The Last Dance: In Praise of One Lone Gold Hoop Earring

heard Ryen Rusillo say something I always bring up when fawning over MJ: dude never for 1 second looked awkward or out of control, and by comparison he made all of the most gifted basketball athletes of his and previous generations look stiff and clumsy (maybe some small guards a la Isiah were somewhat on his level of smoothness). Every generation after him has had that "MJ Starter Pack" of smooth physicality from a young age and so there's verrrry few stiff/awkward players at any level. Obv today's players have taken it to new levels, esp ball handling.

yeah he looked like a different species of human out there

glad to see the chosen one is spreading the gospel of hoops in these times

praise ugly leather jackets

couple notes here 1 its interesting to watch mikes style just get worse and worse over time 2 both him and salley are wearing lil beaded necklaces in their present day interviews is it a thing will gary payton show up with one too

3 mike calling isaiahs bs re pistons walking off the court was a perfect cinema moment

highlight for me so far has been Pippen's gigantic suits

heard Ryen Rusillo say something I always bring up when fawning over MJ: dude never for 1 second looked awkward or out of control, and by comparison he made all of the most gifted basketball athletes of his and previous generations look stiff and clumsy (maybe some small guards a la Isiah were somewhat on his level of smoothness). Every generation after him has had that "MJ Starter Pack" of smooth physicality from a young age and so there's verrrry few stiff/awkward players at any level. Obv today's players have taken it to new levels, esp ball handling.

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:05 AM (ten hours ago)

yeah I was watching eps 3/4 with my hoops-indifferent gf, who is from LA and knows who magic is, and when the 91 finals footage came on the contrast between MJ's smoothness and magic's relative stiffness was apparent enough that she was all "he moved like that??"

watch mikes style just get worse and worse over time

are we sure there was ever a stylish MJ?
https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/michael-jordan-college-dorm-room-1983-umbrella_unc.jpg?w=640

I kid, I kid. Growing up you'd hear a lot about him being a "fashion icon". And on the court, he did bring about the baggy shorts.

man those are some big hands btw

when lebron moves to the basket, he has a lot of the same grace but he's just so much bigger that there's a degree of him using his muscle to get in there. with michael in his prime, his fluidity of motion often looked like a special effect.

I think that's a big part of what makes LeBron special; I can't think of another player at that size who was/is as smooth as him. Predecessors would be Larry Johnson and Derrick Coleman, but it's been soooo long since I've seen those dudes play that I may see them now and be surprised they were more clunky than I remember.

Big Dog Robinson too maybe

Shawn Kemp comes to mind

umbrella mj is stylin in that picture dont hate

seriously!!!!

xp to granny: i guess the thing that sets LeBron apart is that LJ and DC and Big Dog and Kemp were all playing at a super high level for maybe three years, five years tops? LBJ has been consistent for sixteen. That's Karl Malone but with rings + assists.

to anyone who doesn't believe MJ that he didn't partake in the "Traveling Cocaine Circus", I would just show them that pic and rest my case.

plus iirc he listed his fav musician as Anita Baker. As a 20 yr old college student.

oh there's for sure other things that set LeBron apart from those guys. I was just thinking physicality/kinesiology.

thinkin about how stuff like Pippen delaying his surgery so he could enjoy the summer and Rodman taking a 48 hour Vegas trip in the middle of the season would play out on NBA twitter today

even pippen sitting out with a headache

People really don’t understand migraines

I remember around that time I tried playing basketball with a migraine and ended up puking on court

I think that's a big part of what makes LeBron special; I can't think of another player at that size who was/is as smooth as him. Predecessors would be Larry Johnson and Derrick Coleman, but it's been soooo long since I've seen those dudes play that I may see them now and be surprised they were more clunky than I remember.

i agree im just saying hoops twitter would have roasted him for it

Wade had an issue with migraines too right?

migraines are no joke. as they said in the doc, they're bad enough without having to match up against young dennis rodman

this has been fantastic, just thrilling every minute of it

I really enjoyed the Rodman episode, and I'd kind of started to forget the good things about Phil due to his Knicks tenure

but the zen thing, his handling of Rodman is pretty brilliant, just the idea that he is who he is and you can't change it and shouldn't try

it's definitely contrary to the authoritarian mindset of coaching, and yes like Spottie says, First Take and Twitter would be foaming at the mouth today if someone took a Vegas vacation mid season

the only slight comparison is maybe Belichick and Gronk, but I think it's different because it's not so much BB understands what makes people tick it's that he doesn't care and for however long Gronk's positives outweighed the negatives in his mental ledger

also I want Horace Grant to be my friend

horace is funny

appreciated how much respect jordan and pip showed rodman too like they easily cld been all lol that weirdo but they went out of their way to praise him as a tru baller

Horace grant is the true mvp

the man made goggles cool again

Horace grant is the true mvp

Knowing how to play on the same team with MJ, Pippen, and Rodman, and fit in without a hitch is a rare talent itself.

he's lump

Grant left before Rodman came

I never got the criticism of Scottie for the migraine. Yeah I guess ppl thought oh it's just a headache??? puuuusssyyyy

xp -Not quite as talented as I said he was then. ;-)

I never got the criticism of Scottie for the migraine. Yeah I guess ppl thought oh it's just a headache??? puuuusssyyyy

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Thursday, April 30, 2020 bookmarkflaglink

"mike played through a flu!"

I think of the flu game every time I catch it, still amazed that someone was able to do that in a situation where I can barely get up the stairs

idk I'm guessing the flu hits me harder than guys like say Michael Jordan

it was food poisoning but yeah

appreciated how much respect jordan and pip showed rodman too like they easily cld been all lol that weirdo but they went out of their way to praise him as a tru baller

Rodman was the best. Fucking loved him growing up and regularly leaped horizontally out of bounds to save balls at rec center pick up games.

https://skepticalsports.com/the-case-for-dennis-rodman-guide/

"Dennis Rodman has dominated Rebounding Percentage more than anyone has dominated any major stat."

URLs you know instinctively are true but still make you feel nauseous
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/michael-jordan-once-turned-down-100-million-for-a-two-hour-appearance-agent-says/

misleading. also had to give his name & likeness.

$100 mil to wear clothes that are properly tailored y or n MJ??