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'Last Dance' leaves little doubt baseball was Michael Jordan's gift to dad

We’re all driven by something. This is particularly true of those able to crystalize their loftiest aspirations and begin a single-minded quest to achieve them. Such as the elite athlete.

Has this world known anyone who fits that description better than Michael Jordan?

Jordan is, indeed, defined by his ruthlessness. It was formed during childhood, when he desperately sought to please his father, a desire that was at the root of his decision to walk away from basketball to go play baseball.

Baseball was not choice. It was not a vacation from the NBA. It was not a wink and nudge “suspension” from then-commissioner David Stern, said to be displeased by Jordan’s gambling.