Michael Jordan was a phenomenal player. There’s certainly no question about that. He was unique and groundbreaking in his style of play and amazing abilities. I’m not talking about his phenomenal play, though. When I say the “Michael Jordan Phenomenon” (MJP), I’m referring to a particular phenomenon: fans and so-called experts claiming he is the greatest player of all time as if it were an established fact. Follow me here – I’m not talking about simply believing Jordan is the best ever: I can make a case for that. What I’m talking about is the depiction as unquestionably the best ever – the belief that no one else is even close or even in the conversation.
Before I ask how this ended up happening, I have to ask another question: is the MJP a legitimate standpoint? Certainly there are other sports figures who have a similar claim, right? I mean, virtually no one questions Jerry Rice as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, and an even fewer number object to Wayne Gretzky’s branding as the best hockey player of all time. There are even a substantial number of baseball fans who hold Babe Ruth to be the best player ever. So there is a precedent for the treatment of a player as unquestionably the best ever. Does Jordan deserve that treatment, though?
There is no magic formula to make a judgment, but we can compare within sports and even across sports. First, let’s look at other all-time greats and see if Jordan measures up. I’m going to use Rice, Ruth, and Gretzky as my measuring sticks. Let’s look at why those players are considered the best ever:
- Jerry Rice is the all-time leading receiver in NFL history. He is the leader in receptions (1549), receiving yards (22,895), and touchdown receptions (197). He is also the all-time leader in all-purpose yards (23,516) and total touchdowns (208). He also holds the single season record for receiving yards (1848 in 1995), and his 22 TD receptions in 1987, while no longer an NFL record, was more impressive than Randy Moss’s 23 last season because he did it in only 12 games because of a players’ strike. Rice also holds just about every playoff and Super Bowl record, including playoff TD receptions (29) and Super Bowl TD receptions (8). He had 3 TD receptions in two separate Super Bowls. Oh, and he played 20 seasons, including a Pro Bowl year for the Raiders in 2002 – his 18th season! What makes people hold Rice as the best ever, though, is the sheer magnitude of his statistical accomplishments. Remember, he came into the league in 1985, when the record for career receptions was only 657 (held by Charlie Joiner). Today, the pass-happy NFL sees plenty of 1000-yard receivers and several 100-reception guys every year. Even with Rice having played so many years relatively shortly after the 1978 rules changes, his totals still dwarf the competition. His 1549 receptions is 448 more than #2 man Cris Carter. His 22,895 yards is 7961 more than #2 man Tim Brown. His 197 TD receptions are 67 more than Carter. And his 208 career TDs are 33 more than Emmitt Smith. Those are stunning numbers! Even with the increased passing of the NFL (drastically more so than Rice’s rookie season), those numbers are virtually untouchable. Sure, we may see some fall, but not all of them by the same person. Don’t forget, too, that Rice was already labeled at the best ever only halfway through his career. He had already broken all the old records by his 10th season. (In case you were wondering, Rice’s totals through 10 seasons are all higher than Randy Moss’s total in his first 10 years).
- Babe Ruth’s old total of 714 career home runs may have fallen but his legacy has not. If anything, it has grown more. His overall high numbers are still amazing, and no one else comes close to accomplishments across the board: .342 BA (9), .690 SLG (1), .474 OBP (2), 1.164 OPS (1), 714 HR (3), 2217 RBI (2), 2174 R (4). What makes those numbers even more impressive is that he spent the first five years of his career as primarily a pitcher (and a good one at that), meaning that he piled up those stats in far fewer plate appearances than his competition. Consider Ruth’s 8398 at bats with other greats: Hank Aaron 12,364, Willie Mays 10,881, Rickey Henderson 10,961, Barry Bonds 9847. Here’s perhaps the most telling stat: Ruth has seven of the top 15 seasons ever in On-Base Plus Slugging.
- Wayne Gretzky has one accomplishment that no one else can approach: he won eight consecutive MVPs. Only Barry Bonds has come close in total MVP awards with seven, but his best streak was only four. Gretzky’s career marks put even Rice’s to shame. His totals are 894 goals, 1963 assists, 2857 points. For those who are not familiar with hockey, let me put that into perspective. His total of assists alone is enough to make him #1 in points! His margins are staggering: 714 more assists than Ron Francis and 970 points more than Mark Messier. His margin of 93 goals more than Gordie Howe is more impressive when you consider that Howe played 26 seasons to Gretzky’s 20. Gretzky holds 61 NHL records, among them being the single season marks for goals (92 in 1981-82), assists (163 in 1985-86), and points (215 in 1985-86). Only Gretzky has scored more than 200 points a single season: he did it four times. In fact, eight of the best 10 seasons ever are by Gretzky. His stranglehold on assists records is even more staggering: 11 times in his career he surpassed 100 assists in a season – only two other players ever did that even once! The highest total by anyone other than Gretzky is 114 by Mario Lemieux – 49 fewer than Gretzky’s NHL record. Out of Rice, Ruth, and Gretzky, the marks held by Gretzky appear to be the most secure.
You may be wondering why I didn’t list championships. First off, I wanted to show the statistical dominance of those athletes. They were head and shoulders above the competition using the only tangible measuring rod: stats. Second, I just wanted to summarize that all three of them won multiple championships, thus qualifying them as “winners.” By today’s philosophy, you cannot be truly transcendent unless you have won multiple titles in your prime as the focal point of the team. Rice played in four Super Bowls, has three rings as well as one Super Bowl MVP (XXIII). Ruth participated in 10 World Series, winning three with Boston and four with the Yankees. Gretzky played in six Stanley Cup finals, winning four times and picking up two Playoff MVP awards (1985, 1988). Most of all, though, I wanted to stress their individual achievements. Sure, their performances influenced the team success, but only so far. All those players had spectacular seasons when they didn’t win any championships.
With those examples from other sports, how does Jordan measure up? He has five MVP awards and that’s quite impressive. However, it falls well short of Gretzky’s nine, and Jordan never won more than two in a row. Where Jordan does not measure up, though, is in the area of statistical domination – or should I say, lack thereof. Yes, he won 10 scoring titles, but that’s not far and away the best. Besides, his career best of 37.1 PPG (1986-87) is nowhere near the single season record (Wilt Chamberlain 50.4 in 1961-62). His career PPG is the best ever, but by less than 1 PPG – certainly not the amazing margins enjoyed by Rice and Gretzky. He is not statistically dominant by any definition. Points? No. Rebounds? No way. Assists? Certainly not. Steals? No, although he is the #2 man all time.
Maybe you’re saying now, But what about championships? He has six rings and that puts him in an elite class. Compared with our big three of Rice, Ruth, and Gretzky, he’s right up there. Ah, but that’s where we compare him within his own sport. How do his accomplishments measure up to other all time greats? Well, let’s first look at Jordan’s most important achievements:
- Five Most Valuable Player Awards (1987-88, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1997-98 )
- Six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls (1991-93, 1996-98 )
- Six NBA Finals MVPs
- All-NBA First Team 10 times (1986-87 to 1992-93; 1995-96 to 1997-98 )
- All-Defensive Team 9 times (1987-88 to 1992-93; 1995-96 to 1997-98 )
- Scoring leader 10 times (1986-87 to 1992-93; 1995-96 to 1997-98 )
That’s quite a résumé, isn’t it? How does it compare with other all time greats? Let’s look at what players rank at the top in each of those categories:
- Most Valuable Player awards: 1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6 (1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1979-80); 2) 5, held by Jordan and Bill Russell (1957-58, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1964-65); 3) 3, held by Larry Bird (1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86), Magic Johnson (1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90), and Moses Malone (1978-79, 1981-82, 1982-83)
- Championship rings: 1) Bill Russell 11 (1957, 1959-66, 1968, 1969); 2) Sam Jones 10 (1959-66, 1968, 1969); 3) 8, held by Tom Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Tom Sanders, and John Havlicek (all Celtics who partook of all or part of their eight straight titles in 1959-66); 4) 7, held by Frank Ramsey, Jim Loscutoff (Celtics, see above), and Robert Horry (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007); 5) 6, held by Jordan, Scottie Pippen (same as Jordan’s), Abdul-Jabbar (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Bob Cousy (1957, 1959-1963)
- Finals MVPs (NOTE: This award has only been given since 1969): 1) Jordan 6; 2) 3, held by Magic Johnson (1980, 1982, 1987), Shaquille O’Neal (2000, 2001, 2002), Tim Duncan (1999, 2003, 2005); 3) 2, held by Willis Reed (1970, 1973), Abdul-Jabbar (1971, 1985), Bird (1984, 1986), Hakeem Olajuwon (1994, 1995)
- All-NBA First Team selections: 1) Karl Malone 11 (1988-89 to 1998-99); 2) 10, held by Jordan, Bob Pettit, Bob Cousy, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Abdul-Jabbar; 3) 9, held by Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson (1982-83 to 1990-91), Larry Bird (1979-80 to 1987-88), Tim Duncan (1997-98 to 2004-05, 2006-07) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for total selections to the All-NBA Team with 15]
- All-Defensive First Team selections: 1) 9, held by Jordan and Gary Payton (1993-94 to 2001-2002); 2) 8, held by Bobby Jones (1976-77 to 1983-84), Scottie Pippen (1991-92 to 1998-99), Tim Duncan (1998-99 to 2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07); 3) 7, held by Walt Frazier, Dennis Rodman, Kevin Garnett [Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hold the record for total selections to the All-Defensive Team with 11]
- Scoring titles: 1) Michael Jordan 10; 2) Wilt Chamberlain 7 (1959-60 to 1965-66)
What does all this show? Its value is that it shows that Jordan’s accomplishments, while outstanding, in no way distance him from the pack. He does not have the most MVPs or the most championship rings, nor does he have the most First Team All-NBA selections. This is critical here: no formula spits out Jordan as far and away the #1 player. If you take MVPs plus titles, Jordan has 11. That’s certainly good, but it falls short of Kareem’s 12 (6+6) and Russell’s 16 (5+11). Some people like to throw in Finals MVP awards, but remember that it has only existed since 1969, meaning that Russell’s best years are left out. Besides, the award is often a default award since many teams have that one big star. Putting too much weight on Finals MVPs actually hurts players like Kareem or Magic who, although they have won Finals MVPs, suffered because the other guy was on the team.
The conclusion of this analysis is quite clear: There is no evidence – in either statistics or accomplishments – to support the crowing Michael Jordan as the undisputed best player in NBA history. His achievements do not outdistance the field in his own sport, nor do they measure up to players in other sports who are viewed as the best ever.
That leads us back to the MJP. If there is no evidence to support such a view, then why do so many people think of him as the undisputed best player ever?
