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In 1999, Michael Jordan stood on stage at the Sports Illustrated Awards to accept the honor of being named Basketball Player of the Century. It was a moment befitting someone widely regarded as arguably the greatest player in NBA history, yet Jordan used his time not to proclaim his dominance, but to deflect praise toward the legends who paved the way. 


"Thank you. Thank you very much. Good to be back in the Garden..."

As he stepped to the podium inside Madison Square Garden, the crow"But all the great achievements come from Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy — all the athletes, all the basketball players way before Michael Jordan. I just got the fruit of the labor, I guess. I learned so much from these guys watching them."

"I've kind of gained more of the publicity and more of the notoriety because of me learning from what they have done years way before me. And I want to give them the proper respect and a thank you for allowing me to do my job the way I did my job. Thank you very much."d response was mixed, with some fans even booing him, a reminder of the competitive rivalries he stirred during his career.

"I expected that as well. That means I did my job well when I came here. I would be remiss not to thank all the other recipients tonight, all the nominees. It's truly a privilege for me to be here. But when you see Michael Jordan, I'm a product of modern basketball, modern technology."

Comments

  1. He signed a life changing deal with Nike in 1984!

    ReplyDelete

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