James Naismith, il professore, prese un pallone da calcio ed appese due cesti da pesche sopra le porta della palestra, a 3 metri di altezza. Lo scopo dello sport era lanciare il pallone all'interno del cesto. I diciotto ragazzi della classe si divisero in due squadre: John J. Thompson, Eugene S. Libby, Edwin P. Ruggles, William R. Chase, T. Duncan Patton, Frank Mahan, Finlay G. MacDonald, William H. Davis e Lyman Archibald giocarono contro George Weller, Wilbert Carey, Ernest Hildner, Raymond Kaighn, Genzabaro Ishikawa, Benjamin S. French, Franklin Barnes, George Day e Henry Gelan. La partita finì 1-0 per i primi con un canestro di Chase, e così, tra i festeggiamenti poco convinti degli studenti in una palestra della vecchia Springfield, il basket era nato.
Naismith decise di dare a quello sport, così bizzarro e diverso da tutti gli sport che si praticavano nel mondo, tredici regole:
1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one of both hands, but never with the fist.
3. A player cannot run with the ball, unless he/she dribbles and runs. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next basket is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of rules 3 and 4 such as described in rule 5.
7. If a side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).
8. A basket shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do no touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a basket has been made and keep account of the goals, with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be two fifteen-minute halves, with five minutes' rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner.
Il professore però aveva dimenticato una regola, una sola, ma la più importante. Una regola non scritta, ma che da allora tutti coloro che praticavano il suo sport conoscevano a memoria e recitavano come un mantra, sperando di essere il prescelto.
La regola numero 23.
"There will be a god of Basketball, and he will rule supreme on every court he will step on."
Uomini, leggende, miti si sfiancarono per cercare di conquistare quel titolo. George, Wilt, Bill, Julius, Bob, Kareem, Elgin, Oscar, Jerry, Pete, Magic e Larry combatterono tra di loro per diventare Dio.
Sangue, sudore e lacrime scorrevano a fiumi sui parquet dell'America mentre la guerra per la supremazia infuriava.
Ma, purtroppo per loro, invano.
Dio era già tra loro, era nato il 17 febbraio del 1963, a Brooklyn. Li aveva osservati, emergere e cadere, uno ad uno. Li aveva studiati, ne aveva carpito i segreti. Si era allenato, lontano dalle luci delle grandi città, nel North Carolina.
Era cresciuto, passo dopo passo, tiro dopo tiro, sconfitta dopo sconfitta.
Ed un giorno, inevitabile come un terremoto, arrivò.
E quel giorno lo sport del professor Naismith morì.
Era nato un nuovo sport.
Era nato lo sport di Michael Jordan, il Dio.
Naismith College Player of the Year: 1983—84
John R. Wooden Award: 1983—84
Adolph Rupp Trophy: 1983—84
USBWA College Player of the Year: 1983—84
ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year: 1983–84
The Sporting News College Player of the Year: 1983—84
NCAA National Championship - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 1982
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009
6-time NBA champion: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
5-time NBA Most Valuable Player: 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998
10-time scoring champion: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
3-time steals leader: 1988, 1990, 1993
3-time minutes leader: 1987, 1988, 1989
14-time NBA All-Star: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003
3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1988, 1996, 1998
6-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
1-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1987-88
11-time All-NBA selection:
First team: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
Second team: 1985
9-time All-Defensive First team: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
NBA All-Rookie First team: 1985
NBA Rookie of the Year: 1985
2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion: 1987, 1988
7-time The Sporting News Most Valuable Player: 1987-88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 1991
Ranked #1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 75 Players of All-time
Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century
Selected in 1996 as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History"
Selected in 1996 as member of two of the "Top 10 Teams in NBA History"
1991-92 Chicago Bulls (67–15; .817)
1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72–10; .878)
Two Olympic gold medals - USA: 1984, 1992
"It’s not about the shoes,
It’s about knowing where you’re going
Not forgeting where you’ve started.
It’s about having the courage to fail
Not breaking where you are broken
Taking everything, you will be been given,
And make your something better.
It’s about work, before glory
And what’s inside of you,
It’s doing whay they say you can’t.
It’s not about the shoes
It’s about what you do in them
It's about being who you were born to be."
It’s about knowing where you’re going
Not forgeting where you’ve started.
It’s about having the courage to fail
Not breaking where you are broken
Taking everything, you will be been given,
And make your something better.
It’s about work, before glory
And what’s inside of you,
It’s doing whay they say you can’t.
It’s not about the shoes
It’s about what you do in them
It's about being who you were born to be."
E no Larry, non era Dio travestito da Michael Jordan.
Era Michael Jordan, cioè Dio.
