This article is inspired by one thing and one thing only. Y’all need to raise your standards for greatness. One playoff run doesn’t get you a seat at the table with the legends. And often, it doesn’t even require that. A dude has a 40-point game, and I have to mute “HE’S HIM!!!!” across all social platforms for a week. I have no problem with people showing love for an impressive performance. However, please keep things in perspective. Sometimes, it’s ok to appreciate a great outing in a vacuum. When you try to define a player’s entire career off of a few solid games, especially early on, you end up looking foolish if they don’t live up to your unwarranted expectations. And the worst part is, instead of just saying “Damn man, I was wrong about that guy.”, you stand ten toes down on ignorance. Free yourself.
I do applaud the bravado because in these instances, people don’t go small. Let somebody get off in one big game, and they start invoking Mike and Kobe’s names. Bullshit. You gotta earn that. And let’s revisit this “HE’S HIM!!!” nonsense. Aside from it being incredibly corny, it’s not even used properly. When you say someone is “him” when referencing a huge performance, that means they live in that space permanently. They don’t visit from time to time. It’s not a rental property. It’s a forever home. And I’m tired of y’all labeling people as homeowners when they’re renting. Yes, folks, big game bravado can be leased. And a lot of the people y’all put in that category’s lease has run out and hasn’t been renewed. And I get it, I really do. Showing up big in the right circumstances can make you teflon in some people’s eyes.
But one chapter out of a book never tells the entire story. What makes us hold certain performances in higher regard than others? There have been a few players who are good case studies for this. One that immediately comes to mind is Dirk Nowitzki. This isn’t meant to diminish anything Dirk accomplished. He’s obviously a great player, but as far as I’m concerned, he was on a one-year lease in the house of “HIM”. Don’t get me wrong, that one year was spent in a mansion because that 2011 playoff run was one of the greatest we’ve ever seen. But was it enough to make people forget that he had to come off vacation to get presented with his MVP trophy because he was eliminated in the first round as a 1 seed? Blowing a 2-0 Finals lead not sticking out in anyone’s head anymore? Although people have an ulterior motive in mythologizing that single campaign (not getting into that now), it doesn’t change how great it was. He was on a legendary tear. Here’s where it gets tricky: Is that who Dirk is? Is he “him”? Doing something once and never sniffing that level again is not a reputation. Again, man, nothing against Dirk. This isn’t even about him. Just providing the class with some real-life examples.
Let me tell you, though, what I hate even more than revisionist history is trying to predict the future. We currently have a Western Conference Finals being billed as Michael Jordan 2.0 vs. Kobe 2.0, featuring two players who can’t rent a car without a young driver’s surcharge. Why can’t we just leave it at “The kid showing signs.” and wait and see what happens? We have one dude who is being compared to the greatest player ever and has everyone saying he should be the face of the league put up two stinkers in the most important series of his career. Folks are taking his flashes of brilliance as standard operating procedure. He has to put it together way more often for that to be the case.
And the other guy who is being labeled as Kobe reincarnate is in uncharted waters. This is his first time on this stage. And while he is answering the bell so far, it’s extremely presumptuous to assume this will be the norm. Y’all have to relax. Because the moment one of these guys falters, they’ll be turned into a meme, and everything they’ve previously accomplished will be forgotten. Or some people will elect to go the other way and try to win gold in Verbal Gymnastics, trying to explain why a 2-17, 5 pt performance in an elimination game ain’t that much different from scoring 50 on the same stage. However, whichever end of the stupidity spectrum you decide to land on can be avoided altogether if you just let the chips fall where they may and judge players on what they’ve actually accomplished.
I don’t think I’m being unreasonable here. I feel like up until recently, you had to perform at a high level with consistency before we’re carving out space for folks on Mt. Olympus. The heroics of May 16th, 1980, would have earned Magic eternal worship if he replicated that today. But despite that otherworldly performance, subsequent failures got him labeled as “Tragic” Johnson until he reached the mountaintop again. Contrary to popular belief, there was a time when it was questionable whether Michael Jordan could lead a team to a championship. Two 3-peats and 6 Finals MVPs (please don’t forget that part) will quiet that noise and have you lauded as the greatest to ever lace them up. Kobe Bryant was told he was carried to 3 championships. He had to run off two more before he was certified in many people’s eyes. We are now in the “Given not Earned” era. Guys aren’t going through the fire or having enough longevity to be talked about the way they are. Yep, definitely in my “Old man yelling at clouds” bag right now. Kiss my ass, so what, I don’t care.
Call me a cantankerous old man if you want to, but what you won’t be able to call me is a liar. We used to be a proper country where it wasn’t blasphemous to have standards. One Conference Finals run shouldn’t warrant “Is he the best player in the league?” convos. Grow up, gentlemen (and ladies, we’re inclusive around here). And let’s just be honest here, a lot of you base that status on your emotional attachment to the player anyway. You’re not talking about Tyrese Haliburton this way. And if you were, it would be extremely premature and unjustified. But he’s had just as much playoff success and big moments as the others you’ve put in rarefied air. You just don’t deem him worthy because you think he’s a dork.
Having a knee-jerk reaction to every single game is a horrible way to digest the sport. Let people grow into what they can ultimately become before making a definitive judgment on their game. The worst part about all this is it’s not even coming from a genuine place. You’re putting unnecessary wrinkles on your forehead and undue stress on yourself, continuously hoping and praying your favorite player can stay on a heater just so you can sit in your mom’s basement, drinking Mountain Dew: Code Red and win arguments on Twitter. Trust me, that $20 engagement check ain’t worth it.