If you think Michael Jordan is the best player ever, before you continue reading, quickly determine why you think he is the best ever. Championships? Points? Records? Multiple criteria? Whatever they are, quickly define them. I will now dismantle the myth that Jordan is the best ever using YOUR criteria. Remember, the purpose isn't to determine that player X is the best ever...only that Jordan is NOT the best.
Bill Russell -- In college, Russell won 2 national championships in 3 seasons. Jordan won 1 championship in 3 seasons. Russell was the star of his championships. No matter how much the history revisionists try to use hype to change reality, Jordan was NOT the star of the 1982 Tar Heels. James Worthy was. Furthermore, Russell’s team won 55 games in a row. This is a most impressive feat, but consider that this is all the MORE impressive when you consider that every single game was on the road, because the University of San Francisco did not have a home gymnasium. I have covered Jordan’s lack of winning in college in great detail. I suppose a Jordan-supporter could point out that USF made the Final 4 the year after Russell graduated, but consider that UNC made the championship game the year BEFORE Jordan joined (making it 1981 and 1982). After James Worthy left in 1982, UNC failed to make it back to the championship game during Jordan’s 1983 and 84 seasons, and didn’t make the Final Four again until 1993. Furthermore, UNC went farther in the tournament the year after Jordan left than they did during his last year there, and they had a #2 seed. Therefore, no matter what argument is used, it boils down to Bill Russell was a more valuable college player and winner.
In the pros, Bill Russell played 13 seasons. His teams played in the NBA Finals 12 of those 13 seasons. They won the title in 11 of those seasons, including eight seasons in a row. In his second season, he played in the sixth game on a severely sprained ankle, and his team lost in overtime. Jordan fans like to claim that if Jordan had not retired, the Bulls would have won eight straight (ignoring that Jordan DID play in 1995 and couldn’t win the title), but if Russell had not sprained an ankle, Russell probably would have won 10 titles in a row (and 12 in 13 seasons). And while Russell, like Jordan, happened to have good teammates and coaches, consider that the Celtics did not win the title until Russell joined the Celtics, and failed to make the playoffs the year after he retired, going from NBA champion to no playoff appearance. Jordan fans will try to say the same thing about the 1999 seasons, but the Bulls lost eight players, four of which were starters – big difference. This is an undisputed fact: Jordan retired in 1993, and the Bulls still made the playoffs, nearly capturing the best record in the east. It is simple to see that not only was Russell a bigger winner than Jordan, but also more valuable to his team than Jordan was to his team.
Jordan fans initially try to say that Russell was simply a good player playing with many good players. This is true. Jordan also played on great teams. That explains why he played on 3 losing teams and had a 1-9 playoff record before Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant joined the Bulls. You see, no matter how many times the media says otherwise, Jordan could not win by himself. However, note just how much Russell changed his teams overnight, and how badly they did when he left, and compare this to Jordan. Russell was more valuable to his team than Jordan.
Want to talk about changing the game? Russell is indisputably the greatest defensive player in NBA history. He is one of the 3 greatest rebounders in history (statistically #2), and on offense, he averaged 15.1 ppg (more than Rik Smits) and 4.3 apg (Jordan averaged 4.1 over his last 3 seasons) on a balanced team. Compare this to a balanced scoring team of today -- the Portland Trailblazers (Isaiah Rider led the team in scoring at 13.9 ppg) -- and Russell looks very good. In 1962, he averaged 18.9 ppg (17th best in the league), 23.6 rpg (#2), and 4.6 apg (#12). Want to talk about dominating?
However, consider this...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, like Jordan, won six championships. However, he won more Most Valuable Player awards (six to five). Jordan-supporters often say, "yeah, but where would he be with Magic Johnson?" All I can say for sure is that without Johnson he would still have 5 MVPs, 1 championship (1971 Milwaukee Bucks) and one other trip to the finals (1973), as well as the best record in the NBA 3 times (1971, 73, and 74). This is what he did before he teamed up with Magic Johnson. Abdul-Jabbar did have great teammates, and one of the best ever in Johnson, but I counter with this, "what has Jordan ever done without Pippen?" Here is your answer: a losing regular season record and a 1-9 post-season record in the 3 seasons without Pippen. Jabbar scored more points in his career, won more MVPs and won just as many championships as Jordan. Abdul-Jabbar won 3 national titles in 3 years of college, and is regarded by most as one of the two greatest players in NCAA history (Bill Walton being the other). Abdul-Jabbar dominated every level, Jordan did not.
Wilt Chamberlain – Chamberlain re-wrote the record books and dominated like no player before or since. His first year in the league, he set rebounding and scoring records that no OTHER player before or since has broken. In 1961-62, he AVERAGED 50.4 ppg. He won seven scoring titles, 11 rebounding titles, and led the league in minutes played 8 times. He averaged over 45 minutes per game every game of his career. In 1967-68 he led the league in assists – something Jordan has never came close to doing. Chamberlain holds the records for points scored in a season and a game (100), rebounds in a game (55), season, and career., as well as minutes played in a season (he averaged 48.5 min/game in 1961-62), and field goal percentage in a season (72.7%).
Detractors try to attribute this to height, yet they cannot explain why Abdul-Jabbar couldn’t equal these feats, despite being taller, and playing against Chamberlain for four seasons, or why players like Shawn Bradley, Rik Smits, Ralph Sampson, Gheorghe Muresan, Mark Eaton, or Dikembe Mutombo have never challenged these feats.
In addition to re-writing the record books, Chamberlain re-wrote the rule books, as the league passed many rules to try to limit his dominance. Jordan, on the other hand, has been the beneficiary of rules passed to ENHANCE his scoring (hand checks, defined zones, 3-point shot, flagrant fouls).
Jordan-supporters know that Jordan’s feats cannot match up to Chamberlains. They point to their career scoring averages, yet cannot explain why Chamberlain has 119 games with 50+ points, to Jordan’s 29. Furthermore, while they chalk up Chamberlain's rebounding dominance to his height advantage, they cannot explain why he led the league in assists, and Jordan could not. Jordan-supporters inevitably come to the conclusion that Jordan is better because he has more championships. However, Chamberlain’s teams often lost to Russell’s Celtics (seven times), so Jordan-supporters are simply coming to the conclusion that Bill Russell is better than Jordan. This, in turn, leads to them asking who has the records AND the rings. The answer is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. No matter what criteria is used, Jordan is not the best.
Jordan fans, cornered by their self-destructive arguments will invariably say, "yeah, but those guys are all centers. Look at what Jordan did, and he was smaller." First of all, they have now abandoned their "best ever" stance, and have tried a "best inch-per-inch" argument. This is the first sign of defeat. The second sign comes in the form of…
Oscar Robertson – Robertson was 2 inches shorter than Jordan, yet he did things Jordan can only dream of. He is considered by every respectable source, one of the five greatest college players in history. In his first season as a pro, he averaged 30.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg, and 9.7 apg. Over the course of his first five seasons he AVERAGED a triple-double. Triple-double games were not recorded when Robertson played. It was another day at the office for him. This perfectly illustrates the difference between Robertson and Jordan. The media made a big deal out of Jordan having the first (recorded) triple-double in All-Star history, just like they make a big deal out of Jason Kidd’s 7-or so triple-doubles he has each year. For Robertson, he didn’t need to have an extra assists to reach 10, to have that "triple-double," because it wasn’t a big deal. The media saw greatness for what it was and not because a guy has 10 assists, 10 rebounds, and 10 points. Robertson didn’t simply have triple-doubles, he had man-sized triple-doubles. His triple-doubles were on the order of 30-11-10. In 1962, he finished in the top 10 in rebounds. In 1968, he led the entire league in ppg, apg, and ft%. Jordan has never led the league in apg or ft%, nor has he ever finished in the league leaders in rebounds. Oscar simply had a more complete game.
Jordan did not make those around him better. Robertson did. Wayne Embry was an undersized (6’8") center. Yet, in 6 seasons playing with Robertson, he was an all-star 5 times. Adrian Smith was a spot-up shooter, similar to John Paxson and Steve Kerr. Yet, playing alongside Robertson not only got him an all-star appearance, but all-star MVP, thanks to Robertson setting out to get it for Smith. Robertson won 11 out of 12 all-star games, and to put it in context, the All-Star game was more than a goof-around exhibition. Players salaries were much lower (most players had summer jobs), and the money handed out to the winning all-star team was significant.
Robertson’s teams were often overmatched, losing often to Russell’s Celtics or Chamberlain’s teams. However, when he went to Milwaukee, he turned a good team into one of the all-time great teams. During his 4 years there, they had the best record in the division 3 times (and in the other season, they won 63 games to LA’s record-setting 69), and made 2 trips to the NBA Finals, winning once. Not surprisingly, when he retired, the Bucks went from the NBA finals, to a losing record (from 59-23 to 38-44), and no playoff appearance.
Jordan did not have the same impact on the Bulls as Robertson did for the Bucks and the Royals. Jordan’s game was not as complete as Robertson’s either, and Jordan, unlike Robertson, could not improve the quality of those he played with. So inch-for-inch, Jordan is not the greatest player ever. Once again, no matter what standard you use, Jordan simply is not the greatest basketball player ever.
