Top Ten Reasons Michael Jordan is the Greatest NBA Player of All Time
As I walked into journalism junior composition, my brother, a longtime advocate for the devil, sent me an article entitled, “ Top Ten Reasons MJ is Not the GOAT”. As I read each illogical reason, my passion and anger grew exponentially. Then, as I discovered we would have to write a listicle style piece for the class, I realized I could channel my rage into an excellent response article. My compelling argument ensues:
- He dominated like no one else in the history of the sport.
Jordan holds the record for career points per game while shooting just a shade under 50%. For a guard, that is literally insane. As a big man shooting 50% is easy considering a majority of your shots are being taken from within 5 feet of the hoop. But as a smaller player and number one scoring option, maintaining that efficiency is pretty unbelievable. After coming off a broken foot suffered in his second season, Jordan responded by putting up 7 straight seasons of 30 ppg or higher.
2. Undefeated on the world’s biggest stage (rings, rings, and more rings).
As my grandpa(Sol Margolies) loves to put it “there will never be another Michael”. I would consider him an authority on the topic considering he has been watching basketball since the Mikan Era. When I asked him what was the single thing that made MJ so great, he had the perfect anecdote. “If a game comes down to the last shot,” he said, “there is no one else in history you’d rather having taking that shot than MJ”.
3. Made everyone around him better and hungrier for wins.
Jordan nearly always guarded the other team’s top scorer(an exhaustive task), which by itself aids the team enormously, let alone the fact that he did it while putting up over 30 points/game himself. He was also a gifted passer, even though that often gets overlooked much like Kobe’s passing ability.
4. Unbelievable durability in a much more violent league.
In 15 seasons, Michael only played less than 60 games twice (both years with severe injuries). Jordan started in at least 80 games ten times throughout his career. Today, plenty of players take off games for rest(i.e. the Spurs) or simply sit toward the end of games. Michael’s hyper-competitiveness did not allow for that sort of lackadaisical attitude.
5. Every NBA Finals win was vs. another Hall of Famer(s).
He beat the Lakers who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Then battled against Clyde “The Glide” Drexler and the Trailblazers and won. For his third ring, Jordan had to get past Charles Barkely, who had won MVP honors that season. After taking a year off to try his hand at baseball, Jordan came back to beat the original Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, i.e. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. In his final two championships, MJ put down one the greatest duos in sports history in John Stockton and Karl Malone. Need I say more? Wait, maybe I do, if for nothing else than to add insult to injury. Hans Meyer, a professor here at Ohio University and a die hard Utah Jazz fan remembers the signature “Flu Game” vividly. “I watched him beat my Jazz almost single-handedly while he was consumed by the flu.” he told me. “I’ll never forget that last shot”.
6. MJ was one of the greatest two-way-players ever.
He won the Defensive Player of the Year in 1987–88 and was a 9-time All Defensive First Team selection. Kellen Becoats, a junior here at Ohio University majoring in sports journalism, commented on the intensity Jordan approached the game with. “Everyone wants to play,” he said, “but no one played the game as hard as Michael did, day in and day out.”
7. MJ adapted his game over time to remain dominant despite physical limitations.
All of the signature “Jordan” moves that we talk about like the leaner, or the turn-around fade-away, originated because Michael needed to adjust to his body. He knew the plays he could make at UNC just weren’t in the cards for him at age 30.
8. Pippen was a great sidekick, but not much of a scorer.
Sure Pippen was a great athlete and defender, but when it came down to the last second shots, the ball was always given to Michael. This made his clutch plays even more impressive, given how the defenses knew where the ball was going and still could not stop him. Professor Meyer put it best, “Everyone knew he was going to take that last shot,” he said, “and everyone, even us Jazz fans, knew he was going to hit it”.
9. The losses to the Pistons shaped him, they didn’t take away from his legacy.
Every top player had struggles early in their career sans Magic. And after Johnson’s first win he struggled against the Celtics for years. Boston and Detroit, the teams Michael struggled most against, were far more talented and experienced than Jordan’s team. But those losses also threw fuel on the fire that was MJ’s passion for the game.
10. If Julius Erving was the Dr. of Dunk, MJ was a mad scientist.
Have I convinced you or not? Leave comments, questions, and other compelling arguments below.
