There’s no question Michael Jordan reigned the NBA during his prime. Though he took home six championships, some wonder if his two-year hiatus detracted from his full potential. Could MJ have won more titles if he hadn’t retired the first time? Jordan’s former agent, David Falk, believes so, and NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith agrees.
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Falk made a public appearance at the Sports Business Journal’s conference earlier this week. He compared Jordan’s manner of winning titles to LeBron James’. He believes if Jordan had gone LeBron’s route, his hardware collection would be much more vast.
“I really like LeBron, but I think if Jordan had cherry-picked what teams he wanted to be on and two other superstars, he would’ve won 15 championships,” Falk said.
LeBron joined the Miami Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, he teamed up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Jordan, on the other hand, never looked to free agency to form a superteam with another star player. His running mate was Scottie Pippen, who was homegrown with the Chicago Bulls alongside Jordan.
Stephen A. Smith and the rest of the First Take crew discussed Falk’s comments. Although Smith believes the shot at James was unnecessary, he didn’t find anything wrong with Falk’s assessment.
“[Falk] ain’t lying about the comparison to Jordan,” Smith said. “If Jordan had picked to assemble a superteam, you damn right he would have won about 10 titles.”
Smith doesn’t think Falk’s statement diminishes James’ ability as a player. He believes that the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is undoubtedly a top-two all-time player. But his statement communicates how much greater he views Jordan to be.
The First Take star wasn’t the only person on the panel to agree with Falk. Noted LeBron James reporter and ESPN insider Brian Windhorst also sided with Jordan’s former agent and Smith.
“If [Michael Jordan] didn’t want to retire, if he wanted to move on, he absolutely could have won more titles. I don’t think it’s arguable at all,” Windhorst said.
Windy followed his comments by defending James. He notes how important it is to understand the different circumstances between the two greats.
Player movement was at an all-time high during LeBron’s era but not so much in Jordan’s. There is no telling how Jordan would’ve reacted if Scottie Pippen had left the Bulls like how Kyrie Irving departed from the Cavaliers.
Falk’s claim will always be a big “what-if.”
