How to Be Like Mike

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
/>   Doug West

  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