One year ago this week, one of the greatest athletes in the history of sport hung up his sneakers for the final time. And with that announcement, the world passed out of A. D. and into A. M. -- After Michael.
The sports world sat and watched as the greatest player to ever dribble, pass or shoot said he wanted the game to transcend him. But, in retrospect, the timing of his announcement coupled with last season's 50-game lockout-reduced schedule, Jordan must have known that it could not. At least not yet.
Much like the social and residential life at Dartmouth College, the National Basketball Association sits in a period of transition. Of course, the NBA sits in such a state for an enormously different set of reasons.
The old vanguard of stars who permeated the All-Star games and Olympic teams of the early 1990s are on their way into the same press room that Jordan sat in just a year ago.
Charles Barkley finished an historic career in sad fashion this season when he injured himself in Philadelphia. Hakeem Olajuwon's injury this season and his age has placed the Rockets in the young, exciting hands of Steve Francis. But the team that sat on top of the basketball world only a few seasons ago -- Jordan's own Bulls -- now sits some 15 games under the .500 mark.
John Stockton and Karl Malone can still run the pick-and-roll as well as anyone in the game, but their wonderful careers might seemingly be remembered as two lost in ill-advised timing and an inability to answer Larry, Magic or Michael.
Even Patrick Ewing's Knicks, who have been revitalized by the play of should-be All-Star selections Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell now look to the big man as a solid force inside, but not necessarily the man who will take the last shot.
This season, the league has been dominated by Shaq, Kobe and the triangle offense of the Los Angeles Lakers. And while almost everyone has conceded O'Neal the MVP award, no one has conceded the Lakers the title.
The fact remains that the NBA does not need another Michael to come along, regardless of the fact that he is one of a kind. Shaquille is not Michael and never will be, especially with that free throw percentage.
The elevation of Jordan to a quasi-deity raised the sport of basketball to levels that the NBA can only be eternally grateful for.
You won't hear Korn screaming any Simon and Garfunkel-like lyrics about where MJ has gone. Turn on the television and the most recognizable face in the world remains a constant. Bill Bradley would be foolish not to accept the help of Jordan. Even with his absence on the court, the commercialism and flair that Michael brought to being the best lingers on.
With all of that in mind, though, it will make these next few years all the tougher for the NBA to keep the ball rolling. The fact is that Jordan was so good that had he succeeded with the Birmingham Barons, Malone and Stockton's fingers could have more jewerly than the neck of Mr. T. But now Jordan has left the game, and that talented group from the original Dream Team is on their way out.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson asserted themselves as inheritors of the Jordan throne, but the world of sports today seems too parity-stricken to see any sort of a dynasty forming.
But what kind of stars do Kevin Garnett, Keith Van Horn and Allen Iverson make? It really seems too early to tell. Michael's Bulls struggled early on his career as well.
The NBA doesn't need another savior. Last season's finalists were complete teams with many facets to their games. Duncan and Robinson stood at the forefront of the Spurs' championship, but without Jaren Jackson, Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott, they would not have carried home the title.
The league has a very capable group of young players who can create the same May and June excitement that has been limited to a few arenas during the past decade.
If the rising stars in the NBA can realize this opportunity -- be ready to remain in a single city and be willing to play for a world championship rather than an eight- or nine-figure salary -- the sky's the limit for this league. The NBA Finals could end up in Sacramento this season, Toronto the next or even Las Vegas five years down the line.
Let's just hope that in between Jordan commercials, there will be time to watch the games.
