Michael Jordan: The Greatest Basketball Player Ever

Bleacherreport.com | June 20, 2010 | Martial Arts had Bruce Lee, hip hop had Tupac Shakur, music had Elvis Presley, jokes had Chuck Norris, football had Jim Brown, radio has Howard Stern, and comedy had Richard Pryor.

And basketball?

Basketball has Michael Jordan.

Coming out of North Carolina, Jordan was primed for success after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the third pick of the 1984 NBA Draft.

Jordan was picked behind Portland Trail Blazers' Sam Bowie, who would later be pronounced as one of the biggest busts in NBA history. He is known as "that guy being picked ahead of MJ."

Jordan would finish his career as an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer with 32,292 points, 6,672 rebounds, and 5,633 assists.

On the court, Jordan would stop at nothing to win. He would never quit and he would never give up.

If you messed with him, he would make sure you suffered on the court. Not only the court, but anywhere. He did it when he gambled and he tried doing it in baseball.

He led the 1995-96 Bulls to a 72-10 record; what can you ask more? He could lead a team by himself and at 36 years of age he won his sixth and final championship.

Jordan would then become the Washington Wizards' general manager. With that, the Wizards started to struggle. And it dawned on him...

He had to make a final comeback.

Jordan announced his return to the court. He was a 39-year-old, certified baller for Washington. I remember that when Jordan was gone with the injuries and his knee, the Wizards struggled.

A 40-year-old man was that important to such a young team.

Though Jordan never reached the Finals, let alone the playoffs, with the Wizards, it showed that he was the best because he could average over 20 points a game even at such an old age.

It's very rare that that happen. It's even more rare seeing a 40-year-old guy drop 43 points on a team littered with players 20 year younger than him, as he did against the New Jersey Nets in 2003.

It saddens me when people compare LeBron James or Kobe Bryant to him. MJ is 20 miles ahead of any of these guys.

I was reading a great piece by Isaiah Montoya at BleacherReport.com . He wrote about Jordan's career from 32-to-40 years of age and showed that if he just played his whole career with just 32-to-40, Kobe or LeBron still wouldn't be better than him.

That's how awesome His Airness was.

Jordan is now a golfer, but he still competes. He is also the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, in where he was seen footage of himself owning the players on the team's roster.

So, there you have it. Even at 47 years of age, Jordan can still ball.

Jordan was just too too good. In his 15-year-career, he had six titles and 32,000 points. I just can't see another player accomplishing that feat. So for those of you fans that think Kobe is better than MJ, take a look at this between their careers:

Michael Jordan (through 15 seasons): 32,000 points, six titles, 10 scoring titles

Kobe Bryant (through 14 seasons): 25,000 points, five titles, two scoring titles

Along with that, Jordan was a five-time regular-season MVP and a six-time Finals' MVP. Kobe was a one-time regular-season MVP and a two-time Finals' MVP.

I bet you that Jordan could take a squad like Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, etc. to the Finals every year and win. Kobe couldn't even do that.

Some examples are the 2004 NBA Finals and the 2008 NBA Finals. Kobe is 5-2 in the Finals and Jordan is a solid 6-0.

Do I need to add any more to this little debate?

There was also a video leaked on the Internet of Jordan shooting a free throw with his eyes close, giving a warm-welcome to Dikembe Mutombo in his rookie year.

Here's a comment I read from Dale Sagen at BleacherReport.com in a response to Jon Star's article:

If Kobe Bryant stays in the league for 4 more solid years, 2 more average years, wins 2 more championships (at least 1 without Phil), has 2 clutch signature championship moments, 1 more League MVP, remains aggressive on defense, and tops Kareem's points record, then we can begin the debate.

So stop this argument now. Michael Jordan will forever be the best. He changed sports. and he brought about a new era of basketball. When it is all said and done, nobody will ever be better than Michael Jordan on the whole planet.

I could go on and on with this topic, but I'll leave it at this...

Michael Jordan: The Greatest Ever.

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