Adrian Wojnarowski and Rick Reilly have each posted very critical articles about Michael Jordan’s bitter, backbiting speech at his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jordan took over 20 minutes to settle scores (which had long been settled) and bitterly call out everyone who had ever doubted him—whether they really doubted him or not. From Wojnarowski’s article:

Worst of all, he flew his old high school teammate, Leroy Smith, to Springfield for the induction. Remember, Smith was the upperclassman his coach, Pop Herring, kept on varsity over him as a high school sophomore. He waggled to the old coach, “I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”

Classy. I’ve been saying for years to the people declaring that Kobe Bryant was no Jordan, that Michael had been a better teammate, etc., that Kobe was actually probably a better teammate and that Jordan’s personal reputation in the NBA was not what it has been in the media or the public. Jordan played without having to worry about the kind of intrusive media that everyone has to deal with today. What many people don’t realize is that MJ’s teammates didn’t even go to him: they went to Scottie Pippen, who often acted as the go-between for Michael and the other players. Pippen held that locker room together (that in addition to being one of the best defenders and most versatile players ever). Yes, Jordan was one of the greatest players ever and certainly one of the best scorers we will ever see, but I’m convinced that the near-deified image many have of MJ is based on not having the full story the way we do about the stars today.