His Airness Michael Jordan. 5 rules of a basketball legend

We hear Michael Jordan. We hear: Legend. That’s the whole point.

In his early days, he was just Michael Jordan, an ordinary North Carolina teenager with a dim future; upon graduating high school, he pondered a career in the Air Force. The early ’80s saw his transformation into Michael, the archangel of basketball rings. Not so long ago, Roland Lazenby’s book “Michael Jordan. His Air”, which sheds light on the dark and not fully explored sides of the legendary basketball player’s personality. In our material we have collected five rules that Jordan adheres to in his life to this day. They are all about him: his irrepressibility, his thirst for victory and his desire to live up to his potential.

From the book: “Professional basketball has always struggled with its unsightly image of grown men running around the court in something that looks a lot like underwear. But Jordan has risen above it all.”

All or nothing

Sports psychologist George Mumford was stunned when he first saw how energetic the 32-year-old Jordan was at practice. The psychologist had heard about Michael’s enormous appetite and the fact that he sleeps very little, and therefore, having just started working for the Bulls, immediately suspected that the team’s star player had manic-depressive syndrome or bipolar disorder, or maybe both.

From the book, “He was frantic, his hyper-energy was everywhere,” Mumford recalls of that workout. – “I thought, ‘He’s just not going to be able to sustain that for long.'”

Mumford watched Jordan for a long time afterward, expecting to see signs of depression after the workout. But after studying Michael’s behavior, the doctor realized that the revival and incredible thirst for fighting were simply characteristic features of the player’s behavior.

Competing and winning

Jordan spent much of the early part of his career trying to find a way to tame those talents and learn how to use them for the good of the team because, among other things, he was desperate to win. And while the public initially took notice of him because of his “flight,” it was something else that kept their eyes on him – his incredible thirst for fighting and winning.

From the book: “In matches, he was always in the epicenter of the hurricane, – said Mumford. – The more madness and chaos there was around him, the calmer he became.”

Remain an enigma

Jordan will never be fully unraveled and understood by us. The realization of this stone fell on his fans in 2009, when Michael, giving his speech at the ceremony of his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, sharply criticized very many significant people in his career, including the coach of the University of North Carolina team Dean Smith. Former colleagues, sports commentators, and fans all expressed surprise and displeasure at Jordan’s statements. He was not who they thought he was all these years, during which his image had been so impeccable.

From the book, “Michael Jordan will forever be a man of mystery. Back then in 2009, they thought they knew him. They were wrong.”

Taking every chance

In the offseason, Jordan always received multiple offers and contracts. From the book: “When I first heard the words ‘Air Jordan‘ from Phil Knight(founder of Nike. – Note: “Championship”), I laughed,” the legendary basketball player said in one of his interviews. But in less than three years, the brand has become an unprecedented marketing unit, on the sales of sneakers and other goods his collaboration with Nike brand earned over $ 165 million.

From the book, “At first I thought it was someone’s pipe dream,” Jordan said, recalling his first reaction to launching his own sneaker line. – But now the brand has grown to a much bigger size than before. The numbers are staggering.”

Being always in the game

Having already finished his professional career and owning the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team, Jordan hired his old friend Charles Oakley as an assistant coach.

From the book, “He’s a good guy,” Oakley said of Jordan once after another loss, adding that today’s NBA basketball players are spoiled crybabies who have no idea what it means to shut up, grit their teeth and work. Jordan smiled as he witnessed this monologue and then quipped that if Oakley could grab 10 rebounds a game, he could come back and start scoring in bunches.

Already in 2010, Michael Jordan was well aware that he had once again embarked on a long and winding road to success by leading a small-market NBA team – on this bumpy road, respect had to be earned step by step.

Thank you for your help in writing this article to “Eksmo” publishing house.