The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith
The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith
Knox Mynatt
Michael Jordan is arguably one of, if not the greatest basketball player of all time. Nicknamed His Airness, Michael Jordan won 6 NBA championships total, and never lost when he went to the championship. But there's always the man behind the legend, what he was really like. In The Jordan Rules, by Sam Smith, details the 1990-1991 season, where Jordan won his first championship. Sam Smith was with the team, busy writing and observing what happened before games, what Jordan was like at practices, and just what the environment was like in general.
The name of this book comes from the rules the Detroit Pistons, another NBA team, came up with to stop Jordan from being as effective. One of these rules that really gave the Pistons the nickname of "The Bad Boy Pistons," was that if Michael went up in the air next to the basket, put a body on him. Creating contact was the sole defensive strategy the Detroit Pistons played, and it worked. In the 2 years prior, the Pistons had won the championships. And as soon as Michael showed he could take them on they had to play more physical, just because Michael was a more dominant scorer.
This book also details the time off of games and practices, like on the team plane or bus, or just locker room moments. Some of the moments detailed in the book were also noted in the Netflix documentary, "The Last Dance," where it details Michael's whole career on the Chicago Bulls.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, mainly because sports books interest me, but also because it was just engaging and interesting to read, just seeing what happened behind the scenes with one of the most dominant NBA players ever.
I watched a bit of "The Last Dance" on Netflix and I would agree that Michael Jordan's career is very interesting. I don't think I'll check this book out because I tend to hate reading about sports, but maybe I'll watch the show again. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really like how your use of fun facts. I also find it especially interesting how the Detroit pistons had to use specific tactic because of Michael Jordon. I have heard about Michael Jordon a lot in passing, but I do not really know that much about him. I also do not usually read that many books on sports, but I think I might check it out.
ReplyDeleteI think The Jordan Rules is like a precursor to The Last Dance. Where The Jordan Rules might go into more details about their championship run, The Last Dance covers more material about all of their championship runs. I haven't read the actual book, but I have heard a lot about it because of some of the controversy that came from the less flattering depictions it has of the Jordan. I might go read it now!
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