The fourth effect of the Michael Jordan Phenomenon (MJP) I have seen is the Selective Memory Effect when dealing with the facts of Jordan’s own career. The media and the myopic fans especially focus on the six championships. I’ve heard terms like “the ultimate winner” and that he “never missed a clutch shot” or “never lost a key game.” Huh? He played 15 seasons in the NBA, 13 with the Bulls. He didn’t win 13 championships with the Bulls: he won six.
Here are a few of the things that people choose to forget about Jordan because those things don’t support their deification of Jordan:
- The Bulls’ turnaround in Jordan’s rookie season was in no way monumental. Yes, the Bulls improved, but only 11 games. This improvement does not support the idea that Jordan alone carried the Bulls to championships–if he did, then why didn’t the Bulls improve more when he arrived? Other players effected much better increases in wins upon their arrival. This one is very important, because so many so-called experts try to say that Jordan won the championships “on his own.” If his individual influence was so great, then why weren’t the Bulls a better team quicker when he arrived? Why did it take him seven seasons to win a title?
- The Bulls did not win a title until Jordan’s seventh season. Does that mean that Jordan was just improving and getting better and that made the Bulls win a title in his seventh season? No. The stats clearly show that he was better before he won a title, and he already had won an MVP in 1987-88. The team, however, did improve, and the competition faded in strength. Jordan was great before the Bulls won a title; as with any individual in a team sport, he needed help.
- The Bulls did not collapse when Jordan left in 1993. This one is something that most Jordan-worshipers don’t even know about. In 1992-93 the Bulls went 57-25. The next season they went 55-27–without Jordan for the entire season! If Jordan was virtually the sole reason the Bulls won any titles (as Tony Kornheiser has postulated), then why did his absence produce only a two-game decline? Other great teams have suffered much more from their star’s absence.
- Jordan was NOT a winner for the rest of his Bulls career after winning that first title. This one is another that Bulls fans tend to ignore. Jordan was there for the 1995 playoffs and the Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Remember that? He came back in the second half of the season. He may have been a bit rusty at first, but in time the would-be experts said he was the same old Michael. Hey, he dropped 55 on the Knicks, didn’t he? In the playoffs, though, the Bulls were knocked off in six games by the Magic. How’s that? If Michael’s back, then the Bulls should win, right? Here’s the missing evidence: the 1994-95 Bulls did not have a complete team as neither Horace Grant from the first threepeat nor Dennis Rodman from the second threepeat were there that year. They were weak in rebounding and low post defense.
- The Bulls never played any truly great teams when winning championships. Hey, a title is a title, but to be truly great you should be beating another great team. The Bulls did not play great teams, and the list of starting centers they faced shows that: Vlade Divac, Kevin Duckworth, Mark West, Ervin Johnson, and Greg Ostertag. In the historical context of the NBA, no one is going to confuse the 1996 Sonics or the 1997-98 Jazz with, say, the 1970 Lakers, the 1974 Bucks, the 1980 76ers, the 1984 Lakers, the 1987 Celtics, the 2004 Lakers, or the 2005 Pistons (that is, great teams who lost the title). When there were stronger teams around (e.g. the Bad Boys Pistons), the Bulls could not win a title.
- While Michael Jordan won six Finals MVPs, only his first three were truly great performances. Take a look at the stats sometime: http://www.basketball-reference.com/…inals_mvp.html. His second three were basically by default: who else were they going to give it to? This wasn’t the Lakers of Magic/Kareem/Worthy. Here’s a telling stat: his FG% in those second three championship series was .415, .456, and .427; that’s mediocre shooting at best and actually quite poor for Jordan standards.
The Selective Memory Effect causes people to contract Jordan’s career to just 1990-91 to 1997-98. You know what? There was a lot more to his career! Remember his first six seasons? Three straight first round exits to start with, including back-to-back sweeps by the Celtics in 1986 and 1987. They started getting better, but couldn’t get past the Pistons, who beat them 4-1 in the 1988 Conference Semifinals, and then 4-2 and 4-3 in the 1989 and 1990 Conference Finals. How about Jordan’s last two seasons? I’m talking about his comeback with the Wizards. OK, I’ll admit that no one expected him to be the same old Michael, but those two seasons produced nothing substantial for Washington. As for Jordan, he looked slow compared with the players of that time. His performances in his late thirties certainly didn’t measure up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s in the same age frame.
Yes, Michael Jordan won six championships, and that is impressive. However, six titles in 15 seasons is no singular achievement. Not even 6 in 13 seasons with the Bulls. Hey, Magic Johnson won 5 in 12 seasons, and he appeared in 9 Finals in that time, whereas Jordan only appeared in those 6 Finals. Jordan’s title rings are a great accomplishment, but they don’t separate him from the rest of the pack. Discard the context of his career, though, and it’s easy to see his accomplishments outshine the others.
