Book 1: The Jordan Rules

 

The Jordan Rules

Sam Smith

 Released: November 13th, 1991

 (Blogger's Note: This blog was originally written as a Facebook status on May 17, 2022, and updated to current format Sept. 3rd, 2024.  I started this blog as I was going through a difficult transition in life, and there were times when simply reading was the only real thing keeping my sanity.  I had just left a 10-year relationship, was living in my friend's attic, working overnights, and would read about 20 pages every morning when I got home from work.  Even though it was my 2nd book of the year, I regarded it as my first because it was my first official Blog review.  I was always intrigued by the 1990's Chicago Bulls, and was glad to have read it.)

Lots of life happening lately.  So, it’s taken me a good long while to finish my second book of the year.

I saw this book on "The Last Dance" and sprung to grab a hardcover copy.  The cost was $900.  After waiting a few weeks, I found an early copy for $10.  Much more reasonable.

Sam Smith did an excellent job chronicling the 1990-1991 Chicago Bulls Championship season.  Going in, there was no guarantee of a championship, so the book was written as it played out.

I learned a lot about some of the famous Bulls players.  

Here are some random things I learned:

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- Michael Jordan is an avid golf fan.  Sometimes getting in 36 holes of golf before heading to a game.

- Scottie Pippen struggled with his contract, and nearly demanded a trade constantly before getting a new deal…one that would cost him greatly over the ensuing years

- Phil Jackson is essentially a hippie in a suit.  He attacks things with a calm demeanor but is an expert strategist.  He always enjoys a cigarette and a beer after a game.  

- John Paxson sank 5 straight baskets to win Game 5 and seal the deal.  Jordan learned to find the open guy as opposed to carry the team, and Paxson was the open guy.

- Bill Cartwright was known for his vicious elbows that he would throw in games.  Hitting player’s heads, faces, body parts, he was brutal, and known throughout it the league.  While a solid player, he was average compared to Jordan/Pippen

- When the Bulls had a West Coast trip in November 1990, Jackson made them take a bus from Seattle to Portland in order for them to take in some of the sites of the area.  The trip was not taken seriously, and it missed the mark.  I personally enjoyed this decision as when I did it in 2016, it helped me fall in love with the PNW.

- The Detroit Pistons were a notoriously rough team.  Pulling vicious attacks and flagrant fouls to intimidate other teams.  Ironically, Dennis Rodman would join the team a short time later and become better know for his time with the Bulls than his years in Detroit

- John Krause was nicknamed “Crumbs” by Jordan because he always had donut crumbs all over the front of his suit

- John Krause actively campaigned for Toni Kukoc to join the Bulls.  He flew several times to Yugoslavia to watch him play as well as meet with him and his family.

- As the Bulls were in LA for the NBA Finals, they were shrouded in “celebrity” status.  He went out to dinner with his wife before Game 5, and there was an ovation going on.  He looked over to see Mike Dunleavy, the head coach of the LA Lakers, arriving to dine there as well.  He recalled a story Don Shula once told.  Shula, while coaching in Miami, would frequently vacation in a small Maine town, where he was less likely to be known and recognized.  One time he walked into a movie theater and everyone started clapping for him. Shula turned to the guy seated beside him and remarked “I didn’t think they knew me here.”  The random person replaced “Hell, I don’t know who you are.  But the [theater owner] said he wouldn’t start the movie until ten people were in the theater.”

- Jordan and Magic Johnson had a rough relationship after the 1985 All-Star Game where Jordan believed he was purposefully being held back.  They made amends at the 1988 All-Star Game which made the 1991 NBA Finals all the better

- Jackson struggles with an irregular heart beat, and when George H.W. Bush was taken for heart issues during his presidency, he was somewhat relieved because now more awareness and research would be brought to this heart issues in America.

- Jordan was at the Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks fight when he heard about the Bulls trading his long-time close friend and teammate Charles Oakley for Bill Cartwright, and only found out when the press asked him how he felt about it.

- Phil Jackson eerily almost predicted the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing.  After hearing players talk about the Persian Gulf War, he responded “How would you feel if they took a van into one of our buildings and blew it up?”

- Players on the 1973 Champion New York Knicks team would carry pins in their belts to deflate basketballs to minimize long rebounds

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I know this doesn’t surmise the entire novel, but the book is exceptional, and quite good for a first-time author.  I’ve already ordered the next book in the series "Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan - From Courtside to Home Plate and Back Again". 

This book was good stuff.  I highly recommend it.

On to Book #2: "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas.