What Separated Michael Jordan From the Rest

The debate grows and will continue to evolve as new NBA players define themselves and fans become absorbed by them. However, despite the rapid introduction of several great players over the past couple decades, a certain somebody still enters our thoughts when discussing who the greatest of all time is/was. A discussion about such a topic couldn’t even be fathomed without the mention of who in my opinion is the greatest player of all time in basketball. Of course I am speaking about Michael Jordan.

Stats have been compared, numbers added up, processed, and thrown into several equations with an expectation of a solid answer. It never happens. It seems that only your interpretation and gut feeling could give you the answer. Some of the current players get thrown into the equation for the simple fact they put up the numbers, have rings, and dazzle the audience. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are the closest candidates for even being compared to MJ in my opinion. Kobe has won the battle of many important stats including championships. LeBron is well on his way to building his reputation beyond any doubt. But if we take a moment to acknowledge that they all have excellent and meaningful stats and then focus on the dynamics of the game, then maybe we can see things clearer.

I am so impressed by the way Michael Jordan was able to not only understand the game of basketball, how he saw the court at any given scenario, but how he affected people while playing. Michael was able to create a response in his teammates. He understood their abilities, their mindset, their weaknesses, and vision, and was able to direct his team to numerous victories as a true champ could. The Bulls of the 90’s were not the best team of that time from a statistical point of view, or from a player-to-player evaluation point of view. The energy and dynamics of that team was unparalleled though. This can be attributed to the energy Michael emanated.

Michael Jordan was not interested in points, attention, comparisons or anything of the sort. If he was, he wouldn’t have let anything distract him from the game when he decided to attempt his baseball career. He simply felt that he had achieved what he set out to achieve from the game. He did return from his love of the game and maybe just to see if he still had that special and uncanny ability to control the tempo of the game. He surely did and retired with steam left. Too many of these players today are concentrating on beating his stats and outshining him rather then using their obvious talents to improve their game, win championships, and improve the quality of their teams and the game as a whole.

MJ stands in a league of his own when it comes to passion, respect, and effectiveness in the game of basketball. For this reason I and many others around the world crown Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time.