NBA Hall of Fame inductions

Inductions into the NBA hall of fame were this week, with both Michael Jordan and David Robinson being honored. David Robinson's speech (which you can watch here) was one of the most sincere, humble, and powerful speeches that I have ever heard. MJ's left much to be desired. Even if you are not a basketball fan, take a look at the video of Robinson's speech, its only 7 minutes long.

Voddie Baucham (who we heard speak at a conference several years ago) wrote about the differences in the speeches given by Jordan and Robinson.

His main points:

David Elevated Others... Mike Elevated Mike

David Honored His Family... Mike Honored Himself

David Was Brief... Mike Was Indulgent

David Honored God... Mike Honored Basketball

David sees His Legacy in His Family... Mike sees His Legacy in His Highlights

His conclusion:

"Modern American sports serve as an incubator for the self-centeredness that resides in each of us. The better one performs, the harder it is to avoid “the big-head.” I cannot imagine how difficult it would be do handle Michael Jordan’s level of success. What else could he be? Where would he acquire humility, class, and selflessness? Ironically, many argue that these are the very character traits team sports build in young people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nevertheless, these traits were definitely present in David Robinson. But where did they come from? Did the Spurs do a better job at fostering this character than the Bulls? I doubt it. Did the Naval Academy do a better job at fostering it than the University of North Carolina? Perhaps. However, I believe the key is in the speech. The “seed of faith” planted by his mom and dad; the ‘preaching’ by teammates like Avery Johnson, and the Christ to whom Robinson referred in his closing remarks all came together to shape the man who made that speech.

David Robinson is far from perfect. I’m sure he has as many flaws, foibles and faults as the rest of us. However, for seven minutes, he represented his team, his family, and his Lord very well. And he showed us all how attractive humility and grace can be.

Pray for David as he strives to walk with God. Also, pray for M.J. as he seeks to fill a massive void in the center of his life that basketball, money, fame, championships, and women can never satisfy. Pray that Christ saves him and turns his gaze to something loftier than his own highlights. Not because Jesus needs Jordan’s voice, but because M.J. needs Jesus (just like the rest of us)."

you can read all of Voddie's thoughts here