Mullin on Jordan Article
- Thread starter paultzman
- Start date
L J S A
Well-known member
[quote="Paultzman" post=387604][URL]https://www.sfchronicle.com/warriors/article/The-Last-Dance-Chris-Mullin-s-unique-15274991.php[/URL][/quote]
"As long as you’re on the same level in terms of dedication, work ethic, discipline, and focus, you’re all good."
Thanks to the new documentary about MJ, I've noticed a lot of articles about how shocked people were at the real MJ. They must all be young, because I didn't think it was any secret that MJ was frequently a hyper intense, demanding A-hole.
But that quote by Mullin sums up what I've long felt about MJ. Probably also helps if you have obvious talent like Mullin, though.
"As long as you’re on the same level in terms of dedication, work ethic, discipline, and focus, you’re all good."
Thanks to the new documentary about MJ, I've noticed a lot of articles about how shocked people were at the real MJ. They must all be young, because I didn't think it was any secret that MJ was frequently a hyper intense, demanding A-hole.
But that quote by Mullin sums up what I've long felt about MJ. Probably also helps if you have obvious talent like Mullin, though.
beast of the east
Active member
Until Jordan broke through and won a championship, he was just another great player, but had not gotten past the Celtics or the Pistons. He could have made a bundle playing at that level of success but what really distinguished him was that he was absolutely maniacal in his pursuit of winning.
I worked at the US Open tennis tournament while in college. By sheer chance I got assigned on my very first day as a security guard in the men's locker room entrance. They told me players and only were allowed in the locker room, so in a combination of being as authoritative as a Burns security guard can be and as friendly as a college kid can be, refused to let just about anyone in that wasn't a player. As a result, lots of people took notice, and they kept me there every day for that tournament, and when I came back the next year, assigned me to the same post.
What I learned meeting and chatting with some of the biggest names in tennis (it was the hey day of Connors and Borg, McEnroe was on the way up, Laver and Rosewall on the way out) was that there was very little difference in raw talent among the top 50 players. Of course there were differences, but what players told me was that the single most important attribute was that the guys on top had an unreal capacity to do everything it took mentally and physically to be the very best. Some guys had very short runs as #1 (Jim Courier, for example). Others longer but burned out (McEnroe and Borg) too soon. A rarity was Connor, who played at a high level till his late 30s.
Jordan had the unreal combination of perhaps being the best player by far, and wanting to win far more than anyone else, doing anything he had to do to win. Perhaps it makes him the best athlete of all time I don't know.
I had almost devalued Joe DiMaggio as being the best player on a completely loaded Yankee team that could have won with their eyes closed, until I read his biography entitled "A Hero's story" or something close to that. In it the author wrote how DiMaggio felt it was his personal responsibility to win a world series every single year. Anything short of that was a failure to him, and he came up big in big moments.
For the most part we didn't learn much about Jordan that we didn't already know, but I came away impressed at the incredibly hard work and intensity to play harder and work harder than everyone else.
I worked at the US Open tennis tournament while in college. By sheer chance I got assigned on my very first day as a security guard in the men's locker room entrance. They told me players and only were allowed in the locker room, so in a combination of being as authoritative as a Burns security guard can be and as friendly as a college kid can be, refused to let just about anyone in that wasn't a player. As a result, lots of people took notice, and they kept me there every day for that tournament, and when I came back the next year, assigned me to the same post.
What I learned meeting and chatting with some of the biggest names in tennis (it was the hey day of Connors and Borg, McEnroe was on the way up, Laver and Rosewall on the way out) was that there was very little difference in raw talent among the top 50 players. Of course there were differences, but what players told me was that the single most important attribute was that the guys on top had an unreal capacity to do everything it took mentally and physically to be the very best. Some guys had very short runs as #1 (Jim Courier, for example). Others longer but burned out (McEnroe and Borg) too soon. A rarity was Connor, who played at a high level till his late 30s.
Jordan had the unreal combination of perhaps being the best player by far, and wanting to win far more than anyone else, doing anything he had to do to win. Perhaps it makes him the best athlete of all time I don't know.
I had almost devalued Joe DiMaggio as being the best player on a completely loaded Yankee team that could have won with their eyes closed, until I read his biography entitled "A Hero's story" or something close to that. In it the author wrote how DiMaggio felt it was his personal responsibility to win a world series every single year. Anything short of that was a failure to him, and he came up big in big moments.
For the most part we didn't learn much about Jordan that we didn't already know, but I came away impressed at the incredibly hard work and intensity to play harder and work harder than everyone else.
I am a Knicks fan so it pains me to admit. This idea that Jordan was a hyper intense, demanding a-hole is not news. Nor is it a bad thing. He was/is the greatest player ever. Of course how many examples do we have to compare who won what six championships. Patrick Ewing was a great player but I wish he had a little more of Jordan in his personality. Just wasn’t his style. Of course he never played with the talent Jordan had around him. For that matter Mullin would have thrived playing with Jordan. Probably would have pushed him like he pushed Pippen and Grant.
beast of the east
Active member
[quote="sjc88" post=387655]I am a Knicks fan so it pains me to admit. This idea that Jordan was a hyper intense, demanding a-hole is not news. Nor is it a bad thing. He was/is the greatest player ever. Of course how many examples do we have to compare who won what six championships. Patrick Ewing was a great player but I wish he had a little more of Jordan in his personality. Just wasn’t his style. Of course he never played with the talent Jordan had around him. For that matter Mullin would have thrived playing with Jordan. Probably would have pushed him like he pushed Pippen and Grant.[/quote]
At Georgetown, Ewing was a monster. UNC had more overall talent up and down their roster, but Ewing was the beast. No one compared to him as a defensive force, as a player who seemed to have disdain for opponents and played with a seething rage barely under control. How many Michael Jordans would oyu have had to surrender to get one Patrick Ewing in 1984, the year MJ was the number 3 pick in the draft? To get Ewing that year, I would guess some teams would have surrendered both Olajuwon and Jordan (#1 and #3). Some might have said 1,2 and 3 (#2 = Bowie). He was a 7 foot tall Bill Russell, bigger, stronger, with a wingspan that made him look like Mothra. He made guys that made the NBA, such as Joe Klein, look like grade school centers.
To me, Ewing's NBA career was like a supercharged Felipe Lopez. Yes he was an all star, yes he made the NBA HOF. But in no way was he the absolute incomparable raw talent that made Georgetown the most feared team perhaps of the last 35 years. I didn't say the best, just the most feared. His pro career, in which he became a refined scorer, just didn't approach the Hoya Destroyer that he was.
Jordan didn't play basketball to make friends.
He didn't play the game out of love.
He just played it to win. every single minute. every single game.
At Georgetown, Ewing was a monster. UNC had more overall talent up and down their roster, but Ewing was the beast. No one compared to him as a defensive force, as a player who seemed to have disdain for opponents and played with a seething rage barely under control. How many Michael Jordans would oyu have had to surrender to get one Patrick Ewing in 1984, the year MJ was the number 3 pick in the draft? To get Ewing that year, I would guess some teams would have surrendered both Olajuwon and Jordan (#1 and #3). Some might have said 1,2 and 3 (#2 = Bowie). He was a 7 foot tall Bill Russell, bigger, stronger, with a wingspan that made him look like Mothra. He made guys that made the NBA, such as Joe Klein, look like grade school centers.
To me, Ewing's NBA career was like a supercharged Felipe Lopez. Yes he was an all star, yes he made the NBA HOF. But in no way was he the absolute incomparable raw talent that made Georgetown the most feared team perhaps of the last 35 years. I didn't say the best, just the most feared. His pro career, in which he became a refined scorer, just didn't approach the Hoya Destroyer that he was.
Jordan didn't play basketball to make friends.
He didn't play the game out of love.
He just played it to win. every single minute. every single game.
And Jordan didn't have management trade away the point guard that fed him for a rhythm shooter with a slow release who actually added defensive pressure to the paint because everyone knew they could cheat to the middle and still have time to get back up on Charles Smith and contest his shot...and I am not now nor have I ever been a Knick fan. Even looked it up.
The trade drastically alters the Knicks' nucleus from the end of last season. Four key players from last season are gone: Xavier McDaniel, Kiki Vandeweghe, Jackson and Wilkins. They have been replaced by Smith, Rivers, Rolando Blackman and Tony Campbell, acquired in a trade with Minnesota last week.
Patrick Ewing, the Knicks' franchise player, turned 30 years old last month, and the organization is committed to making a run at the title during the next three seasons. By adding veteran players like Blackman, Rivers and Smith, the Knicks hope they can find the right chemistry and talent to dethrone the Chicago Bulls.
The trade drastically alters the Knicks' nucleus from the end of last season. Four key players from last season are gone: Xavier McDaniel, Kiki Vandeweghe, Jackson and Wilkins. They have been replaced by Smith, Rivers, Rolando Blackman and Tony Campbell, acquired in a trade with Minnesota last week.
Patrick Ewing, the Knicks' franchise player, turned 30 years old last month, and the organization is committed to making a run at the title during the next three seasons. By adding veteran players like Blackman, Rivers and Smith, the Knicks hope they can find the right chemistry and talent to dethrone the Chicago Bulls.