In celebration of Michael Jordan’s 60th birthday, it would be wise to look back on the greatness of one of the most dominant athletes in American history. Michael Jordan is constantly the standard for all great NBA players, and that will likely never change because no player has broken new ground like the Chicago Bulls superstar. After all, has there been a superstar player that managed to win 6 NBA championships with a flawless Finals record before?
There have always been players who have solid arguments for being the greatest player ever, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had the most unstoppable move in NBA history and was the all-time leading scorer before LeBron James shattered the record last week. Of course, LeBron James is now the all-time leading scorer, thanks to his 38-point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite being the all-time scorer, LeBron James has not passed Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate because he is not the best scorer ever and simply not the best to have ever played.
Rather, Jordan is the greatest scorer ever and also the most impactful athlete in the history of basketball. Michael Jordan is, without a doubt, the greatest and most competitive basketball player to have ever lived, and there is sufficient evidence to suggest that there is simply no comparison. To make it clear to the viewing public, here are the 10 reasons why Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, and it truly isn’t close.
10. The Most Famous Athlete Of All-Time
There is just simply no way any player can compare to Michael Jordan. Even without the presence of social media, MJ was a rockstar. Everyone wanted to be like Mike, as he was literally the most famous man on the planet. You can go anywhere around the world, and his name is synonymous with greatness, fame, talent, and spectacularity. In simple terms, Jordan is the most famous athlete of all time.
Let’s take LeBron James, for example. LeBron is the face of the NBA and has been for a long time, but at one point, MJ was the face of the universe. Everything he did broke the news, and had he played today, it would have been overkill. Michael’s aura when he walked into a place was surreal, and many athletes often described him as a floating figure instead of a regular human. Somewhat a man of mystery, Jordan was also not attention-seeking as most other superstars are, yet he attracted this much attention to everything he says and does.
9. Air Jordan Lifted The NBA To Another Level
Jordan could have legitimately won the MVP 10 times as well, but it wouldn’t be fair to give one man the MVP Award every single year.
Jordan’s scoring over this decade and a year included a ridiculous record of 165 40-point games, 32 50-point games, and 5 separate 60-point games. MJ was just unstoppable offensively. But he also did it on defense, making 9 All-Defensive Teams as well. No player in history possessed a killer instinct like Mike, and he showed it during his prime.
This type of dominance was unprecedented before Jordan, and the man single-handedly lifted the NBA into another stratosphere as a talent. The superstar shooting guard was also capable of doing something spectacular every night, whether it was inhuman dunks, game-winning baskets, or other feats of extreme athleticism. In terms of box office skills and accolades, MJ lifted the NBA to extreme fame during the 1980s and 1990s, even when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were already bona fide superstars.
8. Prevented Hall Of Famers From Winning A Single Championship
MJ was the best scorer, best overall player, and the most consistent superstar over an incredible career. He captured 6 NBA titles during an 11-year period and even made 11 straight All-Star Teams during that span. Jordan also won 5 MVP Awards and 10 scoring titles, meaning he was the single greatest scorer over a decade and the most valuable player. But most importantly, Jordan kept multiple Hall of Fame players from ever winning a ring in his era.
Let’s start with Karl Malone and John Stockton, as the former won 2 MVP awards and is currently the third-leading scorer of all time. Stockton, the Mailman’s point guard, is the all-time leader in assists and steals and formed the best pick-n-roll duo in the world. Jordan defeated the Utah Jazz twice in the Finals, preventing the dynamic duo from winning a single championship. Next, Charles Barkley. The superstar power forward was arguably the best player in the world in 1993, posting 25.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG while winning the MVP award. Barkley led the Suns to the NBA Finals, but he had to succumb to Jordan and the Bulls in 6 games.
Next up, Clyde Drexler. Drexler was considered to be the only competitor to MJ on the perimeter in the 1990s, and MJ took that personally. Jordan defeated Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 Finals, and Clyde did not win his championship until MJ was essentially retired in the 1995 season. Patrick Ewing, one of the best players to never win a ring, also fell victim to Jordan and the Bulls multiple times in the playoffs and retired without winning an NBA championship. How about Gary Payton? Jordan defeated him and the SuperSonics in the 1996 Finals. David Robinson? Only won championships once Jordan retired and was basically on his retirement tour in 2003. Even Shaq, the most dominant big man in the modern era, did not win a championship until Jordan retired and came back as an old man with the Wizards.
No matter who the competition was, Jordan stifled them and prevented them from winning an NBA championship. Even if Magic Johnson did win championships before and was considered the face of the league before Michael arrived, Jordan beat him and the Los Angels Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. Michael was the dominant force in the league on an individual level and made the Chicago Bulls the strongest team every single year. Nobody stifled competition as well as Michael Jordan did.
7. Michael Jordan Has The Most Accolades In NBA History
It is hard to argue who is the GOAT with simply the eye test. The eye test is a very good indicator of a player’s greatness, but it can be skewed by bias. That is why stats need to come into play, especially the individual and team accolades of a certain player. But even when looking at stats and accolades, Jordan is by far the greatest to have ever done it.
Michael Jordan has the most accolades in NBA history, with 18 major accolades to his name. 6 NBA championships, 6 Finals MVPs, 5 MVPs, and 1 Defensive Player of the Year Award means Air Jordan has 18 major accolades. And that doesn’t even include his 10 scoring titles, which would take him to 28 accolades and counting. Taking into account stat leadership and miscellaneous categories, Michael added 3 steals titles, 3 All-Star Game MVPs, 2 Slam Dunk Contests, and a Rookie of the Year award. That means Jordan has 37 major accolades, and for comparison’s sake, LeBron only has 18 (4 NBA titles, 4 Finals MVPs, 4 MVPs, 1 scoring title, 1 assist title, 1 Rookie of the Year, 3 All-Star Game MVPs). Is that not enough to settle any GOAT debate? Not yet? There’s more.
6. Led A 72-10 Team And Won The Championship
Michael Jordan’s 1996 Chicago Bulls are considered the greatest team in NBA history. Their 72-10 record is the second-best in NBA history before the 2016 Golden State Warriors broke it with 73 wins thanks to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Steve Kerr. As great as that Warriors team is, Jordan’s Bulls had more toughness, edge, and dominance to them. Winning 72 games in the 1990s was not easy, and Jordan was at the head of the team.
Michael averaged 30.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 4.3 APG for the Bulls in the regular season, winning 72 games, the MVP award, and the scoring title. In the postseason, Jordan averaged 30.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 0.3 BPG on 45.9% FG, 40.3% 3-PT FG, and 81.8% FT. Of course, it was only written for MJ to make the NBA Finals and win the Finals MVP award after he posted 27.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.2 APG in a 6-game route of Gary Payton and the Seattle SuperSonics. The 72-win season is yet another example of Michael Jordan’s dominance on the NBA court.
5. Winning DPOY Is Proof He Was One Of The Best Two-Way Players Ever
Continuing with Michael Jordan’s incredible career, perhaps no player in NBA history achieved what Michael Jordan did on both ends of the floor. Jordan’s career scoring average stands at 30.1 PPG, the single greatest average in history. The fact that Jordan has a whopping 10 scoring titles and the highest scoring average in history is evidence he’s the best offensive player ever. But he was arguably just as good on the defensive end, thanks to his basketball IQ and unique athleticism.
Michael Jordan also did it at the highest level of defense, despite playing alongside Scottie Pippen for most of his career. Michael managed to lead the league in steals 3 times and had career averages of 2.3 SPG and 0.8 BPG, which are great numbers for a scoring guard. Perhaps most importantly, Jordan made 9 All-Defensive Teams over his career, winning the Defensive Player of the Year in 1988 when he posted 3.2 SPG and 1.6 BPG. Jordan dominated both ends of the floor better than any guard during that season, and he capped it off with an MVP award and scoring title as well. Winning a Defensive Player of the Year is not an easy feat by any means, especially for a score-first shooting guard, but that showed how dominant Michael Jordan was on defense.
4. An Incredible 10 Scoring Titles
Michael Jordan is the greatest scorer of all time. Make no mistake about it. The shooting guard captured an impressive 10 scoring titles, ahead of Wilt Chamberlain (7 scoring titles), Kevin Durant (4 scoring titles), Allen Iverson (4 scoring titles), and George Gervin (4 scoring titles). Not to mention, Jordan ranks 1st all-time in career PPG average with 30.1 PPG ahead of Wilt Chamberlain as well. When looking at raw scoring numbers, nobody did it better and more consistently than Jordan.
Amazingly, Jordan’s impact as a scorer came beyond simply numbers and accolades because he also terrorized defense with the utmost skill in terms of getting the ball in the basket. He possessed an automatic mid-range jumper, an unstoppable fadeaway move, and supreme athleticism when he attacked the rim. With 10 scoring titles to his name, not even LeBron James (all-time leading scorer) can truly compare to the greatest player of all time that is Michael Jordan.
3. Obsessed Winner And Fierce Competitor
There have been multiple dominant stars in NBA history, including Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, among others. In the modern era, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard have all achieved tremendous success in their eras. But none of those players mentioned could truly compete with Michael Jordan at the highest level of competitiveness.
As we saw from the prior deduction of Jordan’s greatness, no player compares to his level of competition. As soon as his rookie season, many were already claiming Jordan to be the best player they had seen because he combined athleticism with elite scoring prowess. Whether it was keeping the correct hand in the passing lane, his jump shot form, or his basketball IQ, Jordan had it all on a fundamental level. But what made Michael truly the GOAT was his mentality.
Jordan was the ultimate competitor, and even his own teammates fell wrath to Jordan’s insane competitiveness, including Steve Kerr, who was punched in the face. Opposing players and even teammates feared Michael, and that helped him dominate the game year after year en route to 6 NBA championships, including two separate 3-peats.
2. The Superstar Who Completed Two 3-Peats
There have been only 5 instances throughout NBA history in which a 3-peat was achieved. The first came time came when the Minneapolis Lakers won NBA championships between 1952 to 1954, as George Mikan dominated the paint. The second time came when the Boston Celtics won eight championships in a row from 1959 to 1966. When the Celtics were at their highest point, the team won 11 championships, with the likes of Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and John Havlicek leading the way.
Since 1966, only three teams have managed to complete 3-peats, and two of them were Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. The Bulls did it between 1991 and 1993, and Michael won all Finals MVPs. He did it again following his retirement, capturing NBA titles between 1996 and 1998, with the 1998 season coming in the form of a “Last Dance.” Other than Bill Russell’s Celtics, who own 8 in a row, no other team managed two 3-peats, and Michael Jordan was the leader and best player for those teams.
1. 6-0 In The NBA Finals With 6 Finals MVPs
Without a doubt, the fact that places Michael Jordan above all other players is his flawless 6-0 NBA Finals record that gave the player 6 Finals MVPs. Michael dominated the competition to win 6 Finals MVPs in 2 different 3-peats, and it is extremely hard to imagine any player in today’s NBA who can manage to be the leader of 2 separate 3-peats and go perfect in the Finals. It just doesn’t happen because it has never been done before or after Michael did it with the Chicago Bulls.
Michael Jordan usurps dominant NBA champions like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell because of his amazing Finals dominance. Russell managed 11 championships in 12 Finals appearances, but he did lose a Finals series. Kareem won 6 NBA titles, but he lost 4 other Finals. LeBron famously is 4-6 in the Finals, while Kobe went 5-2. Jordan went 6-0 with 6 Finals MVPs and never played in a Game 7. Jordan is the GOAT, and there really shouldn’t be any discussion about that based on the 10 reasons we have seen here.
Source: fadeawayworld
