WHO WAS BETTER THAN JORDAN
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.
MOST MVPs AND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (College championships 3, NBA championships 6, MVPs 6, Career points* 38,387)
Michael Jordan (College championships 1, NBA championships 6, MVPs 5, Career points* 28,383)
Who has more rings and championships? ( * Irrelevant, but good for grins)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, like Jordan, won six championships. However, he won more Most Valuable Player awards (six to five). Pretty open-and-shut. However, Jordan-supporters often say, "yeah, but where would he be with Magic Johnson?" This is a fair question. Similarly, I ask, "What did Jordan do without Scottie Pippen?"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar without Magic (NBA Championships 1, MVPs 5, NBA Finals 2, Best Record in NBA* 3)
Michael Jordan without Pippen (NBA Championships 0, MVPs 0, NBA Finals 0, Best record in NBA* 0)
( * Irrelevant, but good for grins)
The answer is that he did quite nicely without Magic...much better than Jordan did without Pippen. But to be fair, Jabbar played 10 seasons without Magic and Jordan only played his first 3 seasons without Pippen, so let's compare this for their first 3 seasons. Before we do, let's also put into context that Jabbar joined an expansion team that was in their 2nd year of existence and Jordan was on the Bulls, who had been around for nearly 20 years.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar first 3 years (NBA Championships 1, MVPs 2, NBA Finals 1, Best Record in NBA 1, Playoff Record 23-12, Scoring Titles* 2)
Michael Jordan first 3 years (NBA Championships 0, MVPs 0, NBA Finals 0, Best record in NBA 0, Playoff Record 1-9, Scoring Titles* 0)
( * Irrelevant, but good for grins)
So you see, no matter how often Jordan fans whine and try to make up excuses and rationalizations, it all comes down to Kareem has more MVPs and rings than Michael Jordan. Thank you for playing and for proving to yourself that Michael Jordan is NOT the greatest player ever.
