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Sunday, September 04, 2005
Pages: Guess who I found at SM City the other day?
By John Pages
Match Point
He smiled. Sported a mustache and clipped a cigar on his left finger. His scalp shone like a Philips light bulb. He was gold and looked golden – from the gold watch that glittered off his wrist to the gold necktie beneath the blue suit to the gold earring hanging from his left ear lobe.
I saw him last Friday noon during the Super Sale. I strolled into the magazine shop CA Comm and flipped through the glossy covers. There he posed, tall and smiling.
Michael Jordan. He stood on the cover of Cigar Aficionado, a 240-pager that brands itself as “The Good Life Magazine For Men.” It’s the August 2005 issue and the cover story reads: “The No-Bull Interview, One-on-one with Michael Jordan.”
Chomping his cigar, MJ was interviewed in his Chicago home by the magazine’s editor/publisher, Marvin R. Shanken. Here are excerpts:
“Michael Jordan may be the greatest basketball player in history. He led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, twice doing it in three consecutive years. His season scoring average of 30.1 points per game is the highest in the league’s history.
And he won five MVP awards, as well as making the all-league defensive team in nine of his 15 seasons. But now, two years after leaving the NBA and his final stint as a player with the Washington Wizards, Jordan has decided to speak out...”
Do you miss the excitement of basketball? “Yes. I have to stay away from it because of it. I wouldn’t say it’s an addiction, but it’s a passion. When you have a passion, you want to do it as much as possible. Addiction means you can’t help yourself. I have a strong passion for the game of basketball.
The Harris Poll named you the most popular athlete in America the past 13 years... “My personality is my personality. I’m very real when people see me.
The way that I’m protected, I am as close to normal as anyone could be. In terms of my accolades and the way I played the game, those things had something to do with it, along with the marketability of Michael Jordan. And I don’t quit. I’m a very competitive person.”
Are these early exits from college good or bad for the NBA? “I’m a firm believer that a player should be 20 years old or older before going to the pros. Anything less than that is potentially bad. You’ve got a lot of things you have to take into consideration. The lifestyle. Just the mental and physical demands of the NBA that these kids are going to be dealing with are tough.”
What about players like Kevin Garnett? Kobe Bryant? LeBron James? “But you’re talking about one player, LeBron James, who’s been very successful in his first two years. Kobe, Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal -- all those guys took at least three years before they adapted to what they had to do as pros.”
Create a Dream Team... “It’s going to be somewhat biased because I didn’t play back in the days of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell. And it’s very tough because I’m friends with a lot of players today.
“But if I had to pick a center, I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It’s not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don’t realize he was in the top seven in steals.
He always made great decisions on the court.
“Power forward: There’s James Worthy, whom I love. Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Charles Oakley. But in terms again of versatility, it has to be Larry Bird. The things he could provide to you all around: his demeanor, his work ethic.
“The idea is I would build a versatile, multitalented team able to do so many different things. When the defense comes at you, they have to guard a lot of different areas, and that makes Larry Bird the choice for me.
“Small forward: That is the toughest part because I played with one of the best small forwards, Scottie Pippen. He is as versatile as it comes. He handles the ball. He’s a good defensive rebounder. I would be hard-pressed to pick someone else, even though I know Dr. J (Julius Erving) is sitting there, too. And there’s Dominique Wilkins. And you’d have to think about Elgin Baylor. But it’s Scottie Pippen. I know that’s being biased to some degree. But I can’t help it.”
On Tuesday, MJ talks about Shaq, his 20 years with Nike, and a friend named Tiger.
(john@playhouse.edu.ph)
(September 4, 2005 issue)
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