Michael Jordan Vs. All Bullies, Everywhere
Maybe you’ve seen it, if you haven’t you should….
It’s “The Last Dance” and it is one of the greatest sports documentaries that’s ever been done. It’s about THE greatest team that’s every played. It tells the story of THE greatest player to ever play basketball… Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. The Documentary primarily focuses on the last season THE greatest team ever played in 1998, while also giving unprecedented access and insight as to what it took to get there. The Chicago Bulls were undoubtably THE team of the 90’s but to get there, they had to go through the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons. In the most recent documentary and others like it, you see Michael Jordan (the unstoppaBULL force) struggle to get through the Pistons (the immovable object). What made the Pistons “Bad Boys” was their style of play. The Pistons saw a weakness not only in Michael Jordan but the rest of the league… physical toughness…actual weakness. Playing with a rough, trying-to-hurt-you style gave them an edge. Enough of an edge to win back-to-back championships. Personally, I never liked it and I still don’t. I don’t think the Detroit Pistons were “Bad Boys”… they just were not as skilled as everyone else and because of that they played like boys… not men.
I’ve played basketball since I was a little kid. I still play and I’m as old as LaBron James (that’s old). Growing up I saw my fair share of fights on the court. Physical play and arguing over a foul was just about always the start of every fight that has ever happened on any playground. The more I played and the older I got, the more I realized why some players play more physically… lack of skill. Now, not everyone that plays hard isn’t skilled. Just look at Russell Westbrook. That guy plays hard and is highly skilled. He’s fast yet unafraid to drive hard to the basket. So it’s not just unskilled players that bully people around on the court. Like any student of the game, I came to realize that physical play often means desperation. You see, if you can beat me one-on-one off the dribble, chances are you aren’t gonna use your shoulder to create space… you’ll just go right around me. And any good defender will tell you that a foul is a direct result of having been bested and a last ditch effort to regain control over the situation. Simply put, once I see a defender start playing more physically it means I got ‘em… psychologically. I’m in their head. They think I’m more skilled then they are and it’s time to dance. That’s when I used to use my handles (dribbling) to play around a bit and keep them guessing. I’m no Harlem Globetrotter but I have broken a couple of ankles in my day. What inevitably happens when you break your defenders ankles is the need for revenge… hence the physical play, fouls and given enough time… fights.
Watching old footage of the “Bad Boy” Pistons it’s easy to see how they took this concept to the extreme. They created an atmosphere of intimidation much like any other bully would. The question is… WHY? Isiah Thomas… Good ball player, Hall of Famer. Joe Dumars… elite guard, great defender, quintessential 3 & D guy. Dennis Rodman… One of the best if not THE best rebounder the league has ever seen. So why all the physical play? Why were the Pistons beating people up and not just beating them without all the physical, career-threatening, poor-sportsmanship play? As I mentioned above… it’s psychological. If you listen to their side of the story you see the heavy-weighted chip on each players shoulders. Feelings of inadequacy, rejection, lack of skill, lack of solid foundations in which to be raised and nurtured in. As the saying goes… inside every monster, every bully, is a scared little kid just trying to fit in. The “Bad Boy” Pistons were the embodiment of that very tough, but very true analysis. It wasn’t just that they really were not as good as Magic Johnson and the Lakers or Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It wasn’t just that they felt that desperate, win-at-all-cost desperation. It wasn’t just that they allowed their feelings of inadequacy to bubble up to the surface and create a dangerous league in which to play in. It was all of those things and I’m sure much more. But, I could be wrong. Maybe, just maybe… it was something else.
If you have watched everything about Michael Jordan or with Michael Jordan in it, or you just like movies you might have seen a little movie back in 1996 called Space Jam. Without going into some deeep analysis and dissecting the whole movie, I’ll hook you up with some cliff notes. It’s like this, Bugs Bunny and all of Toontown face off against aliens that come to the planet to enslave all of the known cartoon world. In desperation Bugs Bunny and crew call out the aliens in a Battle Royale to decide the fate of all cartoon characters on earth. Since the aliens are very small, Bugs decides that basketball is the best arena in which to do battle. The aliens figure out a way to cheat and go into the REAL WORLD to steal the size and ability of NBA players. After the very small aliens become very BIG aliens they take on the team name, the MON-STARS. The opposing team, the Toon-squad, needs to find an answer for these big bully aliens and seeks out Michael Jordan to help them out. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. The MON-STARS = The “Bad Boy” Pistons and Michael Jordan has to stop them. ***SPOILER ALERT*** (if by some chance you haven’t seen this movie and your hanging out on a rainy day, go check it out and then come back and read this)…. Just like in real life, Michael Jordan comes through and the MON-STARS are defeated. After the loss, as part of a side bet (gambling theories aside), the aliens have to give the NBA players back their talent. When those big bully aliens are brought back down to size they become somewhat humble and explain they didn’t want to do it, they were made to do it by the Big Boss (who happens to be a decent representation of Commissioner David Stern at the time). Now, I’m not saying Comm. David Stern (may he rest in peace) had anything to do with the “Bad Boy” Pistons and their style of play. What I am saying is the Commissioner and the league allowed this dangerous style of play to continue long enough for the Pistons to win back-to-back championships. Personally, I feel it was bad for basketball and it’s something that should never happen again.
Ask any kid, at any playground… most people just want to play the game. No one wants to get in the middle of a fight and not be able to just play the game. What usually happens when a fight breaks out on the playground court is one of two things… 1. People settle up, deal with the fact they just aren’t as good as the other team/player OR 2. The game ends and everyone goes home. I know what it’s like to play bully-ball. It can be fun for anyone on the bully’s team, but everyone else hates it. Bully-ball takes away the FUN-damentals of the game. It’s takes away the breath-taking suspense and excitement and turns the game into a grind. Bully-ball isn’t pretty to watch and it isn’t fun to play. So, everyone goes home. I could go on about Bully-ball (specifically LeBron James) but I’ll save that for another article. I will say just one more thing though… Money. At a time when the NBA is soaring to new heights, both with advertisers and with fans it’s interesting that the league would allow such dangerous and potentially career-ending play. I mean, can you imagine if M.J. had drove to the basket and one of those “Bad Boys” had seriously injured him? To the point of never playing again? I think the league allowed this style of play to go on as a cap to the 80’s and came into the 90’s with a much more cautious, we-need-to-protect-our-investment additude. And thankfully so. I would hate to think what would have happened if Michael Jordan had suffered a career-ending injury at the hands of such poor sportsman.
But, let’s not think about what thankfully didn’t happen. Let’s look at what did happen… Michael Jordan realized that he needed to be tougher. He hit the gym. He bulked up and he played a bit more physical. He got better…. And The Bulls beat the Pistons once and for all in 1991. As a matter of fact the Bulls SWEPT the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons were not happy about it. The majority of the “Bad Boys” walked off the court with 8 seconds to go and headed to the locker room. They had to walk by the Bulls bench on their way and the look on Michael Jordan’s face is one of utter disbelief and hurt. Listening to the Piston’s side of things they blame the legacy-scarring event on the fact that the Boston Celtics had done the same thing to them. While that’s true, the Celtics were not happy about being beaten by the Pistons, I think the Celtics walked off for a different reason, a good reason. The Celtics walked off as a protest to the style of play the Pistons were using, where as the Pistons walked off because they were just Boys, “Bad Boys”…. immature and not as skilled.
Just like the MON-STAR team and the “Bad Boy” Pistons team, Michael Jordan rose above it. Why? ….Because cream always rises to the top. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player that’s ever lived and he was destined to rise to the top. How?… He internalized that struggle and made it his mission to prepare himself for the battle that was the Bulls vs. Pistons. Should he have had to do this?… NO. Should anyone have to do this again?… No, but I wouldn’t bet that it won’t happen again. Every playground eventually has a bully on the court. David and Goliath stories happen all the time in life. My personal favorite (other then the actual David and Goliath story) is Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James. That one was fun to watch. Watch for another article on that.
I’m no Michael Jordan, but just like anyone else going to the local playground court everyday, I’ve gotta deal with bullies and rude, belligerent people that just aren’t willing to put the work in to become as skilled as they could be. To all those Bullies of basketball I say…..
Go back to football practice. Come back to basketball when you learn how to play the game with some dignity and respect.
Hope you enjoyed reading this article. Thank you for your time.
