For a definition of the Michael Jordan Phenomenon (MJP), check my page titled as such.
If the stats and the accomplishments don’t render Jordan as unquestionably the best ever, then why do so many people believe that as if it were obvious fact? Well, there are several reasons:
1. The Bill Russell Effect
2. The Long Term Memory Loss Effect
3. The Jim Brown Effect
4. The Selective Memory Effect
5. The Intangibles Effect
I’m going to deal with the first one here – “The Bill Russell Effect.” It’s the magical way that players with lots of championship rings are viewed as so much better than comparable players without so many championship rings. I reference Bill Russell because of the way history has been retro-written for him. Now I’m 36 years old so I remember the glory days of Magic and Bird in the 1980’s. Back then, virtually no one thought Russell was the best center ever, let alone the best player ever. The opinion was split between Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem. In this millennium, however, things have somehow changed. There are those who boldly say that Russell is the best center ever, and I’ve even heard so-called experts say that he is the best player ever.
How did that happen? Russell’s stats and accomplishments didn’t change, and since the 1980’s we’ve seen other great centers like Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Shaquille O’Neal. So how did Russell get so good retroactively? Well, the reason is his 11 championship rings. With the great overemphasis on winning championships as the foundation – and not just as a component – of greatness, his 11 rings have catapulted him up the ladder of greatness. I remember Wilbon and Kornheiser debating who was the best center of all time on PTI once. Kornheiser said it was Russell, citing only his 11 rings. Huh?
You see, this is the same thing that has happened with Otto Graham in football. He has entered the discussion of the best quarterbacks of all time, when 20-30 years ago he was not in the mix. Why? Simply because the records show him appearing in 10 title games in 10 seasons of professional football, winning seven titles. This effect is also seen in how people view Tom Brady today: his three rings alone put him ahead of Peyton Manning for many fans and so-called experts.
This is one of the effects that has helped to deify Jordan. Even though his six championship rings are by no means a record, they do outrank his contemporaries (excluding Robert Horry, who never was the leader of a championship team), particularly Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Jordan won three in a row twice; neither Magic nor Bird won three in a row. Kobe Bryant may have won three straight, but he wasn’t the undisputed leader of his team.
Jordan’s six titles are bolstered by his six Finals MVP awards. No one else is close there: Shaq, Magic, and Tim Duncan have three. However, the award has only been given since 1969. In addition, the Bulls had a lower level of individual talent than other great teams. Magic won three Finals MVPs with Hall of Famers Kareem and James Worthy on the team. Larry Bird won two Finals MVPs with Hall of Famers Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and should-be HOF Dennis Johnson on the squad. Let’s face it: if the Bulls won, Jordan was going to be the MVP, even if he shot miserably like he did in 1996 (.415 FG%).
Was Jordan any better in 1998 than he was in 1988? Not really. From a statistical standpoint, he was significantly worse in 1998 than 1988. Did winning titles make him a better player? In reality, no, but because of the modern view of winning – the Bill Russell Effect – his six rings have helped catapult him to another level.
3 Comments
August 11, 2008 at 12:11 am
Great Article. I can’t wait to read the rest of it. I personally think that you can’t say that any of these players MJ, Russell, Bird, Magic, Wilt, Kareem, Isiah, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron are the greatest ever to play the game of basketball. Because they all played in different eras. You can’t compare MJ with Russell because they never played against each other. And if they did play against each other like MJ did with Magic Johnson. MJ was much younger than Magic. Thus it really doesn’t count. Obivously you can say MJ was better than Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone because he played against them and beat them everytime. But MJ never played against Wilt and Russell. And he was very young when he played against Bird and Magic.
August 11, 2008 at 12:15 am
I also believe people live in the “good old days”. So for example people will always say MJ is better than Kobe no matter what Kobe ever does. Even if Kobe wins 6 championships. MJ will still be better than Kobe. Because its the “old respect your elders”. People hate on the present. One day when Kobe is retired and there is a new star in the NBA. The new star will always live in the shadow of the pasts stars. So whatever the new star does he will still never be as good as Kobe Bryant.
August 11, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Your comment about the “good old days” is the basis for the fourth element of the MJP: the “Jim Brown effect.” Hopefully I can get to that one soon.
- Larrylegend