You do not have to travel far on the Internet to find stories. You can find just about anything nowadays with just a click of the mouse and a search bar. One of the stories I bounced across while trolling the sports scene was about former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen.
There will almost certainly forever be a debate over who is the greatest to ever step on the hardwood. In my day, it would almost have to be Michael Jordan. The guy needs no introduction and his list of awards and records would probably fill this entire column. It could have even been Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. These guys let their play do the talking on the court and didn’t have to put their name on the list.
Fast forward to present day and there are a whole host of people who might be considered as one of the greatest. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and the list would go on. So many greats have played and are still currently playing. Scottie Pippen has thrown his hat in the ring at a Nike event in California. Pippen told a reporter he thought he had a career worth considering.
OK, my first problem is if you have to throw your own name into the ring, you are probably not the greatest ever. One of the greats, possibly? But do not offer your name to the conversation.
I personally would never deny Pippen the right to be in the discussion as a great player. But one of the greatest is probably not going to happen even though some of Pippen’s highlights include six-time NBA champion, seven-time all-star, eight-time defense player of the year, and the crowning achievement by any player, having his No. 33 jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls. This is not to mention two gold medals at two different games, Barcelona and Atlanta.
By many standards it’s a great career but still not the greatest. I will always remember the Chicago Bulls era and the Los Angeles Laker era and the Boston Celtics era. See where I am going with this?
In my lowly opinion, and it is just that my opinion, to be considered the greatest would be for people around you to put your name into the hat. If you are truly one of the greatest you will not, or should not, have to mention yourself. Your peers will surely do it for you.
As for the greatest sports column out, Everlasting Joy will be back soon enough. With breaking news consuming much of James Clark’s time and Duane soaking the days of his vacation away in a hot tub, hopefully everything will return back to its regularly scheduled program next week. Right on.