AWARDS
HUMAN HUMAN
J
ordan’s athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players. Several NBA players—including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade—have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players “the next Michael Jordan” upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, James, Vince Carter, and Wade. Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his “Air Jordan” image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, a fact Jordan himself has lamented.
I
think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things thatt people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an allaround game, but it was never really publicized.
D
uring his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game.t Television ratings increased only during his time in the league. The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title. As late as 2020, Finals ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.
I
n August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers, as well as from the 1992 “Dream Team”. The exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Jordan’s short career in Minor League Baseball. After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to ptresent him. As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, when he was growing up in North Carolina, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels and greatly admired Thompson, who played at rival North Carolina State. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč. Two of Jordan’s former coaches, Dean Smith and Doug Collins, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech—when he began to cry—was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the Crying Jordan Internet meme. In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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