Is it really BS? There is a type of personality (EG Russell, Duncan) that can play their best without being hyper-emotional - but they are the exceptions. With most great players, it is more a matter of knowing when to turn it off. Bird was a total prick on the court, but mostly a gentleman off it. Kobe seems almost clueless in this department. Jordan was/is somewhere in between. Put it this way: Clyde was a very good player who liked to win/ Jordan was a great player because he would die (or kill) to avoid losing. Like you, I liked Clyde. I would have liked him even better if he had led Portland to a title, instead of riding Hakeem to one in Houston!
Since you ask - yes. It's a very American (or more broadly, Western) cultural idea, not some biological imperative. Wait - I thought it was Jordan who was supposed to be unique? Ah yes, Hakeem. What a tool he was! Everyone used to comment - "Great player, but collosal asshole!" And of course Hakeem and Clyde had the benefit of playing under Hall of Fame coach Domjanovich. Poor Jordan had to struggle along under Phil Jackson's inept leadership. Whatever happened to that chump after he didn't have Jordan to lean on?
Jordan may be an unusual talent, but he is hardly unique in personality. As for Hakeem, he is an example of a player who knew when to turn it on and off. Great person off the court, but a totally focused competitor on it. Clyde? He kind of had it backward. A gentleman on the court, and an asshat off it. (Sorry, but when he wore the Rockets gear to the "50 greatest of all time" ceremony, he reverted to being just another player.)
Fuck Wojo. Seriously. Jordan did a little ribbing up there. It was good natured and it was what drove Jordan to be the competitor that he was. What group of friends don't give each other shit every chance they get? Sounds like Wojo needs to quit being such a sensitive bitch and learn to take things in stride like most guys do.
Yet another counterexample to the "great players are egotistical narcissists" theory is Bill Walton. Possibly the greatest college player ever, and a great NBA player when not injured (which was sadly seldom). Now, he's a bit of a buffoon, but if anything he praises everybody else BUT himself. Totally team oriented. Also: Magic Johnson. Say what you will about him, but he wouldn't give a classless speech dissing everybody whom he felt ever slighted him like that. And there's a man who has actually gone on to amazing success in other fields (he's earned FAR more as a businessman than he ever did as a player), unlike Jordan who appears to suck at everything else. If "being a jerk" was really what drove him to success, wouldn't it help in other fields, given that he's clearly always a jerk?
Basically what this thread comes down to is: the people who hate him think he was a douche. The people who like him thought he was great.
you forgot my category: people who think hes a douche and possibly the GOAT...you can be both and he was/is both
Another version of MJ's speech: [video=youtube;CzToxAKrnBM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzToxAKrnBM[/video]
