The Jordan Effect

by Victor Williams

I've got the seven year itch people. That's right, seven years since Michael Jordan won his last championship. Seven years since Michael Jordan slightly nudged Byron Russell's booty and calmly drained a jumper to give the Chicago Bulls their sixth N.B.A. title in eight years. Seven years and the heir to the Jordan throne is still not so apparent. The legacy of His Airness might have been more enormous had M.J. not gotten bored for a couple of years and focused his energy on, among other things, baseball. I wonder if this shooting guard turned outfielder was ticked off that the White Sox won a World Series without him? Don't get it twisted! I do not miss this guy. In fact, I sleep a little better now that number 23 isn't coming to Madison Square Garden to find a new way to embarrass my Knicks. The nightmare of seeing that guy dropping 55 on my favorite team doesn't come as frequently. That said, I still long to know who's next? Who's next to bring that level of excitement to the N.B.A. each and every night? I've been waiting- we all have been waiting- seven LONG years.Quite frankly, I'm tired of all the teases. First we thought it might be A.I. Yup, Allen Iverson had all those "thangs". Presence. Attitude. Game. But what he does not have is a solid number two. John Lennon had Paul. Cher had Sonny. The King of Pop would have been nothing without Toto, I mean Tito. I've said it before folks. Your favorite N.B.A. team has no shot at glory without a superstar and a solid wingman.Then there was Vince Carter, but let's be honest. You need to be in the right environment, under ideal conditions in order to make real magic. Winning is often connected to "location, location, location!". Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago have proven to be excellent cities to set up championship dynasties. But Toronto!? You've got to be kidding! That's like me living in a basketball mecca like New York and having pro hockey teams with more championship banners than the Knickerbockers. Pfft! That's ridiculous!Grant Hill was another potential heir to the basketball throne. But as fate would have it, the good Lord decided that it was more important that this particular star spend less time on the court and more at home with family. Sounds to me like the Man upstairs got His priorities a little out of whack, don't ya think? (Just jokes, G. Just jokes.)Shaq and Kobe had the shot at being kings of the world. We now know that not even Hollywood was big enough for the both of them. But also realize that they won three titles together and that still wasn't enough. Just like it wasn't enough for the Spurs. Why? Because in the nineties, the bar was set so high, that the words "back to back" means little these days. The standards of greatness in the N.B.A. has changed. Thanks to "you know who", in order to attain ultimate "rockstar" status, a player has to win six titles, five M.V.P. awards, make the All Star team every year, win Olympic gold, make about a hundred magazine covers, make several All Defensive teams, make fifty commercials, come out with a $200 sneaker every year for the rest of his life and be best of friends with Oprah. M.J.'s the reason Nike had to change up their whole "Just Do It" campaign. Because nobody could. Not McGrady. Not Duncan. Not Garnett. Not Kobe.Maybe it was ten years ago that Sports Illustrated published an article that questioned whether or not Michael Jordan was actually hurting basketball. It was a ridiculous theory to me then. Afterall, ball is ball, right? Players come and go, but the game will always be great. Right? Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are among the most exciting young players in the league right now. I try my best to just appreciate them as they are. And yet, in the back of my mind, forever pounding on the cranium, I can't help but to wonder...