Elvis has left the building
Right now, of course, that player is Vince Carter, the NBA's flavour of the month. I'll admit there are a lot of similarities. Both played for Dean Smith at North Carolina. Vince, like Mike, has that ability to seemingly float in the air, both won dunk contests, both wanted (and deservedly so) to take the last shot when seconds were left, and Vince seems to have the knack for taking over a game and making it his. He's certainly captured the imaginations of fans world wide. I'd be surprised if his jersey isn't the most purchased this year. This is just a thought, but maybe there should be a test before you can buy a jersey. Like you have to be able to find the city on the map before you wear it. I can hear the questions now. "Dad, where's Canada?". But I digress...
Another name often used in the same sentence as Jordan, is Kobe Bryant, who I think is benefitting from having the spotlight shifted on to Carter. When the high-schooler slam dunked his way into the league two years ago, he was destined for greatness. Fans and media were already labelling him the next MJ. He was a two guard, roughly the same height, brilliantly athletic and skillful for his age and the son of a former player. Kobe was a superstar before he even played his first professional game. And I think it hurt him. If you look at his game now as compared to then, the differences are clear. As spectacular as he was that first year, he's far better now. Naturally it helps when you mature a couple of years, get Phil Jackson as a coach, and have Shaquille O'Neal in the low post. I'm sure Jackson, who saw the development of Jordan as a player, told Kobe to just be himself and not to worry about living up to anybody's expectations. And look at the result. As I write this the Lakers' are 62 and 12, having won 28 of their last 29 games. Enough said.
As good as Carter and Bryant are, they're not the next Michael Jordan. And neither are the Iversons, the Hills, the Miners. Remember Harold Miner? Referred to as "baby Jordan" he won a couple of dunk contests during the mid-nineties. Was it the comparisons that killed his career? Maybe, but it could also be the fact that he sucked.
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