"Never say never, because limits, are like fears, often just an illusion."

He felt terrible. You could see it in his eyes and his manner, while on the bench. He had a raging fever: full blown flu-like symptoms. He looked deathly sick, almost delirious, he looked like death warmed over.

But when he was called to go in, he jumped up, transformed his demeanor: his whole body ready to go. He was a competitor foremost. A fierce competitor. He lives for competition. He is the best basketball player ever.

Michael Jordan went on to score 38 points including an monster putback dunk, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in the fifth game of Finals against the Utah Jazz. More importantly the Chicago Bulls won the game, and Michael collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms at the end. The Bulls, with Jordan feeling better, then went on to win the NBA Championship in the next game. Jordan wasn't going to let his team lose as long as he had an ounce of strength left within himself.

Michael Jordan could do incredible things with the basketball. Weaving through his opponents grasping hands, he could jump high, switch the ball to either hand, shoot, spin the ball off the glass, or dunk it, seemingly defying gravity. He was a master of his craft. His tool was the basketball.

Michael Jordan, like every Crafter Artisan, is naturally competitive -- Crafters are also called the "Contending Tacticians." Contending -- holding to one's position with tenacity, and a Tactician -- to be in "touch" and immediately improving one's position for the next instant. Artistic spontaneity. Grace and skill. Air Jordan, literally the poster child for Madison Avenue: "Just Do It" -- Jordan's athletic shoes sponsor's Artisan carpe diem phrase fits his personality to a tee. As Dr. David Keirsey has said:

Crafters are the true masters of tool work, with an innate ability to command tools and to become expert at all the crafts requiring tool skills. Even from an early age they are drawn to tools as if to a magnet -- tools fall into their hands demanding use, and they must work with them.

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times. Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs, Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.¹

Being the greatest basketball player, ever, was pretty good for a kid who was not chosen to be on the varsity in his high school sophomore year for being too short. The coach had picked another kid, Leroy Smith, over Jordan. Michael Jordan says, "I wanted to prove to Leroy Smith, myself, and the coach who picked him over me that, hey dude -- you made a mistake." The competitive Jordan had to prove it to himself and others. He did.

¹Wikipedia: Michael Jordan