20 July 2010
Written by: Rob Lazlo
Jordan's competitiveness is taken too far with comments on new Miami trio
It started ten days ago, when Dwayne Wade proclaimed teaming up with Chris Bosh & LeBron James “possibly the greatest trio ever to play the game. . ."
Immediately, the airwaves and internet exploded with derision: "Magic, Kareem & Worthy," "Bird, Parish & McHale," "Doc, Moses & Cheeks," "Jordan, Rodman & Pippen," "Wilt, Jerry West & Elgin Baylor!"
OK, OK, we get it. Even Garnett, Pierce & Allen got a mention. And that's just basketball. If you comb message boards and forums you'll find lists of greatest hockey trios, greatest football trios, etc. etc. etc. So Wade, Bosh & LeBron is not necessarily one for the ages. Forgive Dwayne Wade for being a little overexcited I guess.
Fast forward to yesterday, and Michael Jordan claimed that anything LeBron wins now will be somehow "tainted" because he teamed up with Bosh & Wade. "There’s no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.' In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”
OK, Michael, whatever you say. Didn't you already HAVE a super team? Didn't you already have Pippen, one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever on your squad? Didn't Bird have Parish & McHale? Didn't Magic have Kareem & Worthy? More to the point, would your superteam have necessarily beaten a corollary super team of McHale, Kareem & Pippen? Probably, but it would be fun to watch.
Hit the title/read more to continue reading on Michael Jordan's comments on Lebron, Wade and Bosh...
The bottom line, of course, is that you can't have it both ways. You can't trumpet how much better the great trios of the past were than the current one while simultaneously proclaiming anything they accomplish to be gained by cheat. Most of this fire is directed LeBron's way, arisen from the belief that he couldn't win "on his own." Well, neither could Michael, until he had Pippen. Neither could Magic, after Kareem left.
If you want a corollary to what LeBron's career has looked like, look at Moses Malone. He took an AWFUL Rockets team to the finals, by himself, just like LeBron did with the Cavs a few years back. He didn't win, however, until he teamed up with Doc and Cheeks (and Bobby Jones, and Andrew Toney, etc.). So was Moses a fraud? Was he a loser? Give me a break. Was Kobe a loser because he couldn’t win when Shaq left? Are his titles tainted now that Gasol is there? Was Jordan himself a loser because he needed Pippen to win?
It's hard to win it all in the NBA. You have to have the stars, AND the team round them. If Bosh, Wade & LeBron win a handful of titles they won't be "tainted" at all. They will be titles. Just as good as Magic's or Bird's or Michael Jordan's.
The real issue here is Jordan's ongoing nasty competitive streak that did not fade when his basketball skill and athleticism did. MJ can't stand the thought of other people winning or being great, so he has to find a way to denigrate them. Think of it this way, if Jordan had somehow found a way to assemble the Bosh/Wade/LeBron triumverate in Charlotte, do you not think he would be crowing over the rest of the NBA about what an incredible owner and genius GM he was? Do you think he would be saying, "yeah, but if we win it will be tainted?" Maybe the idea of the Heat kicking the crap out of Charlotte every year is what motivated Jordan’s comments in the first place. Hmmmmmm.
