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

ok it's Wright Thompson and I mangled that anecdote:

"Back when they used to shoot a lot of commercials, Jordan's security team would wait for him in his trailer while he was on set. A woman named Linda cooked Michael's meals, and he loved cinnamon rolls. She'd bake a tray and bring it to him. When it came time to film, he'd see the guards eyeing the cinnamon rolls and he'd walk over and spit on each one, to make sure nobody took his food."

idk i wouldnt really want to eat food that i spit on

that's why you have no 'chips

damn was wondering why at least now i know

goon has got zero #MambaMentality

fuck its true

i posted that wright thompson article a couple days back. was pretty eye opening for me when i read it as i never really followed MJ the person before.

he'd see the guards eyeing the cinnamon rolls and he'd walk over and spit on each one

just an alpha dog marking his territory

I think it was eye-opening for most ppl. He's so guarded, there wasn't that sort of behind-the-curtains look at him before afaik.

cinnamon rolls are for NBA game CLOSERS

where is the info re barkley feud

This is the piece I came across:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29140010/charles-barkley-see-long-riff-michael-jordan-ending

Barkley's been one of my favourite interviews for years, even only as a casual basketball fan. I thought he was very eloquent in the documentary, saying that for the first time in that final series he had to accept that there was a player better than he was (after a game where he played great and it still wasn't enough).

I find his love for the humble homemade cinnamon roll a bit charming. Probably made Linda feel good anyway.

cinnamon rolls are good

This article gave me a lot of goodwill towards Barkley, well worth a read

https://amp.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/12/14/lin-wang-charles-barkley

Just realized why I misrembered that anecdote. My friend once brought me donuts at work and stuck her finger in one just as a gag lol.

Jordan in that Phoenix series might have been the peak Jordan.

Has anyone watched the Rodman 30 for 30?
I started it but it seemed v corny so i bailed.

it was okay! covers a lot of the same ground but is clearly filtered through Dennis' sensibilities and focuses more on the life after basketball than during.

ok serioulsy what is going one with that security guy flipping coins w MJ?

is that a real person? He looks like a Safdie bros walk-on. Hoping he gets his own episode because...wow

― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), lundi 4 mai 2020 14:22 (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Eheh, that was such a great moment.
I also like the idea of MJ listening to W. Houston's first album on repeat... so gangsta !

https://youtu.be/42OzpZB0bqA

5 hours of MJ highlights in sequential order

ah, that's fun!

yeah I appreciate seeing all the white dudes with perms (80s Doug Collins, auerbach, security dude)

albeck

Something I didn’t appreciate at the time was how much of Jordan’s greatness is ballhandling. None of the other guys in the greatest shooting guard discussion had handles like that. It was like trying to guard a 6’6” Iverson.

Isn't Steph in the greatest shooting guard discussion? Because his handles are as amazing as his shooting stats.

he’s a point guard

yes, but in a league where distinctions like these are increasingly irrelevant

michael broke a few ankles

Two more eps tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJOBlWvxVA

I was watching this highlight reel of Jordan's All-Star appearances yesterday. 1) It wasn't quite the hands-off shooting practice 20-25 years ago that it is today--the 2003 game-winner was very contested; 2) two or three of his most spectacular plays were feeds from Isiah Thomas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89qHy8vcac

yeah I caught a replay of the 98 all star game last week and those dudes were balling from the opening tip

Scouting report early on for MJ was he can't dribble with his left, so force him that way. But his 1st step was so insanely quick that it didn't matter, he'd still blow by elite defenders going right.

The 2003 all star game feels like 7 years ago to me

re: mike’s handles and that first step it’s really insane, there are so many highlights where he’s got his back to the basket and there’s like 3 or 4 guys on him and all the sudden he’s at the rim

pic.twitter.com/2C1QE5TJOR

— Htims R.J. (@mike_jonsey) May 11, 2020

jordan saying he was planning on retiring before his dad died

omg, the payton video is just so violent
did i see r kelly guarding dennis on the space jam pickup court?

mj cldnt hit the breaking ball had to go back to hoop very sad

the basketball rarely curves

based on hundreds of hanes commercials, i feel comfortable saying michael is a terrible actor which makes the moment where he tears up about being considered a bad teammate kinda wow

"Way to go Craig"

MJs personal life except for his dad appears to be completely off limits. I think his kids have shown up three times? the only mention of him being married is when a team employee asks if he wants to call his wife after winning a championship and he seems kinda like "oh yeah, i guess i have to do that"

he seems to cry quite easily these days

the only mention of him being married is when a team employee asks if he wants to call his wife after winning a championship and he seems kinda like "oh yeah, i guess i have to do that"

yeah, i was like... what??

you know what else seems to be off-limits? any breakdown of his actual skills whatsoever! i would love to understand more. for instance, moves like 'the smitty' are almost invisible to the naked eye when performed in real time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpJ3RARZrzE - i would have loved to hear defenders talk about what made MJ so hard to beat.

he seems to cry quite easily these days

he really does seem to have always just finished up a real intense sob sesh

Like a thousand people have asked me about Jordan’s eyes. He’s not jaundiced. He has racial melanosis of the conjunctiva. Benign, flat patches of pigment around the edge of the cornea. Extremely common in darkly pigmented individuals, more prominent with age #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/nQjGLZNW83

— Dr. Glaucomflecken (@DGlaucomflecken) May 11, 2020

you know what else seems to be off-limits? any breakdown of his actual skills whatsoever!

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Monday, May 11, 2020 10:26 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah wld be cool for sure, does not seem to be this doc tho

Dr. Glaucomflecken

c'mon now

i did google the condition and its a real thing fwiw

also someone can be an eye doctor and a joker too!

Dr. Glaucomflecken @DGlaucomflecken
Ophthalmologist. Comedian. Speaker. Problematic.

Tobias Fünke style !