Michael Jorden: The Most Valuable Player

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After six National Basketball Association (NBA) Championships, eleven NBA Most
Valuable Player (MVP) awards and playing an astonishing fifteen seasons, Michael Jorden continues to be an inspiration for, not just me, but for so many young people. His combination of motivation, determination, athleticism, and definition to the game of basketball is the reason why he was voted as the Athlete of the Century. As with others, I am a huge fan of Michael
Jordan; I bought his high top “jump man”, silhouette shoes and I wore his black and red Chicago
Bull’s jersey. I remember my dad and older brother watching every one of his basketball games; he was my hero. So of course, when his book that he wrote came out, I bought it. Michael published a book in 1998 called, “For the Love of the Game” that talks about the rough times during his career, and the achievements he had accomplished with the Chicago Bulls; it explains his story about dedication and basketball, which are two things that I desired to have in my life because of him. A prime example of his motivation takes him back to his years spent at Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where his height caused a struggle. I struggled as well with my height, my freshman year in high school, which caused me not to make the Varsity team. Like Michael, that didn’t stop me; I joined the junior varsity team and started every game as the point guard. During Michael’s sophomore year of high school, he tried out for the varsity basketball team, but was deemed too short to play on a varsity level; he was 5’ 11”. So he joined the junior varsity, where he had several 40-point games. After a year of hard training to prove him worthy and growing an extra 4 inches, it gave him the ability to be on the varsity team; he dominated, averaging 20 points per game. Motivation was the key that made him train harder, and pushed him to the next level. After high school, Michael accepted a basketball scholarship to North Carolina. After spending 3 years with the North Carolina Tar Heels, he entered the 1984 NBA Draft. “Determination, not wings,” Jordan makes clear, “is how a normal kid from North Carolina learned to fly.” This quote from Michael is proves that, when life throws you a curveball, and you fail at something, appreciate your position. Through the years, MJ would motivate himself by reflecting on the negative times. One way that anybody could lose determination would be the loss of a loved one. Part of Michael’s temporary retirement from basketball was the death of his father; James R. Jordan Sr. James was a huge basketball fan, which played a large role in Michael’s life to become a great basketball player. On July 23, 1993, James pulled over on the side of a highway to take a nap when Daniel Andre Green and Larry Martin Demery spotted his car. Daniel and Larry shot him to death, and then
…show more content…
Three years later, Michael made a tribute to James on Father’s Day, by winning his fourth,
NBA finals Most Valuable Player trophy and fourth championship.

Michael Jordan’s athleticism was like no other player on the basketball court. I can remember how easy it was for him to rotate his arms from one side of the goal to the other, while his feet were off the ground; as if time froze, but Michael was still moving. When some think of the fastest players in basketball, you might think of John Wall (Washington Wizards) and Derrick Rose (New York Knicks). When thinking of the toughest players in the NBA, you might think of Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Dwight Howard (Atlanta Hawks). But some have forgotten about the one who could do it all. MJ could dribble through two and three players like it was nothing. He could extend his reach over 7 foot tall players and dunk on them without sweating it. The only thing that I could dunk was a tennis ball, but I was 5’ 5”. So maybe that’s not too bad; I don’t know. Overall, Michael’s athleticism is very difficult to compare to one player in today’s game. One’s who could possibly come close would be

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