His stats are eye popping but so is his usage.
Video seems to suggest defense was just NOT that athletic at all -- nor was it very well organized.
I am on the fence about him.
His stats are eye popping but so is his usage.
Video seems to suggest defense was just NOT that athletic at all -- nor was it very well organized.
I am on the fence about him.
3/10
He was overrated. That's what people do in chicago: they overrate things.
Not trolling, I'm just not old enough to have rose colored glasses.
Nobody could shoot back then. There were a LOT of average athletes taking long defensive shifts.
I think everything is a bit inflated
John Stockton is the all-time leader in Assists AND Steals.
theJeff wrote:
John Stockton is the all-time leader in Assists AND Steals.
Sort of proving my point. Nobody is going to contend he was a generational athlete. No way he puts up those #'s today.
He was very charismatic on the court, and made for great TV. He was surrounded with some great players as well, including Dennis Rodman who tirelessly pulled down the offensive rebounds at an astounding clip, feeding the ball back to Jordan.
NBA players were far smaller (less lifting and PEDs), and you're right that defenses were far, far less intelligent. Defenses were physically tough, though, as refs allowed more contact.
I think that Jordan wouldn't be nearly as popular if he were playing in today's social-media dominated world. I don't think he was very likable off court, and Nike probably wouldn't be able to market him so aggressively.
Definitely one of the greatest, and especially of his era. But, if you check the *playoff* stats, you'll see he's comparable to Bird (it's true that Jordan's stats are superior looking at all games). But remember that the NBA is entertainment first, and from that perspective Jordan was a great along with many other entertaining players (e.g. Magic probably foremost).
Harambe wrote:
theJeff wrote:
John Stockton is the all-time leader in Assists AND Steals.
Sort of proving my point. Nobody is going to contend he was a generational athlete. No way he puts up those #'s today.
Why not? Because he is white?
Pippen was way better than that overrated Jordan.
Yes, Jordan was good...in fact he is in the conversation as one of the all-time greats.
Very athletic! Actually played defense very well although as with pretty much any NBA player, it was used sparingly!
He was the NBA Defensive player of the year in 87-88. Made several all defense teams.
So, yes.
If you want to good old school and see a player who is often overlooked check out videos of Pete Maravich. One of the greatest passers ever. Not to mention scorer. In college he average 44 points a game for his career and this was prior to the 3 point shot.
He was good...but he was no Larry Bird.
I agree with everything except the defense played in Jordan era.
He competed against Detroit Pistons bad boys and Pat Riley's New York...for example. Teams plagued with solid defensive players, including the stars. And the rules were different, allowing more physical punishment. Now you play against teams running and gunning, plagued with reliable shooters, and stars like Harden, Melo, Westbrook, Steph Curry, with below the average defense.
Harambe wrote:
His stats are eye popping but so is his usage.
Video seems to suggest defense was just NOT that athletic at all -- nor was it very well organized.
I am on the fence about him.
he was amazing to watch.
No to Pete Maravich, who is quite overrated and doesn't belong in he top 50. His shooting percentages weren't that great and more to the point, his teams didn't win, in college or the pros.
Ben L Wrong wrote:
He competed against Detroit Pistons bad boys and Pat Riley's New York...for example. Teams plagued with solid defensive players, including the stars. And the rules were different, allowing more physical punishment. Now you play against teams running and gunning, plagued with reliable shooters, and stars like Harden, Melo, Westbrook, Steph Curry, with below the average defense.
Could you imagine a defensive front line like the Bad Boys era (Mahorn, Laimbeer, Rodman, Salley) and in Detroit or the Knicks with Oakley, Mason and Ewing in today's game?! Ha!
Ben L Wrong wrote:
I agree with everything except the defense played in Jordan era.
He competed against Detroit Pistons bad boys and Pat Riley's New York...for example. Teams plagued with solid defensive players, including the stars. And the rules were different, allowing more physical punishment. Now you play against teams running and gunning, plagued with reliable shooters, and stars like Harden, Melo, Westbrook, Steph Curry, with below the average defense.
Imagine how dominant MJ would have been with the benefit of the hand-check rule.
Early Jordan was a human highlight machine.
He was one of the prime reasons that ESPN became successful.
Everyone would watch Sports Center and Jordan highlights.
He became league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
But the knock on him was that he couldn't win a championship.
The Bulls couldn't make the NBA finals in his first 5 years, usually getting knocked out by the Pistons.
The team broke through and won 3 championships in a row.
Then Jordan retired early, only to come back a couple years later and win 3 more before he retired again.
After winning 6 championships, his reputation changed as a champion to be compared to. Kobe chased and fell short. Lebron is still short of 6.
One more comeback with the Wizards to show he could still play at age 40.
He was popular because of his scoring, athletic agility, charisma, clutch play and grit.
His stats were great, but that didn't sum him up. He had the intangibles that you couldn't put numbers to.
Harambe wrote:
His stats are eye popping but so is his usage.
Video seems to suggest defense was just NOT that athletic at all -- nor was it very well organized.
I am on the fence about him.
Michael Jordan was so damn good that Larry Bird volunteered his time to privately tutor Jordan on the court.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKoXZ1f00McJordan Hasay is a she...and is she not in her prime?