“I missed over 9,000 shots, lost over 300 games. 27 times I was given the ball to take the victory shot and I missed it. Time after time I have failed. And that’s why I was successful. “
Michael Jordan
Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It is February 17, 1963. Mrs. Deloris gives birth to Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
Obviously, no one can yet know that that child would have rewritten the history of world basketball.
Its impact has been such that it becomes almost an obligation to divide the story into before and after Michael. In no other team sport has a single player managed, like MJ, to become the undisputed symbol of an entire movement.
Jordan has won everything there was to win, from Olympic gold with the Dream Team in Barcelona ’92 to six titles with the Chicago Bulls, filling every arena with fans who flocked there just to see him play.
He will close his career with six titles out of six finals played, all won without ever reaching game-7 and with an average of 33.6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 35 games, of which 24 won.
Not only a sporting phenomenon, an overwhelming history that has made the history of basketball.
MJ also had a teacher: Dean Smith. Not just any one. Indeed, one of the last true basketball teachers. Michael himself recognized this when North Caroline’s Guru passed away, Jordan said at the time: “After my parents, no one has had more influence on my life than Coach Dan Smith. He was much more than a coach: my mentor, my second father. It has always been there for me in time of need. He taught me basketball and life through it. “
Before the start of his new year of studies, Smith wrote a letter to MJ, fresh from the shot that gave him his first NCAA title. The coach was aware of how strong the pupil was, but he knew that he had ample room for improvement, having glimpsed a unique potential in that boy with the number 23 tank top.
Dated May 17, 1983, the writing reads as follows:
“Dear Michael, I am writing you a list of things I would like you to work on to improve yourself this summer.
We discussed them in my office the last time we met, but I thought it best to put them in writing.1. Always shoot the same way, with the same trajectory.
2. Adopt a ritual for free throws, extend the big toes and do not carry the weight of the body backwards.
3. In small matches, try to play fair play. He works on the dribble and tries to have more assists than turnovers.
4. Work on ball feints and quick area passes.
5. Work on the breakaway start after capturing the rebound.
6. Continue working on the pivot foot.
7. Defensively keep doing what you are doing and you will become even stronger.
8. Don’t always try to steal the ball, but think about containing your opponent. You won’t always be able to take the ball away from him.Michael if you improve in these aspects you will become an even stronger player and consequently also the team and we will have the chance to repeat ourselves as champions in a year. In your daydreams, think about success in Seattle!
Cordialmente, Dean Smith.”
