Im not a Jordan hater. Its just that he has been considered as the greatest to ever play basketball. What makes him the best?|||So Alpha Wolf raised Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
Bill Russell is a great defender, way too advanced for his time, in fact he revolutionized the game by showing defense can win games. But while William Felton Russell was a great leader his offense betrays him, shooting way under 50% for FGs and a hairline above 56% on free throws does not win you games (Heck, Dwight Howard was way more accurate for his shots though his FT was horrible and still lost games). It was his teammates offense and Bill's defense that won the championships not Bill Russell alone. Heck if Bill was so essential to a championship, then Havlicek wouldn't have won his own rings in '74 and '76. And if you check those teams it didn't enjoy the same HOF teammates that Russell enjoyed for his teams.
As for the notion that Russell made his teammates great, Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman was considered great even before Russell. Tommy Heinsohn was on his way to the ROY honors even before Russell joined the team. While it is true that the dynasty started with Russell I don't think it would have been without Russell's teammates.
"He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted" this is the philosophy that Red carved into the hearts of his team, each knowing their parts and trusting each other. Russell picked up where his teammates were the weakest and his teammates picked himup where he is weakest also.
Wilt Chamberlain was a very dominant man. He scored 100 points in one night, yes it was amazing but did you guys know that the game was practically over by half of the fourth quarter, Wilt's teammates practically fed him the ball for him to get the feat. His coach didn't even tried to take him out (like Phil did to Kobe when he saw the game was practically over), so the 100 points game is not born of necessity but of greed.
It is true that Wilt has a number of other feat, and that it is unfortunate that he only got 2 titles under his belt. And one of the reasons for it is that he was like LeBron James is doing right now, He held his coaches and his management's neck because of his majestic glory on-court. Not until he got a match in Alex Hannum that Wilt realized why he didn't win any championships.
Jordan combines both the best aspect of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. He scored and he defended. He has 6 championships to show it. He did it in the 90's. Some say the 90's is a watered down league but I'll raise one issue here. The Lakers that won a three peat earlier this decade was powered by Shaq and Kobe, but in the 90's the same duo marched into the play-offs but got knocked out by the Utah duo of Malone and Stockton in consecutive seasons (97-98) the same Utah team that the Bulls would defeat in the Finals. To call the league watered down is to discredit Houston's championships, Detroit's (1990) and San Antonio (1999) those were incredible teams that could match-up to any champion team in history.
While I don't think Jordan is the greatest player alone, (Jordan never claimed it as he said time and again "My game is based on someone else's game") I don't think he is far from the other players before him, limiting the contenders to just Wilt and Bill don't give justice to Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Oscar Robertson, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, as they too have shown their greatness in their own respective time. Jordan had the 90's all to himself, the greatest of the era.
Hope this helps.|||No other player puts it ALL together like Jordan.
6 rings, 6 Finals Mvps (the best player on his team every season), 5 regular season MVPs, 10 scoring titles, all time playoff scoring leader, all time season scoring leader, all time leader in blocks for his position, 3 all-star MVPs.
It's his combination of individual dominance (10 scoring titles, undisputed best player in the league for nearly an entire decade, multiple MVP awards, and numerous scoring records), the way he raised his level of play in the playoffs, how he led his teams to consecutive championships, and his consistency as an all-around 2-way player.
Jordan won 10 scoring titles, 5 he won while making over 50% of his shots, Jordan led the league in steals, Jordan was the greatest shot blocking guard, Jordan won 14 combined MVP's (3 all star, 5 league, 6 finals). Jordan averaged 33 6 and 6 in the NBA Finals for his career. Jordan averaged 31.5ppg on 51.5% shooting when he wore a Bulls uniform while leading the league in scoring 10 times.
Doug Collins decided to move Jordan to the point guard spot against Seattle on March 11th 1989. He finished that game with 15 assists. Two days later, he had a game of 21/14/14 against the Pacers in just 30 minutes of playing time in a 32-point blowout win. He reached the triple double mark in just 21 minutes. Jordan continued to play at the PG spot until the end of the season. In these 24 games he averaged 29.3ppg, 8.9rpg, 10.6 apg, 2.4spg. Between March 24 and April 14, 1989, he recorded a triple double in ten of the eleven games, including seven consecutive ones. In the game he didn't record a triple double, he finished with 40 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds.
The clear GOAT when you combine everything mvp's, rings, dominance, scoring titles,defense, legacy, stats etc.
The hands down greatest of all time when you look at his whole body of work.
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Notice how you have to use 2 players in order to try to refute Jordan's claim as GOAT? That tells you everything you need to know right there.
Jordan = statistical domination like Wilt, and winning like Russell, but all in one player, not 2.
You, however unintentionally, made the case for Jordan as GOAT. Thanks!
Also love how you left out that Jordan has the higher (and the highest) career scoring average.
He also has the highest career playoff scoring average...
Highest Finals scoring average...
Hold the record for most points in a playoff game....
Has the most career points in the playoffs and the Finals...
Holds the record for most scoring titles...
and holds the record for consecutive games scoring in double digits.....
Why don't Laker fans just be honest for once and admit the real reason why they will never admit Jordan is the GOAT. Because he was never a Laker. Thats why they have this obsession with Kobe passing Jordan.
Russell's winning + Wilts scoring = Jordan = GOAT
Just because you don't like it don't mean it's not true and Jordan has 25 regular season records, not 4. He has FAR more playoffs and finals records than Wilt. Quit posting misinformation.
Combination means multiple things you just proved my point by using multiple players against MJ. No one has the rings, dominance, and MVPs he has. Its not one thing at a time, its everything.|||If you haven't watched him play basketball, then you really missed the good times of basketball.
In short, just check his resume and you'll find the answer to your question. Here's one place you could start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jor鈥?/a>
Check his career highlights and awards|||Unmatched skill on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Jordan was a prolific scorer - he averaged more than 30 points a game for around more than 10 seasons with an incredible field goal percentage - just above 50%. 50% field goal percentage is already awesome (some centers get 60%, but that's because most of their points come from dunks and paint moves), but factor in the consideration that Jordan's game had a lot of jump shooting in it and it becomes unbelievable. Fadeaways, spin moves, the sort of jump shots that Kobe Bryant does. In fact, Kobe has said that he modeled a lot of his game after Jordan; plus Jordan says that he sees a lot of himself in Kobe today. He was also an excellent three-point shooter, averaging above 40% for most of his seasons. Then of course, there was his incredible dunking ability, which was what really brought him to fame not just in the NBA, but across the WORLD. He was the best at everything basically - scoring (evidenced in points per game, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and free throws), passing (he averaged around 6 and up assists per game), rebounding (he rebounded very well for a guard, upwards of 6 a night), and defense. He averaged around 3 steals per game and was also a decent shot blocker, which you don't see much of in guards. In fact, Jerry West often said that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions rather than his offensive ones. Why? Everybody likes to score points, and it's not hard to "convince" someone to put in a lot of effort on offense. Jordan's physical and mental abilities for basketball simply complemented that. But defense is where your heart for the game really shows. By putting in the work to thieve the ball from the opponents, contest their every shot and pass, and do whatever you could to do stop them, that shows your true feelings and aptitude for the game.|||He was the best offensive player of all time, with 10 scoring titles. Imagine that, having someone lead the league in scoring for an entire decade. Kobe only has 2 scoring titles. Plus, he was one of the greatest defensive players of all time, with 9 First Team All-Defense appearances.
Then, add the 6 NBA Championships, which could of realistically been 8-10 in a row if he didn't retire twice.|||He was the best offensive player and the best lock down defensive player. He had the physical attributes as well like hops, speed, quick first step, and what most people don't realize is that MJ had some of the biggest hands in the league too. He would go up in the air, draw contact, be able to hang there and shift the ball around and get his shot off. And he was just aggressive as hell when it was time for to perform and win.|||PJ...i'll give you someone.....
Bill Russell - 2 NCAA Championships..1956 GOLD MEDAL...11 NBA championships....5MVPS....Finals MVP award NAMED AFTER HIM!!! 13 X Allstar...greatest defensive player ever!
Kareem - 3 X NCAA Champion 6X NBA Champion 6 MVPs(more then Jordan) 15X allstar
Magic - NCAA Champion ...5X NBA Champion ...Gold medal...9 NBA Finals in 12 years...greatest passer ever!
all these players are better then overrated MJ.
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What made MJ great?........It's called HYPE!...if only ESPN was around when Russell played!
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JAY - He put it all together better...WTF?
This reason is pure bull, plain and simple. It is a desperate plea from a Jordan worshipper who realizes his goose is cooked. Here is why.
Let's compare Wilt Chamberlain to Jordan, for instance. Wilt has 56 NBA single-season records to Jordan's 4. Wilt nearly QUADRUPLED the number of 50 point games Jordan had in his career. Wilt led the league in assists, fg%, minutes and rebounds 29 times to Jordan's Zero. He owns 6 of the 9 70+ point games in history - Jordan has zero. He topped Jordan's best scoring season three times and Wilt's best scoring season is 13 ppg higher than Jordan's. Imagine Jordan leading the league in scoring at 33 ppg and the runner up having 20 ppg. Simply put, Wilt was in a class ahead of Jordan.
A Jordan fan will respond with, "Yeah, but Wilt only has 2 rings to Jordan's 6". Fine. That means stats mean very little and the much stronger emphasis is on championships. When one man so strongly overwhelms another in the area of statistical accomplishments, to say he is not better means stats are irrelevant. We are not talking about Kobe Bryant vs. Tracy McGrady or Charles Barkley vs. Karl Malone - guys with similar numbers. We are talking about a mismatch that rivals Shaq versus Greg Kite.
Therefore, to say Jordan is better is Wilt means stats and scoring are irrelevant. Since championships are the overwhelming factor, then we have to look at the man who prevented Wilt from winning more championships - Bill Russell. He has 11 championships to Jordan's 6. He has nearly TWICE the number of championships. Therefore, Bill Russell simply has to be better than Jordan. Let me repeat that - as impressive as Jordan's six titles are, it simply pales in comparison to Russell. To win 6 championships, it took Michael Jordan 14 years and Bill Russell only 7 years. Jordan played 15 seasons to Russell's 13, yet Russell has FIVE more championships than Jordan. Jordan and Magic Johnson COMBINED have as many rings as Bill Russell. Jordan and Magic defined "winning" for an entire generation! Yet, it takes both of them together to match the dominance of Bill Russell!
A Jordan fan cannot say that Jordan was a better individual player than Russell. After all, Russell AVERAGED over 22 rebounds per game. He is acknowledged by most to be the greatest defensive player in the history of the game, and to go along with that, he finished in the top 10 in the league in assists FOUR times (Jordan only did this once). He added 15 ppg to go along with this superior passing, rebounding, and defense.
The only recourse for a Jordan worshipper is to discount Russell's superior defense, rebounding, passing, and his overwhelming dominance in championships -- discount all of it -- and say "Jordan scored more points". However, as I showed above, points are irrelevant. Wilt Chamberlain dominated Jordan in points, and most other categories, but this was all discounted because of championships. You simply cannot say that Jordan's extra scoring somehow makes up for a 5 ring deficit after you just discounted Wilt's OVERWHELMING dominance of Jordan in scoring on account of a 4 ring deficit. And face it: it has to come down to points and rings because Jordan's passing and rebounding are simply unimpressive and his defense - while exceptional - is not on a plane higher than Chamberlain and Russell.
Therefore, there is no way that Michael Jordan can be the greatest player in history.|||Alpha Wolf is 100% absolutely right and deserves the BA.!!!!
Also, for the 1st time in my life, I agree with Kibby.
Earvin "magic" Johnson is the greatest basketball player ever
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Rings don't come into this discussion because Kareem, Pippen and other players (+ coaches) are also in it.|||easy answer, 6 championships, 5 MVP awards, 14 all-star appearances, 6 time NBA Finals MVP, 10 time all first-team, 9 time all defensive team and 2 time Gold Medal winner with Team USA. Give me a name of someone that can even come close to all of that.|||Other than unbelievable skill on both sides of the ball? His will to win and his leadership. I like the two active best players, Kobe and Lebron, but neither possess the leadership that Jordan spewed.|||Just look at the bottom of the jordan retro 10|||the fact that he has
1.6 rings
2.6 MVPs
3.a couple allstar mvps
4.defensive man awards
5.his skills
6.the fact that he loved the game and played his heart out!|||YO PJ i believe Bill Russell has 11 rings- as the saying goes "i have 10 fingers but 11 rings (hahahah)"
To tell u the truth allen i wonder the same thing.|||he was consistent, clutch, and a good leader as well.|||well its out of him, russel, magic or bird no one comes close to what theyve accomplished
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