Overview

As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one had before. As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one had before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, nearly superhuman abilities, and a ferocious need to dominate the game, he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and captured every basketball award and accolade conceivable before retiring and taking a top executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan set out to reclaim the court that had been his dominion. When Nothing Else Matters is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Washington Post writer Michael Leahy reveals the striking contrast between the public Jordan and the man whose personal style alienated teammates and the Washington owner who ousted him.

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Stephanie Davis, GQ, November '04 No one's covered Michael Jordan like Michael Leahy. In 2001, Leahy a staff writer for The Washington Post, was assigned to write about the legend's return to basketball with the Washington Wizards and nearly everything he did off court as well. (At one point, Wizard coach Doug Collins refers to Leahy as a stalker. ) This obsessive reportage resulted in an acclaimed series for the Post and is now a book, When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback (Simon & Schuster) -- easily the most fully formed portrait of Jordan ever written and one of the best sports books in recent memory. <p> If you know Jordan from those Be Like Mike Gatorade commercials, you are unlikely to recognize the petulant protagonist of When Nothing Else Matters. Leahy discovers an ailing star on the downward arc of his career -- moving like a sea captain with a wooden peg for a right leg, he writes at one point. As he declines, Jordan claws at everyone around -- teammates (he calls one teammate a faggot ), the competition (he lusts to destroy challengers like Kobe Bryant), and most of all, his employer (Wizards owner Abe Pollin). But this Jordan seldom makes the papers, because the sports media are so beholden to Earth's Most Beloved Star they dare not risk alienating him. Around Jordan power flowed one way, Leahy writes. Reporters were sharecroppers: They tilled him only at his pleasure. <p> There's plenty of gossip in When Nothing Matters -- Leahy doesn't hold back on the tales of Jordan's gambling and infidelities, and David Stern will enjoy the story of the NBA referee who allegedly set Jordan up with a girl -- but in the end, this is a far more melancholy than tawdry tale. Michael Jordan was undoubtedly the greatest basketball player of his time. It's just a shame it took us so long to find out he was a human being too.

When Nothing Else Matters gives us the best look we are likely to have of Jordan in decline...The result is a richly detailed, anecdote-driven account of one of the most famous men in the world approaching the end of his rope. <p>-- Ron Rapoport, Chicago Sun-Times <p>

"""When Nothing Else Matters gives us the best look we are likely to have of Jordan in decline...The result is a richly detailed, anecdote-driven account of one of the most famous men in the world approaching the end of his rope."" -- Ron Rapoport, Chicago Sun-Times ""A gripping behind-the-scenes book...an important corrective to our current celebrity culture."" -- John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer ""Michael Leahy has written a heck of a book....Mr. Leahy combines an unrelenting eye for detail with extraordinary big-picture analysis."" -- Jon Ward, The Washington Times ""Riveting, myth-shattering."" -- Dan McGrath, Chicago Tribune ""The best sports book of the year...easily the most fully formed portrait of Jordan ever written."" -- GQ"

The best sports book of the year...easily the most fully formed portrait of Jordan ever written. -- GQ Riveting, myth-shattering. -- Dan McGrath, Chicago Tribune Michael Leahy has written a heck of a book....Mr. Leahy combines an unrelenting eye for detail with extraordinary big-picture analysis. -- Jon Ward, The Washington Times A gripping behind-the-scenes book...an important corrective to our current celebrity culture. -- John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer When Nothing Else Matters gives us the best look we are likely to have of Jordan in decline...The result is a richly detailed, anecdote-driven account of one of the most famous men in the world approaching the end of his rope. -- Ron Rapoport, Chicago Sun-Times

When Nothing Else Matters gives us the best look we are likely to have of Jordan in decline...The result is a richly detailed, anecdote-driven account of one of the most famous men in the world approaching the end of his rope. <br> -- Ron Rapoport, Chicago Sun-Times <br>

Stephanie Davis, GQ, November '04 No one's covered Michael Jordan like Michael Leahy. In 2001, Leahy a staff writer for The Washington Post, was assigned to write about the legend's return to basketball with the Washington Wizards and nearly everything he did off court as well. (At one point, Wizard coach Doug Collins refers to Leahy as a stalker. ) This obsessive reportage resulted in an acclaimed series for the Post and is now a book, When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback (Simon & Schuster) -- easily the most fully formed portrait of Jordan ever written and one of the best sports books in recent memory. <p> If you know Jordan from those Be Like Mike Gatorade commercials, you are unlikely to recognize the petulant protagonist of When Nothing Else Matters. Leahy discovers an ailing star on the downward arc of his career -- moving like a sea captain with a wooden peg for a right leg, he writes at one point. As he declines, Jordan claws at everyone aroun

Author Information

Michael Leahy is a staff writer for The Washington Post and The Washington Post Magazine. The recipient of numerous awards for journalistic excellence, Leahy has been honored with the selection of his stories for the 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 editions of The Best American Sports Writing anthologies. He lives outside Washington, D.C.

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