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SPONSORED HEADLINESESPN Has Lied To You: Ten Reasons Michael Jordan Is Not the Greatest NBA Player of All Time - ZoomTens
ESPN Has Lied To You: Ten Reasons Michael Jordan Is Not the Greatest NBA Player of All Time
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Michael Jordan is widely considered to be one of the best NBA players of all time – on most people’s lists, he is #1. And why not, right? With six championships, ten scoring titles, five MVP trophies, a highly praised defensive ability, and an absurdly marketed brand that has ascended to international fame, his influence over the game is everywhere. You cannot escape the name Michael Jordan even on a monthly basis if you tried.
But is Michael Jordan actually the greatest NBA player of all time? This is a question I have difficulty with myself. As an avid NBA fan, I would not be hesitant about calling him the greatest scorer of all time – with an average of 30.1 points a game, there is little doubt that Michael Jordan was, along with Wilt Chamberlain, the most dominant offensive force this game has ever seen. However, when I think of him as the greatest NBA player of all time, I can’t help but wonder if he actually is or not. In my mind, players like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and (with a couple more titles) Lebron James all have an equally good stake at claiming the highly coveted title of “GOAT” – Greatest of All Time.
Here are ten reasons why Michael Jordan may not be considered the greatest NBA player in history.
10. He Won His Titles In an Era of When Expansion Teams Were Added, Diluting the Overall Quality of the NBA
Photo by , via Flickr Creative Commons
Right before and during his championship reign in the 90’s, several teams were added to the league, including the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Vancouver Grizzlies. It is a widely known truth that expansion teams rarely ever have winning seasons in their first few years in the league, as the talent pool is diminished due to the fact that a team has to fill a roster with completely new players, many of which have possibly never played professional sports before. Michael Jordan won 6 championships between 1991 and 1998; between 1988 and 1996, six teams were added to the league, making the era of Michael Jordan one that had lots of newbie teams.
9. MJ Couldn’t Get the Washington Bullets to the Playoffs
By DefenseLINK [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsI get it, he was way past his prime and not the Michael Jordan that averaged 32, 8, and 8 in the 80s. Still, we are talking about the “greatest player of all time,” only three years removed from his most recent championship run in Chicago. Certainly, you would expect that the greatest player of all time would be able to help his team get at the very least into the playoffs? Perhaps his leadership and wisdom could have outdone his ability at the time, but no, the Wizards did not make the playoffs in either of the two years MJ was with the team.
8. He Was a Huge Ball Hog
Via Flickr Creative Commons
Much like Kobe Bryant in today’s NBA, Michael Jordan was a huge ball hog, often taking as many as 30 shots a game in the 86-87 season alone. Basketball is a team sport, and hogging the ball like he did back then is a large reason why the bulls were not able to make it out of the first round of the playoffs his first three seasons in the league.
7. Michael Jordan Couldn’t Get Past the First Round of the Playoffs Without Scottie Pippen
Photo by , Via Flickr Creative Commons
In the 1980s, the world was inebriated with the potent shotmaking ability that was Michael Jordan – in his third year in the league, he averaged an astonishing 37.1 points, which is the highest point total average of all time out of all NBA players not named Wilt Chamberlain. His first three years in the league, the Chicago Bulls did mak despite averaging an absurd 43 points per game in the 1986 playoffs, as well as incredibly high scoring numbers in 1985 and 1987, Michael Jordan was not able to get his team out of the first round of the playoffs in those three years.
With Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan found an athlete who is widely considered one of the greatest defenders of all time. With Pippen, the Bulls finally had an incredibly pesky defender who constantly took the Bulls to deep playoff runs. Interesting note: Pippen has a better career winning record than Michael Jordan.
6. The NBA Teams He Defeated In the Finals Were Overrated
Via Flickr Creative Commons
One of the staples of MJ’s legacy is that each of the teams he defeated in the finals had very memorable superstars. Although this is true, when looked at a bit deeper, these teams may be a little overrated. Let’s take a quick look at the teams Michael Jordan defeated in the finals and how they might be a little overrated:
1991 – Los Angeles Lakers – a good team, but point guard Magic Johnson was on his way out, and James Worthy was not nearly as effective as he was in the 80s. Also, the team no longer had Michael Cooper like they had in the 1980s, who was widely considered one of the best defensive players of all time. Needless to say, this Lakers team also no longer had the talents of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar like they did in the 80s – this Lakers team was a far cry from the Lakers that dominated the 80s.
1992 – Portland Trail Blazers – Outside of Clyde Drexler, this team boasted the legendary talents of…Jerome Kersey and Clifford Robinson. Moving on!
1993 – Phoenix Suns – Probably one of the better teams that MJ played, the Suns were led by then-MVP Charles Barkley, who was one of the league’s best power forwards. Outside of Barkley, this team lacked quality interior defense, a persistent theme throughout Jordan’s title run that was also a big reason why the Bulls won the 1991 and 1992 NBA finals.
1996 – Seattle Supersonics – the famous duel between Gary Payton and Michael Jordan, unfortunately, was incredibly one-sided. The Seattle Supersonics really only had two good players, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. Kemp was an effective forward, but his work ethic left much to be desired, and the team did not have the depth that the Bulls had, with Pippen and Dennis Rodman working as incredible defenders while Michael Jordan constantly took shot after shot, making only 46% of his shots, which is low for the “greatest player of all time.”
– Utah Jazz – Probably the best team Jordan faced in the finals, this Jazz team was admittedly stocked with high-level talent, which included the likes of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Still, this team paled in comparison to the 1980’s Utah Jazz, who had defensive presence Mark Eaton to stop the offensive teams in the low post.
As we can see, the teams Jordan faced in 1990s finals either had low post defensive issues, were not as good as they were in the 80s (which is why they could be overrated), or lacked great depth.
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Something went wrong.Once upon a time I published a post on this blog titled “?”. As it turned out, barbell squat fanati fans were not pleased with this post.
In fact after they got done kindly telling me how upset they were with my ideas, they proceeded to link my post from the front page of every major “fitness” forum on the internet, so all of their buddies could join in on venting bottled up rage from early childhood abuse.
Excuse me, leaving entertaining and constructive comments on my blog for the betterment of mankind, care bears, and unicorns.
Okay, let’s get serious. This post is being produced because I’m not done criticizing the stupidity that is the illustrious, the worshiped, the magical, the super-natural, and our lord and savior, THE BARBELL SQUAT.
(In this post, I am specifically addressing the free-standing-barbell-back-squat, rack or no rack. Unless otherwise noted, front loaded barbell squats, belt squats, dumbbell squats, body weight squats, squats performed in a smith machine or similar device, etc, are excluded from this discussion).
Top Ten Reasons NOT to Barbell Squat
These are presented in no particular order, unless otherwise noted.
Reason # 1
The favorite, most highly touted exercise of the world’s dumbest men, is the barbell squat ().
Reason # 2
The barbell squat requires “good form” they say, indicating that it is a skill (unlike say walking, which requires no measurable degree of skill for a normal human being, or a horizontal leg press which requires categorically less skill than a free standing barbell back squat – something grandma can do).
Well, skill based movement in a fatiguing and progressive protocol = a recipe for disaster. ()
Reason # 3
with a multi-hundred pound barbell x 500,000 trigger pulls = someone getting .
“But I’ve squatted for many years with no injuries” : says the turkey. Well here’s a quote from The Black Swan for the turkeys of the world.
Consider that the turkey’s experience may have, rather than no value, a negative value. It learned from observation, as we are all advised to do (hey, after all, this is what is believed to be the scientific method). Its confidence increased as the number of friendly feedings grew, and it felt increasingly safe even though the slaughter was more and more imminent. Consider that the feeling of safety reached its maximum when the risk was at the highest!
That last part is especially important for the “experienced” trainee aiming for a personal record, or even just “squatting heavy” on a given day.
Reason # 4
A barbell squatter’s ability to walk is one pulled muscle, one fallen eyelash, one “freak accident” away from being at immediate risk.
(The Wizard of Oz called by the way, he said the
is unavailable due to something to do with a barbell and straw).
Reason # 5
There is an absolutely, definitively, and entirely better alternative to the barbell squat (all forms) : the little known . (Disclaimer : this is just a generic link to a website many will recognize. There are better sources of information on the hip belt squat available elsewhere).
Author and speaker
has called this exercise “the most congruent lower body exercise conceivable”.
Reason # 6
The structure of the spine does not suggest that it is suited for top heavy loads. ().
Reason # 7
The creators of the dictionary called me.
They said “The new definition of “wishful thinking” now includes the idea that the muscles surrounding the human spine track in accordance with the growth of the largest and strongest muscles and bones of the body”.
Reason # 8
There is nothing on earth to suggest that making your spine the “middle man” between a multi-hundred pound barbell, and your legs, is a particularly good, or even safe idea. ()
Reason # 9
Looks like heavy squats can (and if it can go wrong, it will go wrong) cause nerve damage to the shoulders. ().
Reason # 10
This is a redundant point, but it is worth repeating : the barbell squat is the most popular exercise on the planet among dip shit meat heads.
What in the world makes you think these people have good, sound ideas? I have no doubt many of these people are big and strong.
What I doubt is that there is anything going on upstairs. ().
Further related reading :
Edit 1 : what was inside the ( ) in #9 was updated/expanded.
Edit 2 : it should be noted that I am not saying everyone who currently performs, or has ever performed a barbell squat, is a dip shit meat head. I am saying that the demographic of guys who most commonly practice this (alleged) exercise, are dip shit meat heads.
Nuns for example, are not a demographic who are known for their performance and unanimous support of free standing barbell back squats.
Companion podcast/audio version of this post.
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His stated purpose for the work he does is "the actualization of the ideal man", a purpose that has led him to found and host The 21 Convention across 3 continents and for 6 years in a row. Anthony blogs vigorously at TheDreamLounge.net .
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