Honor roll

With MJ going into the Hall of Fame today, Sportscenter has pretty much been Michael Jordan central all day – that and Boomer-ville.

I don't know if this was a coincidence, but Rick Reilly made a rare appearance as an SC anchor last night for the LA version. In talking about Jordan, Reilly suggested that the NBA should just completely retire Jordan's #23, a la the MLB and Jackie Robinson's 52 or the NHL and Wayne Gretzky's 99.

Arguments tend to be polarizing: before he mentioned anything, I would have disagreed with Reilly about an NBA-wide ban of the number 23, but since he brought it up, I've decided I'm totally against the idea of retiring jerseys.

According to legend (or stories I heard growing up), MJ wore the number 23 because he was half the man of his older brother, who wore number 45. But a ton of basketball players growing up the 90s – including LeBron James – had a different reason to wear number 23: Michael Jordan.

It was the whole premise of a Gatorade advertising campaign. Part of wanting to "be like Mike" meant wearing the number 23. If the NBA retires his jersey number, then that dream is denied.

That's why I think MJ is the poster child for why jersey numbers shouldn't be retired. Sure, it'd be nice to honor Jordan with a league-wide remembrance of the greatest player that ever lived, but that's all it would be, a remembrance.

But, what we've got now, with the Lebrons and the Jason Richardsons and the Jodie Meeks of the world, is a whole generation of basketball players who want to "be like Mike" in any way possible, and one of those ways is to wear his number. To me, that's a better way to honor His Airness. If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then isn't it also the sincerest way to honor a legend? Of course the NBA wants to honor MJ's number – think about all the money he brought to the league – but I find it much more compelling and meaningful when young players choose to honor him.

UNC, where MJ played his college ball, has a pretty strict requirement for jersey number retirement: National Player of the Year honors. Considering that, there are only seven jersey numbers that are technically retired, though dozens of Carolina players arguably deserve it. (Tyler Hansbrough's #50 will be the eighth.) Instead, UNC has simply honored the jersey numbers of 36 deserving players, meaning that current players can still use their numbers. If UNC used that policy with all of their deserving players, then Rashad McCants – instead of wearing #32 – could have worn the jersey number of his childhood idol: Michael Jordan.

Question of the Week:

What's the last CD you bought?

My take: Blueprint 3. There are less than a handful of musical artists whose work I purposefully own. Jay-Z is on the top of the list. Behind him: Robin Thicke and Lupe Fiasco.