Arman is thinking.
Thanks to Aaron’s post of that awesome Frank Ocean sex jam “Thinking About You”, I’ve had a lot on my mind. But most literally, I’ve been thinking of the NBA Lockout and the superstars of today vs. the superstars of yesterday. Would this lockout really happen if Magic Johnson was playing? Would anybody legitimately think that they could or should have a lockout that would cut Larry Bird’s career shorter than it already was? And then there’s Michael Jordan, the epitome of basketball in so many ways, would there be an NBA Lockout during Michael Jordan’s career. The answer is a caps locked NO. The most recent NBA Lockout happened the year after Jordan retired. Because let’s be honest, nobody fucks with Jordan.
Byron Russell fucked with Jordan. This is what happened to him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers fucked with Jordan. This is what happened to them.
Kwame Brown didn’t even fuck with Jordan, he just didn’t live up to the ridiculous expectations Jordan put him under. Look at the link. http://www.operationsports.com/forums/pro-basketball/33569-jodan-made-kwame-cry.html
Jordan felt that everyone fucked with him, so this angry as hell Hall of Fame speech happened.
Someone said, “Man Hitler moustaches will never be back. Never.” And Jordan said:
Charles Oakley said he wanted to do some fun ass shit with Jordan. And Jordan obliged.
With the exception of the last one (which I just wanted to show because Charles and Michael are really cool), if anything is clear it’s that Jordan has a chip on his shoulder. If anything is clearer it’s that Michael Jordan is literally the most competitive human being in the history of everything. Are you really telling me that Jordan would sit on his hands during an NBA Lockout and think that nobody is fucking with him?! Once again – caps lock NO! Jordan would take that to heart and think that the NBA was trying to cut his career short. It’s already a well-known fact that Jordan left basketball for two years not to pursue baseball, but to distance his horrible gambling addiction from possible NBA consequences. I’m assuming the meeting went like this:
 |
| David Stern (left.) No-Man, All-Amazing (right.) |
[David Stern – NBA Commissioner]: Michael, you’ve admitted to CBS that you have a massive gambling problem. We know you were in Atlantic City moments before the Knicks game.
[Michael Jordan]: And I know I’m the greatest of all time.
[David Stern]: That has nothing to do with this.
[Michael Jordan]: I am the greatest of all time.
[David Stern]: You’ve said that twice now.
[Michael Jordan]: David. Do you know who I am?
[David Stern]: …
[Michael Jordan]: I'm the GOAT. That stands for the greatest of all time.
[David Stern]: …Take a couple of years off. Play baseball, golf, whatever. Then come back.
[Michael Jordan]: I’ll call Hakeem (Olajuwon) and tell him he’s about to win a couple of rings by default. Because the greatest of all time is taking a break.
[Michael Jordan leaves.]
[David Stern]: Goddamnit.
And in Michael Jordan’s defense, he did come back and destroyed the league in the best way possible. Jordan might be a pompous asshole egomaniac, but he really is the greatest of all time. And is it his fault for knowing it and flaunting it? Yeah, a little. But there is no doubt in my mind that nobody would’ve dared put Jordan through a NBA Lockout. His competitiveness and sheer standing in the league would’ve allowed him to create a pickup basketball league around the nation or something like that. He wouldn’t have stopped. He wouldn’t have been able take it. He would’ve been Jordan.
And even as an owner now, in the NBA Lockout today, Michael Jordan still has a chip on his shoulder and still doesn’t give a shit. He acknowledges that as an owner he has much less power than he ever did as a player – simply because, he’s not the greatest owner of all time. But he was fined $100,000 for making a comment about the NBA Lockout. And my guess, is that he was sporting a Stalin mustache while saying it.
Arman is thinking.
About forever.
Welcome to Day Four.
No comments:
Post a Comment