Jordans First Step

[f0und]

if you look closely, its kinda looks like he does a lil super quick fake to the left before going right, just to throw his defender off balance.

[Durantula35]

You'll notice he has two main types of first steps. One where he just explodes to the right. And the other where he plants his right foot and stays stationery, so the defender leans first and then just as the defender is bringing his body back to center, MJ just explodes to the right.

Pretty amazing.

[juju151111]

He slightly fakes one way and explodes the other. Which is why you see the defenders looking the other way has he blows pass them. Look closely and u will see the fake. He was fast has hell in the 80s.

[Calabis]

He slightly fakes one way and explodes the other. Which is why you see the defenders looking the other way has he blows pass them. Look closely and u will see the fake. He was fast has hell in the 80s.

yup and then the article at age 33-34 were peers still considered his first step the best in the league....almost let's you know how ridiculous it must have been to see up close(defending)

[DuMa]

black cat

[Batz]

i thought this video was going to show his first EVER step

[OhNoTimNoSho]

Great Thred...I have been mentioning this long time now

Guys cmon.. listen to this guy... he's ahead of his time.

[LA_Showtime]

"ignored by the haters." right. you guys just make up stuff now.

personally i think his endurance is the most underrated aspect of his game. the guy just had unnatural amounts of energy.

[OldSchoolBBall]

black cat

Best nickname ever imo, given to him by many players in the late 80's/early 90's (Tim Hardaway, for one). Too bad it didn't stick. He was also called "The Glove" well before Gary Payton (see 1992 Dream Team interviews of Chuck Daly et al.).

Jordan had the best first step in history imo regardless of size. Whether it was the QUICKEST is debatable, but only when comparing him to guys 6'3" and under. But his was the most effective because of its speed, length of the step, and springiness as others have mentioned. To this day, MJ is the only player I've ever seen who could ROUTINELY simply face up a defender, choose a direction, and blow by them in that direction without any foot-fakes or fancy dribble moves to get the defender off balance. Even prime AI didn't do this as frequently as Jordan. Ridiculous speed in his youth.

[Psileas]

I always claimed that Jordan's first step and acrobatic layups were the most exciting features in his game and among the most exciting features the game has ever seen. His kind of body control/balance is almost uinque.

(At last, I'm seeing that play at 1:45 from its normal angle. Among my favorite lay-ups ever).

[Crown&Coke]

"ignored by the haters." right. you guys just make up stuff now.

personally i think his endurance is the most underrated aspect of his game. the guy just had unnatural amounts of energy.

I thought it was his strength. He routinely had bigger guys on him but he shed them like lightweights. But he rarely missed a game and played big mins everynight.

[Calabis]

"ignored by the haters." right. you guys just make up stuff now.

personally i think his endurance is the most underrated aspect of his game. the guy just had unnatural amounts of energy.

Agree that this is another huge thing, left off the list of abilities. Isiah Thomas mentioned this, he stated he is like the energizer bunny, he never seemed tired

[brwnman]

One of the quickest first steps of all time. It's the fake that sets it up.

however, a lot of sh*t D was being played in those videos though...

[OldSchoolBBall]

One of the quickest first steps of all time. It's the fake that sets it up.

however, a lot of sh*t D was being played in those videos though...

Jordan blowing by Allan Houston at age 35 with Houston (26 years old) giving him about 6 feet of space to boot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb0BJ1or_gc#t=3m33s

Guess that was "shit defense." Couldn't be that Jordan MADE defenders look like shit, right? A couple of my favorite examples of MJ's first step:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT9P_OY5bpc#t=1m06s (again, defender about 5-6 feet off him, and Jordan goes from a standstill to full speed in the blink of an eye. Look how quickly he lowers himself and accelerates to full speed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dARp3MYkeQM#t=1m42s (age 33 here, again with the defender giving him 5+ feet of space and he instantly explodes past them)

.

[bizil]

Jordan blowing by Allan Houston at age 35 with Houston (26 years old) giving him about 6 feet of space to boot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb0BJ1or_gc#t=3m33s

Guess that was "shit defense." Couldn't be that Jordan MADE defenders look like shit, right?

Great point! Jordan was such a freakish athlete that even when he slowed a tad he was still so explosive. And MJ at 35 was clearly the best player in the L. And I feel could been for at least 2 more years. Now u had Shaq tearing shit up around that time and Shaq was the most physically dominant. But MJ was still the best at 35. I think Jordan's first step is what seperates he and Kobe. Kobe has a great first step too but not like Mike. Actually I think Wade is close to Mike in terms of that first step.

So for all those that are quick to say a player HAS to fall off in mid 30's is sadly mistaken. Mike proved that theory wrong. Malone, Nique, Kareem, Ray and other legends have has well. Cause even if they slow a tad they are often times better than everybody else at what they do well. If a player isn't injury prone or suffer a horrific injury it's logical to still be the best at 35. Now if someone comes along who just might be better that's different. But that's not an indictment on a player's ability.