By Brandon McConnell
The game of basketball has been around for years. We have seen multiple teams win championships over the years using different ways of getting there.
In the ’80s, we had three teams in that decade that won multiple championships, which included the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons. All of these teams had something in common. They were complete teams that played together in order to accomplish one common goal.
The Lakers had a starting lineup that included:
Magic Johnson
Byron Scott
Michael Cooper
James Worthy
Kareem Adul-Jabbar
The Celtics had a starting lineup that included:
Dennis Johnson
Danny Ainge
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parrish
The Pistons had a starting lineup that included:
Isaiah Thomas
Joe Dumars
Mark Aguirre
Bill Laimbeer
James Edwards
All the above championship teams had players who came together and played team basketball. These teams had productive bench play and no one was trying to outshine their teammates.
Then came the birth of Michael Jordan. A player who took over the NBA by himself, taking on all teams. He led the league in scoring almost every year. If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, you wanted to “Be Like Mike”. Michael Jordan, not purposely, taught little kids to be selfish and go after your individual stats to succeed in basketball. After many years of losing to the Celtics and Pistons, Michael realized that it took a team effort to become a championship. He finally figured it out, and partnered with Scottie Pippen and other great role players to win six NBA championships.
While becoming a champion, Michael Jordan birthed children like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady. These and other players came into the league with the belief that they had to win championships by solely leading their teams and by putting up the majority of shots like Michael did in order to become great. Kobe Bryant quickly learned, due to veteran leadership around him, that it takes a team to win championships.
The offspring of Michael Jordan has finally grown up to become great players. They are finally teaching the up and coming players that team basketball is the way to go. Just take a look at the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats, who were dynamic underclassmen that came together to achieve one goal and that was a National Championship. The Kentucky Wildcats all compromised their individual success in order to gain team success.
The NBA is finally getting back to great team basketball. The Dallas Mavericks won last year with great team effort. They even had bench players like Jason Terry and J.J. Barea who really made the difference during the 2011 NBA Finals. This year you have the San Antonio Spurs, who just had a 20-game winning streak snapped, playing the best team ball I have ever seen. If you want to see basketball the way Dr. James Naismith designed it, watch the San Antonio Spurs.
We can all thank Michael Jordan, because he showed us how life was when you have all the individual honors and no championship and how life is when you make your teammates better and win multiple championships.
Brandon McConnell of “Respect Da Game”, for War Room Sports
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