For those that do not know, Michael Jordan is being inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame as I type this. He is being inducted along with John Stockton, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, and Vivian Stringer. Beyond any doubt, this is the greatest Hall of Fame class as far as I am concerned. The reason no past class rivals it and I doubt any other will touch it is because these figures represent my childhood. I grew up to the greatness that is Michael Jordan. I recall watching the 1993 NBA Finals when I was only six years old.
Jordan retired to play baseball shortly thereafter when his father passed away. I followed him as best as I could with his limited career. He was on a Chicago White Sox farm team, Birmingham Barons. Perhaps the most resounding image of this time comes from the movie Space Jam along with a news clip on the television.
Then one day the world stopped to watch as Michael Jordan returned to the game of basketball. I had a cheap knockoff of his jersey. I wore it as much as I could as long as it would fit. I somehow convinced my parents to let me stay up way past my bedtime to watch the end of some of the epic games against John Stockton’s Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. The sixth championship ended with Jordan’s final shot as a Chicago Bull.
Jordan retired for the second time after the 1998 season. I lost interest in basketball as no one could rival the greatness of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990′s. There was a brief stint when he came out of retirement with the Washington Wizards. He was older than everybody else around him on the court, and yet, he still challenged his opposition night in and night out. After retiring for the final time as a player, Jordan was involved in the Charlotte Bobcats organization as a partial owner.
In looking back now that Jordan is being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I realize he is one of a few individuals who inspired me to give everything in an effort to be great. While I may not think about it consciously, I get up in the morning because of Michael Jordan. I have poured sweat playing sports because of him. I have passed out face first into textbooks late at night because of him. I sit here writing this blog post now because of him. We all have our role models growing up. Jordan stood on a pedestal with a select few others in my childhood.
This NBA Hall of Fame class is the greatest because it symbolizes Michael Jordan’s career. John Stockton and Jerry Sloan were the arch-nemeses as the Utah Jazz after Jordan’s return to the game of basketball. David Robinson was one of the greats in the league, but never met with the success he was capable of until Jordan retired. When I was watching perhaps my greatest role model growing up, these were the guys I saw facing him on the court. They were the sort of opponents one had to respect. This is the greatest NBA Hall of Fame class of all-time.