“James Harden wants to average 50 and he averaged 36, Michael Jordan would average 50 if he wanted to”: Steph Curry and other NBA legends from different era discuss the Goats’ greatness

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time, the Chicago Bulls legend took the game of basketball by storm since his debut in 1984.

Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in 1984 to change the future of the franchise forever. Passed on by two teams the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, Jordan created havoc in his rookie season and averaged MVP level numbers. He won the Rookie of the Year award over the number 1 pick of his class, Hakeem Olajuwon.

This marked the start of the career of a future legend who would forever change the NBA and basketball as a whole. Michael Jordan came into the league in an era that was being dominated by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, two of the league’s best players and the best rivalry in the NBA.

Also read: “I thought Michael Jordan only lived on TV”: LeBron James reveals how the GOAT inspires him to continue chasing Larry O’Brien trophies with the Lakers

Nobody was expecting this skinny kid from North Carolina to rock the league having arguably the best bunch of players playing at the same time. That era is still considered to be the toughest ever with those rigid Boston Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, and the “Bad Boys” Pistons.

But none could do what Michael Jordan did with his Chicago Bulls in the 90s.

Jordan is the greatest basketball player: NBA legends

Jordan bided his time while collecting many individual honors and records when those 3 big teams were winning Championships in the 80s. But as soon as the 90s started Michael took over. Jordan could do everything on the court and so he’s regarded as the best to ever do it by many fans as well as the basketball legends.

He already had 4-scoring titles before the 90-91 season, but as soon as his points average started dipping by a point or two, the trophies started coming. “His Airness” along with Scottie Pippen, under coach Phil Jackson would go on to win 6-NBA Championships in 8 years while taking a two-year retirement in between.

But Jordan and Co. didn’t win everything through his offensive prowess. The 5-time MVP made 9-NBA All-Defensive First Team selections in his career along with a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988.

Also read: “I partied a lot in my first 2 years”: Scottie Pippen expresses gratitude to Michael Jordan for believing in his talent as a Bulls youngster and pushing him for greatness

When a guy had 10 scoring titles and 9-All Defensive 1st team selections in his 15-year NBA career, he leaves a very thin margin to debate his greatness, but this man has 6 Larry O’Briens to along with all of his accomplishments. You can always watch the documentary “the last dance” to relive his greatness and learn how he popularized the game all over the world.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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