Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time
Being the greatest professional basketball player of all time is not an easy accomplishment. Although Bill Russell won the most championships in 11 titles and Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game in one season, I think Michael Jordan should be considered the greatest basketball player of all time because of his vast accomplishments. During his career, Michael Jordan dominated all other players based on his statistics and awards during the regular season as well as the postseason. He has defeated many great teams throughout his career. Further, Jordan’s clutch moments in big games exemplify his greatness. Many people think Lebron James is even better, but I still think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 17, 1963. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina when he was a toddler, and growing up, Jordan loved playing sports. However, Jordan’s athletic success was not immediate. In fact, the first time he tried out for high school varsity basketball team, he didn’t make the cut. After that first failure, he became motivated to prove himself, practiced hard and made the varsity team the next year. During his high school career, Jordan went on to average a triple double (more than 10 points, assists, and rebounds in every game) and was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team, representing the best high school players in the country. After high school, Jordan attended the University of North Carolina, where he won many athletic awards. He left college one year early to join the NBA and the rest is history.
I think Michael Jordan can be considered the greatest basketball player of all time because of his incredible regular season stats. Jordan averaged over 30 points per game over his entire career, the highest average of any other player in the history of the NBA. He even averaged 28 points as a rookie. He also averaged 6.3 rebounds as a 6’6” (short in the NBA) shooting guard. Jordan was also a good passer, averaging 5.3 assists per game throughout his career. Besides being a prolific offensive player, Jordan was also a stout defensive player. He averaged 2.3 steals per game in his career, which is third all-time in that category.
Besides Michael Jordan’s amazing stats, he won plenty of awards, too. He has 5 MVP awards, 10 All-NBA first team awards, 9 All-defensive team awards (which is tied for most in the history of the NBA) and 10 scoring titles. Jordan also won a defensive play of the year award in the 1987-88 season. Many experts think he should have won more MVP titles, but the voters thought that he had won enough. Jordan won the Rookie of the Year award in the 1984-85 season. He appeared in 14 All-Star games and won 3 All-Star MVP titles.
Besides excelling during the regular season, Michael Jordan was spectacular in the postseason. Jordan averaged 33.4 points per game in the postseason, the most by any player ever, and also averaged 6.4 rebounds. His team, the Chicago Bulls, won all 6 NBA Finals appearances that he played in and he won the Finals MVP every time. Jordan’s team won the Finals three times in a row twice during his career. In postseason games, Jordan averaged 2 steals per postseason game and 5.7 assists too.
Besides these spectacular stats in the regular playoff seasons, Michael Jordan has beaten many great NBA teams. Jordan beat the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons, a great team lead by Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. This team was considered one of the best teams at that time, but Jordan and his Bulls still beat them. He beat the Boston Celtics in the playoffs while the team was led by one of the greatest NBA players ever, Larry Bird. In the same year that he beat the Pistons, he also beat the LA Lakers in the finals, which also included one of the best players of all time, Magic Johnson, along with another Hall of Famer, James Worthy. In 1993, Jordan also beat the Phoenix Suns led by Charles Barkley, another Hall of Famer, and was the league MVP that year. He beat the Utah Jazz twice in the finals, led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, one of the best duos in NBA history.
Michael Jordan is known to have hit more clutch shots and has had more big game performances than any other player in NBA history. In Jordan's second year, he scored 63 points in a playoff game against the top team, the Boston Celtics. In the famous ̈Shrug Game,” he scored a then-record six three pointers in the first half in the 1992 Finals and then shrugged at the scorer’s table. Also, while battling the flu, he scored 38 points in Game 5 of the 1997 finals, including the game-winning three-point shot with 25 seconds left in the game. Lastly, in Game 6 of the 1998 finals, the Bulls were down by one point when Jordan stole the ball from Karl Malone, rushed down the court and scored a jump shot with 5.2 seconds left. This shot ended up being the game winner of the championship series and ultimately his last shot as a Chicago Bull.
I think Michael Jordan is the best professional basketball player of all time for his vast accomplishments in many games. His regular season statistics and awards are spectacular compared to others. Jordan also excelled in the postseason, boasting incredible stats and winning many awards. He has defeated many great NBA teams and bested many great players throughout his career. Jordan’s clutch games and moments in key games demonstrate his greatness even more. For all of these reasons, I believe that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time.
