by Pat Williams
The greatest athletes can never relax their grip. This is why they so rarely retire gracefully. It can be a cruel fate for an athlete, but the truth is that there is no more admirable trait in a man than merely having great expectations for himself.
So I close this book as Michael Jordan ponders a comeback, as he asks himself how far he can carry his dream. How far will you carry your dream? We all have some of Michael Jordan lying dormant within us. All you have to do is release the weights that are holding you down; let go of the restraints that tie you in knots and keep you locked away from the real you— the you wanting to “be like Mike.”
AFTERWORD
By Michael Weinreb
The other night, I began watching the tail end of a nineteen-hour Michael Jordan Marathon on ESPN Classic. I saw Michael shoot over Bryon Russell in Game Six of the 1998 NBA Finals. I saw Michael’s gray pallor in Game Five of the 1997 Finals, the Sick Game. I saw Michael score thirty-five points in the first half in Game One of the 1992 Finals against Portland. I was lost. I was mesmerized. Michael toweled the sweat off his forehead. Michael shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
When I looked at the clock again, it was 4 A. M.
The weird thing was that watching it again made it all seem like it happened ages ago; it carries such historic context. “He is a slice of Americana now,” as Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene notes. “He’s one of those rare figures who dominated our culture. He pioneered the position. And there won’t be another one.”
And to think of all the time we spent chasing our own tail. The stories we wrote. The arguments we had: The Next Michael is Grant Hill. The Next Michael is Jerry Stackhouse. We assumed that The Next Michael was somewhere, gestating within the body of Tracy McGrady or Allen Iverson or Kobe Bryant, that he was merely waiting for the proper moment to waggle his tongue and make himself seen.
Well, as Grant Hill wrote in the introduction to this book, that’s enough of that. Searching for The Next Michael is like looking for the next Enrico Caruso in a room full of lounge singers. It was a way of amusing ourselves until we came to the proper realization that the man you have just read about is not ever going to be replicated. Certainly, the next generation may show us flashes: a dizzying spin move, a dunk that leaves a lump in our throat, a blur of a crossover dribble; perhaps even a couple of NBA championship rings and the hint of a dynasty.
But The Next Michael Jordan? No. Uh-uh. Not going to happen.
I hope you have figured it out after eleven chapters, but let me repeat it: This man is an anomaly. The things he has done are stunning, but the things he is are equally admirable. He is a leader, a champion, a role model, a father, a teammate, a golfing buddy. He is one of the few figures to transcend the skepticism of my generation, a man whom no one would dare ridicule, whom no one would dare disrespect. He rises above our natural tendency toward cynicism, appealing even to those who favor their heroes on the fringes of society (see Dennis Rodman). We see his glistening bald head, his smooth skin, his sculpted body, his tailored suits, and we carry with us a picture of a graceful man with a monumental gift, a picture of perhaps one of the last of the great American icons.
It speaks a great deal that in doing fifteen hundred interviews for this book, Pat Williams received only four negative responses. Two were from autograph seekers, a group of people who will earn absolutely no sympathy from me. Two others were from sportswriters, a notoriously grumpy bunch. You will also note that we quoted dozens of sportswriters and autograph seekers who testified to Jordan’s equity with them. I challenge you to name one other celebrity who could elicit that type of response.
A radio commentator in Chicago recently referred to the head of Al Gore’s legal team, David Boies, as“the Michael Jordan of litigators.” When Washington Post reporter Michael Leahy passed this onto Jordan, he smiled and nodded. “The standard,” he said.
If anything, that’s why this story needs to be passed on to the next generation. Because we read the story of Jordan and the Sick Game and we push ourselves to work through our paltry midwinter colds. Because we read the stories of Jordan and his patience with handicapped children and we think twice the next time we come across a child with Down’s syndrome. Because this man is not normal. Because this man is the standard. If you get nothing else out of this book, I hope you realize that.
Lately, the question of another Jordan comeback has arisen. As I write this, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Nobody except Jordan seems to know. But it’s funny. I have heard people say that he is too old, that he can’t compete, that he can’t lead his team to the play-offs, that he can’t carry a team on his back anymore. And every time I have this conversation, I imagine Michael Jordan in a gym somewhere, shooting free throw after free throw, working on a new jump shot, doing sets of bicep curls until he can barely breathe, and waiting for the proper moment to emerge from history, to show himself as the only Next Michael Jordan we will ever know.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, a franchise he cofounded in 1987. He is a veteran of thirty-three seasons in the National Basketball Association, serving as the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic. Twenty-two of his teams have made the NBA play-offs, five have gone to the Finals, and in 1983 the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA championship.
During his career Williams has traded Pete Maravich, traded for Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Penny Hardaway, and drafted Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.
Prior to his involvement in the NBA, Pat spent seven years in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, two years as a minor-league catcher and five in the front office. He also spent three seasons as an executive in the Minnesota Twins organization.
Williams is a 1962 graduate of Wake Forest University. He earned his master’s degree from Indiana University in 1964 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Flagler University in 1995.
Pat is one of America’s top motivational speakers. He speaks more than a hundred times a year and has addressed many of the Fortune 500 companies. He has authored twenty-two books on a wide range of subjects. His much anticipated autobiography, Ahead of the Game, was released in 1999.
Pat and his wife Ruth are the parents of nineteen children, including fourteen who are adopted from South Korea, the Philippines, Romania and Brazil. At one point, sixteen of the children were teenagers at the same time. Two of their sons are members of the United States Marine Corps and son Bobby is a coach in the Cincinnati Reds farm system.
Pat has completed eighteen marathons in the last six years, including six consecutive Boston Marathons. He is a Sunday school teacher, a Civil War buff, a weight lifter, and a serious baseball fan. Each winter Pat catches in Major League Baseball fantasy camps and like Michael Jordan, is always considering a comeback.
If you would like to contact Pat Williams directly or if you have a Michael Jordan story you would like to share, please call him on his private line at 407-916-2404 or e-mail him at pwilliams@rdvsports. com. Mail can be sent to the following address:
Pat Williams
c/o RDV Sports
8701 Maitland Summit Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32810
If you would like information regarding Pat Williams’s speaking engagements, please contact his assistant, Melinda Ethington. She can be reached at the above address or on her direct line at 407-916-2454. Requests can also be faxed to 407-916-2986 or e-mailed to methington@rdvsports. com.
LIST OF INTERVIEWS
I would like to make it clear that I did not interview Michael Jordan for this book. All of the Jordan quotes that appear within are pieced together from various sources. I did, however, interview virtually everyone else who had ever had a conversation with Michael Jordan. At last count, this list includes fifteen hundred people including eighty of Michael’s former Chicago Bulls teammates, coaches and staff, and most of his North Carolina teammates and coaches. I’ve heard a w
ell-researched biography would involve between two hundred and four hundred interviews, but those who know me will vouch for the fact that I’ve always been given to overkill.
I did write Michael a letter of explanation as this book was being put together, and I believe I have reason to thank him. When I placed a call to his personal trainer, Tim Grover, he told me that he had an understanding with Michael: He would not talk about their relationship without Michael’s permission.
Five minutes later my phone rang.
“What do you want to know?” Grover said.
So thanks to everyone on this list. And thanks, especially, to the one person who is not on this list.
Current
NBA Players
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Tariq Abdul-Wahad
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Cory Alexander
Ray Allen
John Amacchi
Derek Anderson
Kenny Anderson
Nick Anderson
Shandon Anderson
Greg Anthony
Darrell Armstrong
Ike Austin
Vin Baker
Dana Barros
Brent Barry
Jon Barry
Tony Battie
Corey Benjamin
David Benoit
Chauncey Billups
Corie Blount
Muggsy Bogues
Bruce Bowen
Shawn Bradley
Chucky Brown
Dee Brown
P. J. Brown
Randy Brown
Kobe Bryant
Mark Bryant
Jud Buechler
Matt Bullard
Scott Burrell
Jason Caffey
Marcus Camby
Elden Campbell
Chris Carr
Vince Carter
Sam Cassell
Kelvin Cato
Duane Causwell
Cedric Ceballos
Calbert Cheaney
Chris Childs
Doug Christie
Derrick Coleman
Bimbo Coles
Tyrone Corbin
Chris Crawford
John Crotty
Bill Curley
Dell Curry
Michael Curry
Erick Dampier
Antonio Daniels
Kornel David
Antonio Davis
Dale Davis
Hubert Davis
Terry Davis
Vinny Del Negro
Tony Delk
Vlade Divac
Sherman Douglas
Chris Dudley
Tim Duncan
Tyus Edney
Kevin Edwards
Howard Eisley
Mario Elie
Sean Elliott
LaPhonso Ellis
Pervis Ellison
Patrick Ewing
Jamie Feick
Danny Ferry
Michael Finley
Derek Fisher
Greg Foster
Rick Fox
Adonal Foyle
Todd Fuller
Lawrence Funderburke
Dean Garrett
Chris Gatling
Matt Geiger
Kendall Gill
Brian Grant
Gary Grant
Horace Grant
A. C. Green
Tom Gugliotta
Penny Hardaway
Tim Hardaway
Ron Harper
Othella Harrington
Lucious Harris
Antonio Harvey
Hersey Hawkins
Michael Hawkins
Alan Henderson
Cedric Henderson
Grant Hill
Tyrone Hill
Fred Hoiberg
Robert Horry
Alan Houston
Lindsey Hunter
Steven Hunter
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Allen Iverson
Bobby Jackson
Jarren Jackson
Jimmy Jackson
Mark Jackson
Antawn Jamison
Avery Johnson
Earvin Johnson
Larry Johnson
Eddie Jones
Popeye Jones
Adam Keefe
Shawn Kemp
Steve Kerr
Jerome Kersey
Jason Kidd
Kerry Kittles
Brevin Knight
Travis Knight
Tony Kukoc
Christian Laettner
Voshon Lenard
Grant Long
Luc Longley
George Lynch
Don MacLean
Corey Maggette
Dan Majerle
Danny Manning
Stephon Marbury
Donyell Marshall
Darrick Martin
Jamal Mashburn
Anthony Mason
Tony Massenburg
Vern Maxwell
Walter McCarty
George McCloud
Antonio McDyess
Jeff McGinnis
Tracy McGrady
Jim McIlvaine
Derrick McKey
Aaron McKie
Ron Mercer
Darius Miles
Reggie Miller
Terry Mills
Sam Mitchell
Eric Montross
Alonzo Mourning
Lamond Murray
Tracy Murray
Dikembe Mutombo
Steve Nash
Johnny Newman
Moochie Norris
Charles Oakley
Hakeem Olajuwon
Jermaine O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal
Greg Ostertag
Bo Outlaw
Doug Overton
Billy Owens
Robert Pack
Cherokee Parks
Vitaly Patapenko
Gary Payton
Will Perdue
Sam Perkins
Elliott Perry
Wes Person
Eric Piatkowski
Paul Pierce
Scottie Pippen
Scott Pollard
Olden Polynice
Mark Pope
Terry Porter
Brent Price
Laron Profit
Theo Ratliff
Eldridge Recasner
Bryant Reeves
Don Reid
J. R. Reid
Glen Rice
Quentin Richardson
Mitch Richmond
Isaiah Rider
Cliff Robinson
David Robinson
Glenn Robinson
Larry Robinson
Carlos Rogers
Rodney Rogers
Sean Rooks
Jalen Rose
Malik Rose
Byron Russell
Arvydas Sabonis
Brian Shaw
Reggie Slater
Charles Smith
Joe Smith
Michael Smith
Steve Smith
Tony Smith
Eric Snow
Felton Spencer
Latrell Sprewell
Jerry Stackhouse
John Starks
Michael Stewart
Bryant Stith
Damon Stoudamire
Erick Strickland
Mark Strickland
Rod Strickland
Derek Strong
Bob Sura
Zan Tabak
Maurice Taylor
Jamaal Tinsley
Kurt Thomas
Tim Thomas
Gary Trent
Nick Van Exel
Keith Van Horn
Jacque Vaughn
Loy Vaught
Antoine Walker
Samaki Walker
Ben Wallace
Rasheed Wallace
Charlie Ward
Clarence Weatherspoon
Chris Webber
David Wesley
Chris Whitney
Aaron Williams
Alvin Williams
Eric Williams
Jerome Williams
Monty Williams
Scott Williams
Walt Williams
Corliss Williamson
Kevin Willis
Lorenzen Wright
Former
NBA Players
Alvan Adams
Michael Adams
Mark Aguirre
Danny Ainge
Mark Alarie
Ron Anderson
B. J. Armstrong
Keith Askins
John Bagley
Greg Ballard
Gene Banks
Charles Barkley
Rick Barry
John Battle
Elgin Baylor
Kent Benson
Otis Birdsong
Rolando Blackman
Ricky Blanton
Tom Boerwinkle
Sam Bowie
Bill Bradley
Adrian Branch
Mike Bratz
Randy Breuer
Gary Brokaw
Scott Brooks
Mike Brown
Quinn Buckner
Austin Carr
Kenny Carr
Bill Cartwright
Harvey Catchings
Rex Chapman
Maurice Cheeks
Michael Cooper
Wayne Cooper
Dave Corzine
Terry Cummings
Earl Cureton
Brad Davis
Charles Davis
Johnny Davis
Mel Davis
Walter Davis
Darryl Dawkins
Dell Demps
James Donaldson
Greg Dreiling
Larry Drew
Clyde Drexler
Mark Eaton
Franklin Edwards
James Edwards
Craig Ehlo
Dale Ellis
Len Elmore
Chris Engler
Alex English
Jojo English
Julius Erving
Michael Evans
Tony Farmer
Duane Ferrell
Eric “Sleepy” Floyd
Walt Frazier
World B. Free
George Gervin
Armon Gilliam
Artis Gilmore
Ronnie Grandison
Harvey Grant
Rickey Green
Sidney Green
David Greenwood