It is almost blasphemy to say anything negative about Michael Jordan. Years after His Airness has left the basketball court, most people know that to ‘be like Mike’ refers to Michael Jordan. He is the dunking man logo. He is synonymous with basketball championships and scoring titles. He is still a recognized sports icon, even in remote corners of the planet.

Nevertheless, there is a negative part of Michael Jordan legacy. Because of his stellar athletic abilities, dunking range for Michael Jordan could start near the foul line. And his dunks were spectacular. They became his basketball ’signature’. As such, athletes who came after Michael Jordan developed a game ‘above the rim’. And sports highlights of NBA games will show dunks and passes-turned-into-dunks.

The cost is that the mid range jump shot has become a neglected skill. Scoring a mid range jump shot does not make the evening sports highlights often. Instead, a thundering dunk will be shown repeatedly on the highlight reel.

It is a tribute to Michael Jordan that today’s professionals still want to emulate His Airness. It is telling, however, to look where the post season honors have gone. Steve Nash, a Canadian, has won recent Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. Dirk Nowitzki, who honed his skills in Germany, won the last MVP award. Tony Parker, who is a French national, was the last NBA Finals MVP.

This does not seem like a coincidence. International basketball stresses different individual skills than how American athletes develop. It is not that non Americans are better athletes. It is that, in the international game, the team concept is stressed more and basic skills are emphasized. Steve Nash may never have dunked during a game. Tony Parker earns his pay check for his mid range game. These players bring a basic skill set to the game. They are superb professionals who are not compared to Michael Jordan but they excel at basic basketball skills. Perhaps now, there are kids dribbling about local basketball courts and throwing bounce passes to team mates, to ‘be like Steve’. Nevertheless, every now and then, the kids will try to dunk and just to see if the rules of gravity apply to them.

Catherine Forsythe

[tag]nba, michael jordan, dunks, basketball, basic skills, gravity, athletes[/tag]