Greatest NBA Player Ever?
- Thread starter MATW95
- Start date
wrong. jordan was a nine-time all-defensive first teamer. jordan was just as good on defense as he was on offense, which is why he was and is the greatest player ever. kobe is too selfish, and will not be able to win a championship without a dominant center.
Jordan averaged 6.5 more ppg than kareem over his career. kareem was a great scorer because he was 7'2" with long arms, and he new how to use them (i.e. the skyhook). jordan was better at creating his own shot, getting to the basket, creating space, and finding space without the ball. and he had much better range than kareem.
Michael vs. Magic
Scoring
No question. Jordan > Magic.
Rebounds
Magic was a 6'8" PG, meaning he had about 5" advantage on all the other PG's. Jordan was two inches shorter and played guys his own height, and he still only averaged one rebound less than Magic.
Assists
Magic Johnson was a PG - the greatest PG ever - so I would except him to have more assists than a SG.
SPG: Jordan - 2.3; Magic - 1.9
BPG: Jordan - 0.8; Magic - 0.4
TO: Jordan - 2.7; Magic - 3.9
Magic was, well, magic with the ball, but overall, he's not as good as Jordan. Jordan was by far the better defender (Magic didn't have any all-defensive honors.. not even 2nd team) and better scorer. Magic was great, but he also had great teammates that could take advantage of his playmaking abilities. He couldn't take over a game from either side of the ball like Jordan could.
Jordan averaged 6.5 more ppg than kareem over his career. kareem was a great scorer because he was 7'2" with long arms, and he new how to use them (i.e. the skyhook). jordan was better at creating his own shot, getting to the basket, creating space, and finding space without the ball. and he had much better range than kareem.
Michael vs. Magic
Scoring
No question. Jordan > Magic.
Rebounds
Magic was a 6'8" PG, meaning he had about 5" advantage on all the other PG's. Jordan was two inches shorter and played guys his own height, and he still only averaged one rebound less than Magic.
Assists
Magic Johnson was a PG - the greatest PG ever - so I would except him to have more assists than a SG.
SPG: Jordan - 2.3; Magic - 1.9
BPG: Jordan - 0.8; Magic - 0.4
TO: Jordan - 2.7; Magic - 3.9
Magic was, well, magic with the ball, but overall, he's not as good as Jordan. Jordan was by far the better defender (Magic didn't have any all-defensive honors.. not even 2nd team) and better scorer. Magic was great, but he also had great teammates that could take advantage of his playmaking abilities. He couldn't take over a game from either side of the ball like Jordan could.
If it wasnt for Larry Bird and Magic Johnson the NBA would have nvr made it through the eighties, it was wracked with poor attendance on TV and at most of the venues, they revolutionized basketball. Jordan was a good mixture of them both but he lacked the ability to really get his team into the game, no doubt he could take over a game in the last two minutes and pretty much win the game single handely but that does nothing in my book, to see a team win a game means alot more to me, it explains why the usa basketball team nvr can win the gold. Fundementals for one thing and the overall ability to create for others is missing in the US. There is an exceptional few that can do this in the NBA now a days. But if u watch the euro teams they have solid fundemantals and great team work and ability to create for others..well greece and a few other teams not all..just generalizing there.
And to amerika..u have valid points but career wise this is what i mean...these are career stats. when someone can almost average a triple double a game..now thats something special in my opinoin. not taking a thing away from jordan he was fun to watch.
Magic Rebounds-7.7 assists-12.3 points- 19.5.
Jordan- Rebounds-6.20 assists-5.3 Points- 30.1
And to amerika..u have valid points but career wise this is what i mean...these are career stats. when someone can almost average a triple double a game..now thats something special in my opinoin. not taking a thing away from jordan he was fun to watch.
Magic Rebounds-7.7 assists-12.3 points- 19.5.
Jordan- Rebounds-6.20 assists-5.3 Points- 30.1
Im not saying Jordan was the only one to, but for me, he was the one that changed it into something I love. His style and determination is something I look at and admire. I see Bird as the generation before Jordan (obviously is) but as far as the game Jordan took off where Bird finished, he may be pretty on a score sheet and he obviously moved his team like no other but to watch I prefer Jordan. Also with getting a team into the game, you gotta have players that are willing to do that for you. It's like in one of the DVD's it shows Jordan talking to Paxton during a time out and you know he's leading him and when they go back Jordan gets it to him and they win. Thats leadership and Jordan certainly didnt lack that.
Very true bank but by then the NBA was becoming what it is today,(powerhouse nationally) granted barkley came along in the early eighties and made an immediate impact, but the truth still is magic and birds intense rivalry gave the league something to highlight especially because they met for the title 4 times i believe in the eighties or was it five?
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I never would say jordan was not a good team captain or leader but his distribition of the ball when it matters was little to none he normaly took that upon himself. Now not saying magic didnt do that either, when he filled in for kareem in his first finals he scored 42 points and pretty much took the game over. Plus that was his rookie season. And he did it to the celtics twice in boston garden, but if u watch most of magics clips it was get worthy involved or kareem downlow or penetrate and kick it to scott or cooper for the three bomb. Granted jordan did that with paxon wich was great because he would have had 5 people in his face if he decided to take the shot but i miss those days of unselfish basketball..thats why jason kidd steve nash and a few others are a real treat to watch, theres very few players that can do what they do on any given night. its no easy feet to walk onto a court player 80 plus regualr season games and almost average a triple double over 11 season or so..that is an amazing basketball player in my opinoin. Now highlights well shit jordan had some amazing highlights over and over again no doubt about it, he was great but in my opinoin number three behind the magic man and larry bird. But i also take into consideration alot of people on this board grew up with jordan as opposed to growing up with magic and if they saw magic prolly saw him late in his career after his retirment playing power forward. so it makes sense for u to be a big jordan fan.
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Morris said:
By the way, how can someone call Jordan the greatest winner in any sport while also having Bill Russell, who won 9 titles in 11 years in the same sport, in this poll? 
And SicC, Larry and Magic revived the popularity of basketball - which is an accomplishment indeed - but that's not argument fortheir skills on the court. It's outside the scope of the question (greatest basketball player, not most important), and even if it wasn't, then you would have to give half the credit to each of them, not all to one. Thus, you could say Magic + Larry > Michael, but not one without the other.
It the 80's, during the beginning of his NBA career, Jordan did dominate the ball. He didn't get players involved as much as he should've. But can you blame him? His most productive teammate was Orlando Woolridge. He had George Gervin for one season at the end of his career, and Charles Oakley for a few at the beginning of his. He didn't get any solid teammates until the Bulls drafted Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant in 1988. The following year, in their second seasons, Jordan's APG jumped over 8.0, which is amazing for a SG. They never dipped down to the pre-Pippen and Grant levels again until his first full season after baseball when Ron Harper became the Bull's leading playmaker.
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