Don’t know why this just popped up in my head this morning, but just made me wonder as a young person in my 20s. I’ve watched the Jordan/NBA documentaries as we all have, and as I understand it NBA, and basketball in general, was not very well known internationally until Jordan came about.
I’ve also heard that previously NBA had a reputation of being “urban,” in a bad way that carried negative connotations to it, which dissuaded some of America from becoming followers of NBA. If I’m correct, this supposedly changed a lot during Bird/Magic era and Jordan era was simply so captivating that everybody started paying attention to it and got past the stigma.
But these are more like historical facts, and I want to hear first-hand accounts from older fans of NBA who actually witnessed the era. Do you have any anecdotes that made you really feel the difference once Jordan came? Would love to hear.
I love Michael Jordan, but a lot of players and fans learned the wrong lesson from watching him. He was such a prolific scorer that they also wanted to win scoring titles. Allen Iverson won four scoring titles but was never as efficient as Jordan. Tracy McGrady won two scoring titles but couldn’t duplicate Jordan’s postseason success. Kobe Bryant won scoring titles in years the Lakers struggled as a team.
Before Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were great scorers but were just as well known for their passing. They never tried to win scoring titles. When LeBron James came along he arguably modeled his game more on Magic and Bird than on Jordan. And until he started winning championships he was heavily criticized for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing Jordan. I’m just saying a lot of players and fans didn’t respect Jordan’s all around game as much as they respected his scoring. And they didn’t respect his scoring efficiency as much as they respected his scoring volume.