Matchless

Basketball fans and sportswriters openly and passionately debate and question who the best are among their favorite players. Their often biased opinions run long and often end without conclusion or concession, perhaps because there are a number of outstanding pro basketball players and evolving standards about what makes a player great.

However, in the world of sports like in the rest of the world, every once in awhile history might bestow upon a generation, a special and unusual talent that leaves the "experts" without a doubt about who is great.

As if from out of nowhere, a rare talent will arrive without forecast, displaying superior gifts and masterful skills. They will step into the arena and onto the court and rewrite the rules of the game.

On November 8, 1984, Michael Jordan played his 7th NBA game in his rookie season for the Chicago Bulls versus the N.Y. Knicks, in Madison Square Garden.

From the edge of my seat, unaware of the fact that the game of basketball was about to change, I watched MJ bolt masterfully past my hometown Knicks, soar effortlessly to unreachable heights, to sustain himself in flight. When he completed that aerial ballet with a slam dunk, I knew that what we were all witnessing was a basketball revolution. Not once, but repeatedly did Jordan conduct his far superior skills around the Knicks with maestro like precision.

In that moment, the fans in Madison Square Garden did what they had rarely done before, they followed every move of the new guy on the other team - spellbound, and they cheered.

To be there for that was a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the introduction of a new and exciting standard, and when that happens, few would be willing to argue that there is any room for opinion and debate.

That’s my two cents (for whatever it’s worth),

Auguste Roc
auguste@danaroc.com