Every NBA draft has its busts and steals. Some high draft picks fail to live up to expectations, while others exceed all. Ahead of Day 1 of the 2024 draft, the UNDISPUTED crew tried naming the greatest pick in their estimation. Surprisingly, Skip Bayless glossed over the slew of Hall of Famers, who were low first-round and second-round picks, and named Michael Jordan his choice.
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The Chicago Bulls icon was one of the top prospects in the 1984 NBA draft class and was taken third overall. Despite him being a lottery pick, the veteran analyst argued that had teams known how great he’d become, they’d have rumbled to pick him. As a hardcore MJ fan, he said,
“I gotta go with Jordan as the greatest pick ever because I was in the middle of that draft. And now that I look back, he went third overall and it feels like he went 30th overall because of what he became, to me, by far, the greatest player ever. The greatest force of nature we’ve ever seen in any sport as a performer and a leader.”
.@RealSkipBayless says Michael Jordan is the best pick in NBA history:
“It feels like he went 30th overall. No one expected all-time great.” pic.twitter.com/zaevdgvczc
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 26, 2024
Bayless made a great point. The Houston Rockets picked Hakeem Olajuwon with the first overall pick, a no-brainer decision for the franchise. The Portland Trail Blazers passed on Jordan and picked center Sam Bowie. They already had an elite shooting guard in Clyde Drexler and felt that another would be surplus to the requirement.
However, in hindsight, the Rockets and Trail Blazers would gladly pick Jordan if they could redo the draft. Especially Portland, who would’ve traded Drexler had they known how great the Bulls icon would turn out to be. Bayless’ argument has merit, but Jordan might still be far from being considered the greatest draft pick.
Nikola Jokic, infamously picked during a Taco Bell commercial, was drafted in the second round and has built a Hall of Fame resume. He’s arguably the best pick in NBA draft history, even better than the greatest player ever.
Bayless’ take stems from his undying love for Jordan. The analyst goes above and beyond when he senses an opportunity to admire the five-time MVP, even downplaying LeBron James’ historic achievements.
Bayless undermined the King to prop up Michael Jordan when he reached 40K points
Earlier this year, LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points in the regular season. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is already the league’s all-time leading scorer. However, he’s been busy creating daylight between himself and the chasing pack, ensuring nobody could chase it down in the foreseeable future.
While even James’ harshest critics couldn’t help but admire the forward’s achievement, Skip Bayless undermined it and hyped up Michael Jordan’s achievement. He posted on X,
“Michael Jordan led the NBA in scoring 10 times — to just once for LeBron James. MJ also won a Defensive Player of the Year — LeBron none. MJ: 6-0 in Finals with 6 MVPs. LeBron has as many Finals losses as MJ had wins. But who remembers any of that tonight?”
Michael Jordan led the NBA in scoring 10 times — to just once for LeBron James. MJ also won a Defensive Player of the Year — LeBron none. MJ: 6-0 in Finals with 6 MVPs. LeBron has as many Finals losses as MJ had wins. But who remembers any of that tonight?
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 3, 2024
Bayless’ baffling disdain for James is inexplicable. Regardless of what the forward achieves, he finds a way to downplay it, usually resorting to his 4-6 Finals record.
Interestingly, James has never directly acknowledged Bayless’ hatred for him, nor has Jordan publicly encouraged the analyst to continue using his name to berate the Lakers superstar. However, that hasn’t deterred Bayless and he’ll likely never stop pitting the duo every opportunity he gets.
