His Airness Michael Jordan

[*kalel*]

an article from nba.com.ph

 

I am sure not everyone will agree with me when I say that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time, but I really think he is anyway. And this is coming from a guy who really hated Jordan before!

 

And I think that is one of the reasons why he is the greatest. We hate him simply because he's just too good. Sure, he has an attitude too and there used to be an issue that his teammates didn't like him, but the main reason why we didn't like him was that he was too good and it was utterly unfair! We hate Kobe Bryant because he's an arrogant guy, because of all his feuds with Shaq and because of his rape case (which everyone has forgotten) and all that, but not because he is too good! Jordan is in the class of guys like Tiger Woods (although I don't know if people really hated him for being too good. But now I know they do for all his scandals) and Roger Federer (who I personally hate too for being too good and for breaking Pete Sampras' record!) Hate may seem like a strong word to use but it's just to make a point, so dislike might be more appropriate.

 

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (AP photo)

 

My main reason though is that to win a championship in the NBA, the formula is practically to have a dominant/All-Star big man (scoring-wise) and a dominant guard. So as much as we love to watch guards and all their highlights, it really is a big man's league! Think about it! Practically all the championship teams in history have had All-Star big men in their lineups! The only two teams that probably didn't have any were Jordan's Bulls and the Bad Boys. And yes, the Bad Boys were led also by a guard. But they weren't known just as Isiah's team; they were known as the Bad Boys and it was because of their very solid group of players that they won their championships (Joe Dumars was even the Finals MVP in one of them) while Jordan's team was known as Jordan and the Jordanaires! No disrespect to Scottie Pippen who is also a hall of famer, but my point is it takes a dominant big man who scores a lot and a good guard to win it all.

 

Let's look at the championship teams of recent memory:

 

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh

 

Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd

 

Kobe Bryant + Pau Gasol + Andrew Bynum (he couldn't win it with only Pau Gasol. He needed Bynum too)

 

Paul Pierce, Ray Allen + Kevin Garnett

 

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili + Tony Parker (multiple times plus David Robinson in two of them)

 

Wade + Shaquille O’Neal

 

Rasheed Wallace + Chauncey BIllups + Ben Wallace + Rip Hamilton + Tayshaun Prince

 

Kobe + Shaq

 

Hakeem Olajuwon + Clyde Drexler

 

Hakeem + a bunch of guards!

 

Jordan + Pippen

 

Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy

 

Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin Mchale (and a bunch of other Hall of Famers)

 

Julius Erving + Moses Malone

 

Jerry West + Wilt Chamberlain

 

Walt Frazier + Willis Reed

 

Bill Russell + a lot of other Hall of Famers

 

Oscar Robertson + Kareem

 

And many more, but basically it's really hard to find a team without any scoring big man in the same year that they won the championship. And Jordan did it six times! Horace Grant only became an All-star in the years after Jordan left. Dennis Rodman was a really good rebounder, but he wasn't a post-up guy! Heck, even Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain only won one championship together despite having arguably the two best players in their respective positions during that time...But still, it's usually the team with the better big men who wins well, maybe except for that Pistons’ upset of the Lakers in 2004. Bill Russell didn't win 11 championships for no reason!

 

Looking at statistics, it would be interesting to note that only four times has a team won a championship without their starting power forward and center averaging a combined 20 points. Jordan's teams were the ones who accomplished that four times and in his two other championships, they barely topped 20. It might be argued that the triangle offense allows Jordan and Pippen to play the post a bit more but still, it's amazing to know that they won without any real big guy who plays with his back to the basket.

 

And why I think Kobe won't ever be better? That's because he had a team with four Hall of Famers, including the most dominant center in his era and the greatest coach of all time, and he didn't win! (I know, I know, it's not his fault though!) And he did lose to the Spurs even with Shaq! Jordan, if he didn't retire, would probably have never lost (which would’ve made me hate him more!). And imagine if he had a dominant post-up guy, he would have probably won his championships earlier! But who knows, Kobe still has maybe three more good years left! If he ends up with eight championships, then we can talk (even if he wasn't the main guy in three of them). Kobe has only been the "best" player in the league once, and the best player in a championship team twice. With MJ, he was the league's best player five times and arguably a few more if the league didn't get tired of voting for him and giving the awards to Karl Malone or Charles Barkley. He also was the best player in the Bulls’ six-championship run.

 

And yeah, before I forget, who on earth would throw a Game 7 away just to prove a point to his coach (the series where they were up 3-1 to the Suns and ended up losing)? No matter how people will defend him, there is no other explanation to what he did then! I can't forget that game.

 

I don't think we can make a case just yet that anybody comes close to MJ. Bill Russell might be the only arguable case. Kobe is close but not there yet, and LeBron is a few championships away. Jordan simply changed the game of basketball.

[gimboy23]

thank you for sharing it kalel. great read for mj fans.

[Jayqq22]

Mj ... The greatest ever!!!

[dfgvan]

mj and pip's bulls have always been a doughnut

hole in the middle...

but look at their big guys... they are consistent and they are really big... cartwright/perdue/king... parish/longley/williams/and yung isa pa na shooter sa gilid

i really liked what phil did with that center rotation...

[Kahilas]

very nice read! MJ GOAT!

[revo20012000]

a big basketball goat

[darksoulriver]

Jordan's Bobcats now competing even having a so-so lineup

[john2004]

I don't think Lebron could dethrone MJ. Lebron has been in the NBA since 2003 with no ring to show. Baka nga maunahan pa sya ni KD magkaroon ng singsing. Lebron does not even belong in the same field with Kobe. MJ himself said only Kobe deserved the comparison.

correct !

[mooz]

Best athlete.

[emeer]

Michael Jordan is definitely the greatest player who evere lived on this planet. He was incredibly good!

[welson]

Wala ng makakapantay sa galing nya.

[katawannihudas]

Hands down, head too.

[romeoprado]

Magaling si MJ actually siya ang pinakamagaling sa history ng NBA kaso siya ang pInaka buwaya

[Jasonkidd]

No comparison between MJ and LBJ.. in terms of skills maybe.. but in terms of their will to win, their passion and dedication for the game its miles and miles away..

[RED2018]

No comparison between MJ and LBJ.. in terms of skills maybe.. but in terms of their will to win, their passion and dedication for the game its miles and miles away..

 

 

Michael and LeBron go one-on-one ... verbally!

 

http://ph.sports.yahoo.com/news/michael-lebron-one-one-verbally-095641097--spt.html