The greatest basketball player of all time!

[DaEvilGenius]

Who do you think it is?

Personally i think Michael Jordan is incredible. Even tho wilt chamberlain was a great basketball player, i don't think he is as good as Michael Jordan. Now, i would like your opinions on this. Who do you think is the best basketball player of all time?

[PJiZzLe]

Michael sure was amazing. Six Championships, Numerous MVP's and unbelievable stats. IMO, he is the greatest. But Jerry West, Wilt rank among many others.

[The Rock]

Michael Jordan without a doubt. Here's a man that defines greatness. His drive and determination to win can't be matched. He didn't care about the fame or being great. All he wanted to do was win. Look at all the games he's played. Whether he had a good or bad game, he just wanted his team to get the "W." Didn't matter if he made the game-winning shot or his teammates did. Getting the win was what was important.

Sure he's missed several shots that could have won the game. But he's also made many game-winning shots as well. Scoring the most points, or having the most steals, or even having the most assists didn't come across his mind. He just wanted his team to win. He wanted everyone to give it their all. If a teammate slacked off, he'd get in their face and challenge them. Jordan gave it everything he got and expected the same from his teammates.

Other than Jordan, I don't know that many other players who can make his teammates better players. Even if the guy was a substitute, Jordan challenged him to improve and become a better and reliable player. He wanted his teammates to want the win as badly as he did. By winning, Jordan not only scored points, but he also made plays. Plays that mattered. He wanted everyone involved.

Here's a guy who went to the University of North Carolina and made it to the starting lineup as a Freshman. Not only that, but he played for Dean Smith, one of the greatest coaches in NCAA basketball. His freshman year, his team makes it to the NCAA Championship and win it with his game-winning shot. In the Olympics, coached by the toughest coach Bob Knight, Jordan and the U.S. win the gold.

When he arrived in the NBA, he took a lowly-Bulls team and helped them make the playoffs. Sure the Bulls didn't win a title until '91, but every year the Bulls played, they kept getting better. And if winning your first title wasn't good enough, how about winning it against the Lakers? Here's a team that dominated the 80's and won five titles in that time period. But not only that, Jordan and the Bulls won the NBA Finals against a Magic Johnson-lead Lakers.

Then from there on, Jordan would help the team win two more titles in 92 and 93 against the Blazers and the Suns. And between those two titles, he went on to play for the U.S. Olympic Team a.k.a. "The Dream Team." Not only did they win the gold again with Jordan in the Olympics, but they whooped every team they faced. Now here's what makes Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time.

Aside from his MVP's, most points per season, All-Star Games appearances, Slam Dunk titles, steals, Defensive Player of the Year Award, etc... he comes out of retirement and helps the Bulls win three more titles. Sure, maybe his first year out of retirement wasn't all that great but he made up for it the next three years. Because of his poor performance in the 1995 Playoffs, he made himself better during the summer. He trained hard and played with other NBA players while filming Space Jam.

In the 96 season, not only did he improve, but he lead the Bulls to win an All-Time Best 72 games. To cap this magical season, he won all three MVP's: for the regular season, All-Star, and NBA Finals. Not only that, but Phil Jackson won Coach of the Year, Toni Kukoc won 6th Man of the Year, Jerry Krause won Manager of the Year, and Jordan and Pippen made it to the NBA All First-Team. Of course the most important prize the Bulls won that year and the next two years was the NBA Finals.

The next two seasons, the Bulls make it to the Finals and win. Both times facing the Jazz, Jordan made game-winning shots in Games 1 and 5 in the 1997 NBA Finals and made the game-winning assist to Steve Kerr for the game-winning shots in Game 6. What made this Finals memorable was a sick Michael Jordan sinking in a game-winning 3-pointer. With very little rest, food, and energy Jordan took the shot and didn't even know what happened afterwards. And if that couldn't be topped off, the following year in the 1998 NBA Finals, Jordan buries the game-winning shot in Game 6.

This shot is probably the most memorable shot of all shots in history. Why? Because Jordan broke Bryon Russell's ankles, causing him to slip and made a perfect-looking jumpshot. Say what you will about the "push-off." Jordan may have pushed off, but Russell was already falling down because he slipped. The only ones who are saying he pushed off are the Jordan-haters (wow, there are Jordan haters??). After his shot, he stood on his tippy-toes and had a cool-looking pose.

But during that season, there were so many doubters. Everyone thought that the Bulls were finally going to lose the finals that year. Jordan, that year, carried the team on his back. With an injured Pippen early in the season, Phil having problems with the executives, and Rodman's many distractions, Jordan had to guide them through all the problems. This game-winning and title-clinching shot capped off their 6th and currently, final title.

This is what makes Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time. So when you think of the greatest b-ball player of all time, think of Jordan, think of the Jumpman logo. That logo represents greatness. And greatness is Michael Jordan.

[ncdude]

Well said, Rock. MJ. No question. Unlike a lot of the greats, he was a complete player on both sides of the ball, and became a great team player once he finally got some decent talent around him.

[Artemis]

Wow...TheRock, you really went all out on that response man...I agree with you although I did not read the whole thing.
MJ is it...for sure...no other player was as clutch or will be as clutch as him forever. History just favored him above all else

[DaEvilGenius]

Love your response rock. There were alot of great players, but like you said, jordan didnt only play for himself, but for his team, and he got everyone involved, and was great at everything he did.

[Calsonic]

The only one.

[Arvid]

Lebron James will surpass MJ. MJ had to go to college before he was ever discovered and King James came straight out of high school. Lebron is already doing the things that MJ was doing when he was in his late 20s. So I would have to say Lebron!!!!

[The Rock]

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Arvid
	Lebron James will surpass MJ. MJ had to go to college before he was ever discovered and King James came straight out of high school. Lebron is already doing the things that MJ was doing when he was in his late 20s. So I would have to say Lebron!!!!

Lebron eh? Well, we'll see. He's a good player and more skilled than Jordan was in terms of age. Skipping college and going to the NBA was a huge step for him. I mean that can always backfire for any player wanting to go straight to the NBA without any college experience. But fortunately, for Lebron it worked. I hope he does well in the NBA and wins titles. He already has a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star Game MVP. So I'm sure many more awards will come. If he can win titles, then a good debate can rise up between him and Jordan as to who was a better basketball player. In doing so, he needs to keep that intensity up and not into any legal troubles as well. Not badmouthing Kobe or anything. I think he's a great player, but his past selfishness and legal troubles hurt his image. He's trying to improve as a person and a player, but because of his past, there's still a lot of hate generated towards him. I hope Lebron doesn't fall into that same category. And for Kobe, I hope he continues to improve and learn to trust his teammates more as he has for the past two seasons. For now, Michael Jordan still reigns supreme and in my opinion, I don't think anyone will be better than him. I think Lebron and Kobe will be great players, but not better than Jordan. Just my thoughts.

[ColdFusion]

Michael Jordan