To speak against the media induced proclamation that Michael Jeffery Jordan is not the greatest basketball player of all time is heresy. Well, I'm here to put a banner in the rafters of heresy.
Let's establish some things. Jordan was by all definition a great basketball player. He possessed qualities on the court that all great players have—supreme talent, toughness, ultra-competitiveness, inspiration, will, craftiness, poise under pressure, teamwork (later in his career), and killer instinct.
Not until Jordan came, conquered, and retired from the NBA did the overall accomplishments of other great players become null and void. However, no matter what a person accomplishes in sports, there's an undeniable rule that can never be trumped - the scoreboard.
Jordan is tied 10th all time with his teammate Scottie Pippen, Milwaukee Buck / LA Laker Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Boston Celtic Bob Cousy for 6 NBA titles. Of the players on the all time titles list, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Magic Johnson are on par with Jordan in overall greatness.
Bill Russell won 11 titles in 13 seasons, the most by any player in NBA history. Scoreboard. A rebounding machine, Russell snatched 51 in one game, 49 in two others and had 12 consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. He finished his career with an astounding 22.5 rebounding average. Uh...Scoreboard?
At the shooting guard position Jordan battled against three, soon to be four Hall Of Famers in his career. Joe Dumars, Clyde Drexler, Reggie Miller, and a very young Kobe Bryant.
Jabbar won his 6 NBA titles while amassing 38,387 points...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
