Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The Basketball Hall of Famer accumulated six NBA championships, five Most Valuable Player awards, and 14 All-Star selections over his 15-season career.
Over the years, the likes of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have made a strong case against Jordan among fans and analysts. The two players were dominant talents throughout their respective generations.
In an interview with NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, Jordan commented on the debate topic.
“The GOAT term is something that I’ll never get high or low about. It just doesn’t exist for me… We paved the way for Kobe and LeBron. That’s the beauty of the game of basketball. A player after previous players have evolved the game further. But don’t then use that against the player that actually taught you the game or that you learned from. I would have loved to play against LeBron and Kobe in my prime but we’ll never be able to know that… Bill Russell had 11 championships. How do you push him into a corner and say ‘We’re not going to think about you. We forgot about you’.”
Flaws in the GOAT Debate
As suggested by Jordan, Bill Russell trumps the majority of the league in terms of titles. With the Boston Celtics’ dominant run throughout the 1950s and 1960s remaining unmatched, the drastic change between generations makes it hard to assess how Russell would perform in the modern NBA.
Also, while championship success is a common barometer for greatness, the stat does not always correlate to individual skill. For instance, longtime NBA veteran Robert Horry is a seven-time NBA champion despite never earning an All-Star selection.
While Jordan remains one of the NBA’s most popular players in history, there are other retired superstars with equally impressive resumes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, once the league’s all-time leading scorer, finished his career with six NBA championships, six Most Valuable Player awards, and 19 All-Star selections.
Overall, there are numerous factors that make it difficult to determine a definitive greatest of all-time. With Jordan’s prime years coming before James and Bryant’s, as well as the differences in competition, the topic will remain speculative.