Is Michael Jordan the best basketball player ever?
152986
The question is why is he the greatest b-ball player ever.\n\n1. He revolutionized the game.\n     Setting the bar for what we say today is amazing.\n\n2. He was an "all around" player\n     Offensively and deffensively no one could deal with him.\n3. He won 6 NBA Titles
302842
Michael Jordan for sure. He has the ability to carry a team and he was a much better defensive player than Kobe. Before we start any talk of greatness with Kobe, he has to cement his status as a premiere player in the NBA by winning at least one league MVP award.
501529
There are a few players (not many) who were better than Jordan... Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and probably Oscar Robertson.\n\nAn earlier post pointed out that Jordan won six championships... big deal... Russell won 11 (in only a 13 year career, lost in the finals one year and the Eastern Finals another year).  Russell also won 5 MVP awards (while competing directly with Wilt, who won four), so Jordan's got nothing on him there...\n\nJordan's big strength was his ability to score...but he's way behind Jabbar's scoring totals, Jabbar also won six championships, and Jabbar also won SIX MVP awards, more than any player in history.\n\nChamberlain, of course, still holds a ton of records that MJ never even got to look at...100 pts in a game, a 50.4 ppg scoring average in a season (Wilt holds, I believe, the top 4 single season scoring averages in history, and is the only player to ever average 40 PPG, which he did twice, including his 50 ppg season, having averaged 44.8 ppg a season later.\n\nJordan's scoring average is 5/100ths of a point higher than Chamberlain's (Jordan is 30.11, Wilt is 30.06)... \n\n\n\nPeople talk about what a great team player Jordan was, but he took 1,040 more shots in his career than Chamberlain did, despite the fact that Jordan played 6,846 FEWER MINUTES (the equivalent of 142 FEWER 48 minute games)!!!\n\nYeah, KOBE'S a ball hog...\n\n(Jordan was not nearly as durable an athlete as Wilt, who averaged 45.8  minutes/game over his career, and is the only player to average MORE than 48 min/game during a season - because he sat out only 6 minutes the entire season, but played many more minutes of overtime. Gee, I wonder if Zydrunas Ilgauskas will ever match THAT...\n\nWilt was also the greatest rebounder of all time, with Russell right behind him.  There have been twenty four 40 rebound games in NBA history, Wilt had 14 such games, Russell 8... Jerry Lucas and Nate Thurmond had the other two. Wilt holds the record with 55 reboounds in a game (against Russell)...Russell himself grabbed 51 rebounds in one game...\n\nWilt was the only player who was able to completely dominate a game with his scoring, rebounding and defense, all at the same time...Jordan could only dominate offensively (which is certainly not a bad thing).\n\nJordan was a very good defender as well, but a guard really can't 'dominate' a game defensively the way a center can (not M.J.'s fault, just the nature of the game). When I say "dominate a game defensively", I'm talking about shutting down the middle and not letting anyone NEAR the hoop... that was Wilt...and Russell...and for a while, Kareem...\n\nUnless you want to have a three point contest, Wilt would dominate Jordan in every category, even passing, as Jordan never led the league in assists (Chamberlain is the only non-guard ever to lead the NBA in assists during a season).\n\nScoring is supposed to be Jordan's specialty... Chamberlain has been retired for 33 years, and STILL has more 60 point games than everyone else in the history of the NBA COMBINED.. Wilt had 32 sixty point games, compared to a whopping 4 for M.J. There have been ABOUT 57 60 pt games in history, not sure of the exact count...\n\nJordan's career scoring average is marginally higher than Wilt's because (1) Jordan shot a hell of a lot more and (2) Jordan made sure he "retired" (for good this time) just before his scoring average fell below Wilt's. Plus, M.J. could hit his free throws on those "rare" occasions that they put him at the line...  hee hee\n\nSo, the answer to "who is the best nba player of all time" is Wilt Chamberlain.
880393
thats true no one has nuttin on kobe \nkobe is the best \nn people who say jordan tops kobe not true \nis jordan even playin??....FUK NO he isnt \nkobe n lakers number 1
1015810
I don't think so...Dwayne Wade is Special. Is he better than MJ?NO!\nBetter than Kobe or Lebron  .... Not quite. But he is up there.\nI would rate him above Iverson.\nThe hype is his right now he just won the title. But so is the Bullseye, everyone hates Kobe, so they want to crown someone as better. I recall Shaq saying after winning one of the 3 titles that Kobe was the best player on the planet. well guess what he was at that moment. As is Wade right now. But 1 ring doesn't put in inJordan status overnight.. let's not be ridiculous.
615970
Yeah besides Jordan LeBron is the best player of all time.
166972
MJ is hands downs the greatest ever, but Kobe or LeBron might one day be their also... MIGHT
33967
While Wilt Chamberlain did score 100 points in a game, and players such as Dr. J, Magic, Kareem, and a host of others are all historical great, only one player is the legend:\n\nMichael Jordan
10059
michael JORDAN!!!!THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER!!!
22431
Wilt Chamberlain:\n\nscored 100 points in a single game\nscored over seventy points on five occasions\naveraged more points per game in his career than jordan\naveraged fifty points per game one season\naveraged over 25 rebounds per game in five seasons\nlead the league in assists one season\n\nTrue Jordan was probably a better team player and he did win many more championships (which may arguably be the best indicator of a great player; but if this is true then it could be Bill Russell won eight championships) but I believe that Wilt Chamberlain is the single best, most dominant player to ever play NBA basketball.
289754
IMO there's no definite answer for this. You can't compare Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. Wilt lived in another era in NBA basketball (competition was not as intense as it is today, factors are totally different since 7-footers like him were hard to come by back then, etc.).
1134117
LeBron is a phenominal player and MJ is a legend but you cannot possibly compare Micheal Jordan and Lebron James, MJ is the one and only and he is the truth, but right now only time will tell but untill then MJ will remain the greatest that has ever played the game of basketball!
453622
I think anyone who can score 81pts in 1 game nowadays and still lead his team to the playoffs when everybody says it's impossible and still manage to get his team involved despite the roster deserves the title of being the best in the NBA next to Jordan. No other player in the NBA can do this.
232551
Michael Jordan for sure........look at his stats they speak for themselves. Yeah Magic and those guys were great but not as dominant as Jordan....he was the type of player that would grab the game by the scruff of the neck and make it his own.  Just look at the Bulls record when he retired the first time....he had a good support cast but he was the greatest.....and he won 6 championships with that support cast.........magic had all-stars all around him.... so of course he was going to look good.
1180947
Jordan with any of the second teir stars is the best.  He is the one player who could not be stopped in the clutch.  His defense was simply awesome and his leadership equal to Larry and Magic.
190438
Pure skill does not exist in a vacuum. Michael Jordan was a team player, an important intangible not covered by statistics. Kobe might have some moves, but he is abrasive and tactless.
558698
michael jordan without a doubt