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    Michael Jordan: A Life Above the Rim
    Michael Jordan: A Life Above the Rim
    Michael Jordan: A Life Above the Rim
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    Michael Jordan: A Life Above the Rim

    By Robert Lipsyte

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Michael Jordan was a late bloomer.Cut from the Varsity basketball team in high school when he first tried out, Michael nonetheless became the best basketball player that ever lived—Rare Air Jordan.The true story of how Michael Jordan achieved this amazing level of success as a basketball player—and as the high king of commercial endorsements—underscores one of the new roles of athletes in our society today.Here's a fascinating look at both the evolution of basketball and Michael Jordan's stunning climb to the peak of his sport, and his season in minor league baseball.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 9, 2010
    ISBN9780062036001
    Michael Jordan: A Life Above the Rim
    Author

    Robert Lipsyte

    Robert Lipsyte is the author of twelve acclaimed novels for young adults and is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his lifetime contribution in the genre. His debut YA novel, The Contender, has sold more than one million copies. He was an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times and the Emmy-winning host of the nightly public affairs show The Eleventh Hour. He lives on Shelter Island, New York, with his wife, Lois, and his dog, Apollo.

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      Book preview

      Michael Jordan - Robert Lipsyte

      SUPERSTAR LINEUP

      MICHAEL

      JORDAN

      A LIFE ABOVE THE RIM

      ROBERT LIPSYTE

      For Sam Lipsyte, my coauthor

      Table of Contents

      Prologue

        1 - Make it, Michael.—COACH DEAN SMITH

        2 - You just didn’t judge people’s color.—DELORIS JORDAN

        3 - Basketball is the game for young athletes without cars or allowances.—PETE AXTHELM

        4 - For every Michael Jordan there is an Earl Manigault.—EARL MANIGAULT

        5 - Michael Jordan? Jump, jump, jump. Very quick. Very fast. Jump, jump jump.—FERNANDO MARTIN OF SPAIN

        6 - Because a guy can bury a twenty-foot jumper or glide to the hoop like an angel doesn’t make him the one to tell you how to live.—KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

        7 - Michael can do things on the court that we could barely imagine.—MAGIC JOHNSON

        8 - Michael Jordan is not a proper role model for black youth.—JIM BROWN

        9 - It’s not always fair.—MICHAEL JORDAN

      10 - Every day you’ve got to be in a good mood because that is what people expect from you.—MICHAEL JORDAN

      For Further Reading

      Index

      Acknowledgments

      Copyright

      About the Publisher

      Flying to threepeat, Michael Jordan soars above Charles Barkley and Oliver Miller of the Phoenix Suns during the 1993 NBA finals.

      Prologue

      Threepeat.

      The word hovered in the air like skywriting, like the name of a brand-new sneaker.

      Threepeat.

      It was 1993, and the Chicago Bulls were once again champions of the National Basketball Association—for the third straight year—and the star of the team, Michael Jordan, was now without doubt the greatest to play the game. And the richest.

      Michael Jordan’s face seemed to be everywhere, celebrating, selling, rising above the rim. He had worked hard for this fame, and no one could deny his incredible talent. But at least as important was his incredible timing. He was the right person, in the right sport, at the right moment in history. Timing is one of Michael Jordan’s great gifts, and he showed it over and over again on the court, with last-minute heroics and clutch shots. Fans take it for granted. But his timing is unbeatable in another sense, too. Basketball was ready for its ultimate superstar; America was ready for one hero all could love; and the people who sell sneakers and soft drinks were ready to create a commercial monster.

      In this century only two other American athletes had such perfect timing. They were very different from Michael Jordan, but, like him, they reached levels of dominance within their sport and celebrity beyond it that no one had imagined an athlete could reach.

      Babe Ruth helped make baseball the national pastime by saving it after the disgrace of the Black Sox scandal of 1919, when some members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to fix the 1919 World Series. The Babe came along, big and enthusiastic and full of fun, eating too much, burping and laughing, and teaching the country that home runs were more exciting than bunts and steals. He was without a doubt the greatest to play the game, and the richest of his time. But he played before television was invented. More people would see Michael Jordan in one night than had been able to see Babe Ruth in twenty years.

      Muhammad Ali, the greatest heavyweight boxing champion of all, was television for a while. He took America’s living rooms by storm even when he was just talking. Early on, Ali played the clown, and his antics won him crowds and affection. But then he changed. He became religious. He assumed the responsibility of his role as a hero of the people. He understood the influence he had. Soon he began to speak for many people who felt silenced or forgotten. His path was far riskier than Michael Jordan’s. But Ali never regretted losing the chance to make a lot of money selling drinks and clothing.

      Ruth was dedicated to the glory of his sport and the pleasures of his fame.

      Ali stood up for peace and equality.

      Other athletes achieved wonders, but never reaped the same celebrity.

      All through the 1930′s, 1940’s and 1950′s, Babe Didrikson was the greatest woman athlete of her time—a basketball player, track star, golf champion and Olympic gold medal winner. She was merry and brave. But her era was marked by discrimination against any woman who threatened the male world with brilliance of mind or body. She never became the superstar her talent and energy deserved.

      Jordan cheers—and scolds—from the bench. A teammate who Jordan believes is not trying hard enough, or who lacks ability, will feel the rough side of that famous tongue.

      In 1974, when Hank Aaron broke

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