There's an aphorism to the effect of "Great players make everyone
around them better."   The following search returns a number of
results, but doesn?t suggest an origin.   "around him better"  OR
"around them better"

The actual source may also be a variation on the exact quote.  e.g.
"Great Leaders make every one around them better."

Note that there are some secondary attributions which a good answer will avoid. 
For example  the following Randy Johnson quote attributes it to
Steve Carlton.  http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/randy_johnson.html.
 I doubt if Steve Carlton is responsible for it.

It is possible that the aphorism doesn't really have a single origin. 
If that is case, a well documented answer will still get a good
rating.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 13 Mar 2006 10:05 PST

I found a 1987 use of the phrase in reference to...who else?...Michael Jordan.

Hard to say if that's the origin of the phrase or not.  I imagine the
sentiment goes back quite a bit further than 1987.  But as far as an
actual use of the phrase, 1987 is the earliest I found.

Would that suit you as an answer to your question?


pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by jimv_atlanta-ga on 14 Mar 2006 08:30 PST

No...not really.  I'm pretty sure the quote was being used prior to
'87.  That being said,