn gepickt.
Ja. So gut er für Marquette war, gab es sehr viele Fragezeichen hinter seinem Namen, was auch nur verständlich ist, wenn es sich um einen 6'4''-Tweener handelt, der keine Dreier werfen kann. Angesichts der nachfolgenden Picks und besonders Guards (Kirk Hinrich, TJ Ford) muss man Wade als einen der eben beschriebenen Spieler ansehen, die das Team (in dem Fall Miami) unbedingt haben wollte. Ansonsten wäre Wade eher nach unten durchgereicht worden, als dass er an den ersten vier Picks vorbeigekommen wäre, zumal es kein großes Geheimnis ist, dass die Heat lieber Chris Bosh wollten, der aber bei den Raptors in ebenso hohem Kurs stand.Und bei Wade stand ja wohl ganz dick und fett "Tweener auf Positionssuche" auf der Stirn
Nachdem sich Brandy anfang des Monats von ihrem Verlobten, New York Knicks Football-Spieler Quentin Richardson trennte und ihr Tattoo an der Schulter (Quentin's Gesicht) in eine Katze verwandeln ließ, sind die Beiden wieder ein Herz und eine Seele.
gab es schonmal einen MVP, der im Vorjahr nicht im All Star Team war?
Aha, die Knicks sind also ein Football Team...:wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:
I must admit, Basketball is my favorite sport and the one I follow far more than the others; I never watch hockey or any bicycle-related event and barely ever watch a boxing match. However, I feel that because a typical boxer has two or so matches a year, to compare him/her to Michael Jordan's plain ridiculous, whatever rigorous training regiment they may follow. It makes more sense when nominating the "greatest athlete" to consider his/her level of national/global exposure, because we should be able to collectively watch them to pass any judgment at all. As great as Muhammad Ali was, I don't think he's comparable to Michael, if only because he had FAR fewer matches/sparring sessions/whatver than Michael had games. Also, I assume a lot more people watch or have watched Michael Jordan play than have watched Ali. In fact, I'm sure Michael's the most exposed/celebrated athlete ever seeing as how there are posters of him in probably every remote town in the world; it's been said that people who don't know who the United States President is are familiar with Michael, something that can be attributed to his legendary success on a massive global scale (2 Olympic gold medals, including one from the greatest team ever assembled in team sports history, The Dream Team). Hence, everybody's been captivated by Michael. Perhaps this is a reason why he was named Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN Sports. Exposure shouldn't decide everything-David Beckham, this thread is ridiculous-but it should account for something. My next point is that no athlete's career has had as much impact as Michael's. I don't even have to explicate this point further, as this is generally understood. It's been said enough on this thread. Cycling just isn't nearly as globally popular or watched as basketball, let alone Lance Armstrong or that other guy you mentioned (I don't know) as Michael Jordan, hence it isn't fair to compare either one to Michael. Now, hockey/football/baseball/soccer players are more conveniently comparable to a basketball player for obvious reasons. Team sports players all commonly share very long, rigorous annual schedules and play on teams of course. Now, putting global popularity aside (I believe basketball's currently either the number one or two most globally popular sport), I'm sure that no single player in any of the above mentioned have had the proficiency on both the offensive and defensive ends of the game as Michael. Michael's the greatest in not just basketball but team sports history because of the fact that he was the best at everything. This was not a one, two or even three dimensional great player, Michael pretty much did everything well. He could play three positions for one thing, and dominated on both ends of the court. In his era, Michael was the greatest defensive player and easily the greatest offensive player. After all, he was once named scoring champion, MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in a single season (I just realized, that whereas Michael has dominated statistical sheets in every category and earned innumerable accolades for multifaceted accomplishments, cycling/boxing don't recognize much to begin with because they're just a race/fight.) Michael was the fastest/most powerful/most graceful/most athletic/most competitive/most relentless basketball player. No other athlete has dominated on the level that he has because he really was that good. One could easily say he's the most competitive athlete ever, because of his will, but that's another thread all together; someone should start that. Another thing about Michael is that, as stated in his book "Driven From Within" (oh, it's a good one) by an insider, no athlete has as much control and mental security over his ability to tap into his highest competitive potential on a dime as Michael; for instance, nearly two hours before it was time for the Bulls to take the court for Game 3 of the '93 semifinals against the archrival Knicks (who were up 2-0 in the series), Michael was in the locker room having a doctor work on an injured toe while he was casually chatting with his friend. Then, somebody entered the room and handed Michael some 15 envelopes of tickets to which he proceeds to scan for the list of names and mentally match them with the seats in the arena. Each envelope has roughly 40 tickets. Basically, right before one of the Bull's biggest games (they're down 0-2 afterall), Michael's taking the time, with under two hours before game time to concern himself with where his friends or whoever is sitting. I mean this is as extraordinary as it sounds considering the general understanding that prior to games all players or athletes go into a "zone" or "lockdown" of concentration. Michael on the other hand, jokes around, laughs, chit-chats, etc. and then flips the switch once it's tipoff. He's the greatest because he never rattles, he knew what he could do (the Bulls lost that game by the way, and Mike had a bad performance, but the Bulls won, and Michael lead them in Game 4, scoring 54 pts against John Starks and co.). Prior to Game 4 of the very next round in '93 Vs the Suns in the Finals, someone from the Phoenix staff had stated that Michael "Can't drive like he used to". The result was that Michael TORCHED Phoenix for 55 pts by driving to the hoop (this game is available at Youtube and it's amazing). Umm, after rookie Jerry Stackhouse (then a Sixer) started mouthing off that he held his own against Michael in UNC pickup games, The Bulls finally faced the Sixers and Michael proceeded to torch them for 48 pts going 18 for 28 shooting in just 3 quarters before sitting out the 4th (due to a 30-pt lead). This with Stackhouse guarding him. Meanwhile, Michael held Stackhouse down to just 13 pts on 4 for 11 shooting. Michael also shut Vernon Maxwell (who prior to the game had also down-talked Michael) up by holding him down to 1 for 8 shooting and 4 pts. Michael had total control and was driven by his natural competitive nature. His mean streak made him like an assassin. Jayson Williams (formerly of the New Jersey Nets was quoted as saying "You do not look at Michael Jordan in the eye because he'll take that as a challenge and dominate you. You do not make him mad. Whenever I played against him, I just looked at the ground." No kidding. Another classic example was a game during the first round of the '93 Playoffs (I believe it was Game 2) Vs the Washington Bullets. Labraford Smith (a no-name) of the Bullets had just scored 37 pts in the previous game, which the Bulls lost. Now, this was a period in Michael's career in which Michael, having already won back-to-back championships had famously become "bored" with the game because it was getting "too easy". As you know, he only stayed that season to get the Three-peat, because neither Bird nor Magic had won three straight. Anyways, Michael would retire after this postseason came to an end, but at this point, Michael had been so desperate to be challenged he had resorted to making them up. That's right. Michael lied to the media after the Bulls lost and claimed that Labraford Smith had actually been mocking him after scoring 36 (Michael later confessed Labraford didn't really talk) for the sake of heightening the drama. He also apparently had told his teammates in the locker room that in the very next game, he would match Smith's points total in the first half alone. That's how embarassed Mike was. Either way, he finished the first half just 1 point shy of doing so and ended it with 36 pts, before going on to finish with 47 by the end of the 3rd, before once again sitting out the 4th due to another blowout. Michael was so good, he had relegated himself to making up "pseudo-challenges" to get himself charged. He actually had manipulated the media to his advantage. Anyways, he's the greatest of all time. You have to love him. There's no other way.
To compare a boxer to a basketball player isn't right. A boxing match is a fist fight; no more, no less between conditioned fighters. Therefore, not only is boxing not as demanding-though I realize you have to be in good shape-as a team sport like basketball, but there's little art or grace involved. I don't think a boxer-including the great Muhammad Ali-should be compared to a great basketball player; particularly the greatest of all time. I have a much better chance at becoming a professional boxer than a professional basketball player because basketball requires more. I realize Ali is considered in some circles to be the greatest of the 20th century and I feel this may have more to do with the sociohistorical context of which he played (he refused the draft) than the exceptional grace of his style. That being said, he's isn't the greatest athlete of all time. Meanwhile, as inherently brutal as soccer may be (particularly for a goalie, man) when you're kicking a ball as hard as they are, I don't think it's moreso physical than basketball in fact, in basketball, it's not uncommon for guys bodies to fall completely on top of one another to the hardwood. Or to roll their ankle coming down from a rebound. Or to get elbowed anywhere from the face to the chest. Or to get cut, land ass-first on the floor from 10 feet in the air, etc. This is normal. That being said, however much Pele was injured and didn't play, I guarantee you Michael Jordan (particularly in the Pistons "Jordan Rules" era and the early 90's playoff battles with the Knicks) was injured and PLAYED. Michael was a physical freak of nature. As I stated, the "Jordan Rules" was a comprehensive team-designed set of instructions intended to not only contain Michael with a double-team wherever he stood on the floor, but to physically ground him whenever he made a notion to drive. Remember, this is before there are flagrant fouls, and there are five guys on the floor anticipating Michael's every move so that they can jump (sometimes on him, nothing was illegal) at the chance to HAMMER him. I recommend reading about "The Jordan Rules" since the most comprehensive concept of grounding "Air Jordan" was posted not to long ago by somebody on this forum. As far as I can tell, Michael Jordan's the only player in all of team sports that ever had a team so frustrated and desperate to overpower him that they went all out and actually enstated a very specific set of instructions for all five players to adjust to concentrating on the one guy. The Pistons weren't proud of it as it was certainly in direct contrast with the very foundation of team sports. Five guys Vs one? That's not fair. But the Pistons simply denied it because it's illegal. Well documented is the fact that the Bulls and particularly Michael were concerned with their health during those playoff series' because as Michael put it "It got away from the basketball that you grew up playing and basically got to a point where one, hard foul could end your career." Michael was obviously inhuman. Hence, the only season Michael hardly ever played (as a Bull) was his sophomore season when he came down wrong on his foot in the third game and broke his foot. He missed the next 64 games but due to his resilience, returned toward the ending of the season against the wishes of the Chicago Bulls organization or his doctor. And what happened next? Oh yeah, you know Michael nearly became the first player in history to score at least 50 points in back-to-back playoff games when the Bulls faced the eventual champion Boston Celtics (they won that year-'86) in the first round playoffs. Well he didn't do it, instead he accomplished the 50-plus-back-to-back-game feat two years later (as I've mentioned already; 50 pts Vs the Cavs in Game 1 and 55 pts in Game 2 of the '88 first round) and dropped 49 on Larry Legend and co. in Game 1 and then an NBA record for a playoff game, 63 pts in Game 2. Michael was obviously back in full force as it's common knowldge that after Game 2, Bird claimed "That wasn't Michael Jordan, that was God disguised as Michael Jordan." Michael arguably was God in the physical during his storybook-like career, the most decorated of any athlete. This is why one could argue he's the most recognizable face in the world. When Michael played in Game 5 of the '97 NBA Finals Vs the Utah Jazz, he was REALLY sick. He ate a pepperoni pizza that poisoned him the previous night and had been trying to throw up in the middle of the night. By game-time he still hadn't thrown up, was extremely nautious and was suffering with antacids, coffee, the pizza, sleeping pills cuz he couldn't get any sleep, numerous medicines, Gatorade and even Gatorload (the stuff you're supposed to drink after the game; a kid in the locker room accidentally gave it to him when he asked for the Gatorade) and he was really ill man. I mean like his expresssion on the court was so stoic. Michael hadn't gotten any sleep in 36 hours and had a seious flu. Yet many consider this to be Michael's greatest game because even obviously DEAD ON HIS FEET he managed to shake loose for 38 pts, 7 rebs, 5 assts and even 3 stls. All this plus he delivered the game-winning 3-point basket. Michael should've been at a hospital instead, but this is what makes Michael history's greatest. His thought process was always "As a leader, you wanna be there for you're team. As long as I'm physically able to stand up, I'm gonna be there for my team". His heart, combined with his unrelenting drive to succeed and his composure as a leader took him to a higher plateau. Michael never whithered. He was always unstoppable, even when incapacitated. I've already mentioned that during a regular season game in '93 the Bulls played the Magic while Michael had an ailing shooting wrist. However, because Shaq had been causing a lot of buzz throughout the league during this time-his rookie season-and this was his first visit to Chicago Stadium, Michael rose to the occassion. Indeed he scorched the Orlando Magic for 64 pts during a meaningless regular season game with a hot-SHOOTING performance. With Shaq, that's really the only way, but, please note Michael's wrist. They went on to lose the game because in the last seconds, Horace Grant apparently fouled up and cost them the game, but that's besides the point (By the way, peep this game on Youtube, it's amazing). These are attributes you wish to be universal to all athletes in any spectator sport. Unwavering will, confidence, toughness, talent, power, Michael had it all. Yes, he's the greatest shot-creator in league history but damn if he didn't have the most finesse. Think about it. Michael's the most graceful athlete EVER. Nobody MOVED like Michael. Nobody dunked like Michael, even though he wasn't the highest jumper. When Michael played, not only was he an assassin, but he played the most graceful-type game ever seen by anyone in ANY sport. Hence, Michael's the most easily-accessible player in all of sports history. This is why there are more fan-made videos of him on Youtube, or posters available of him than anyone else. Someone who doesn't like basketball becomes fascinated watching Michael drive to the hoop. He was so sensational. He was a killer but, simultaneously operated like a ballerina. This is a quality that nobody since has duplicated because artistry like Michael's-the way he kicks the legs out or hangs his toungue out-is "unique" as my dad says. You know it's just natural. Perhaps this is why he's so fun to watch. More people have referred to Michael as God than any other person, for sure. More audiences have BOWED to Michael (when he scores) than any other player in sports, for sure. And surely, no other athlete is as accesible or captivating as Michael Jordan.