That's Jordan's legacy. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird redefined "team basketball." They took the court trying to orchestrate the perfect game. Michael Jordan took the court trying to be the perfect player.

It amazes me how few people notice that since the end of the Magic-Bird era there hasn't been one player we can say reminds us of Bird and Johnson. Not one.

Every three or four years there's a new Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant has perfected a Jordan imitation. Dwyane Wade does a fine impersonation, too.

You can say that everyone wants to be like Mike. But maybe Johnson and Bird are more difficult to duplicate, maybe they're the true twice-in-a-lifetime players. A million boxers have tried to be the next Muhammad Ali, but none has come close.

How come everyone from Allen Iverson to Carmelo Anthony to Kevin Durant can do five minutes of Michael Jordan?

And here we are 40 years after he retired and Dwight Howard is the first NBA player to give us a glimpse of a Bill Russell impersonation. (OK, Hakeem Olajuwon could do Russell from time to time. But that's two players in 40 years.)

Wow. I know I went a lot of different directions with this Truth. But I had to get that off my chest.

You can e-mail Jason at BallState0@aol.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/jasonwhitlock.