In the NBA rankings, the rankings of the top fifteen players in history are not stable, and the rankings of many players will change to a greater or lesser extent depending on the judging criteria. But without exception, Jordan deservedly ranked first in the major lists. Why Jordan is firmly on the throne but no one questions it, I think there are the following aspects
The "grandfather" of the founding sect
Jordan ushered in the era of quarterbacks and swingmen! In fact, the shooting guards in history are not what we think we are now. The earliest NBA shooting guards and point guards did not have a difference in size, and the difference basically existed only in the division of functions, shooting guards scored, and point guards were responsible for organization.
The first superstar to combine the two was West of the Lakers, but he was a tragic figure who was overwhelmed by the center. Since West, the shooting guards of the late 60s began to split into two, some gradually converted to dual energy, and some of the powerful No. 1 positions also began to take care of scoring tasks, and gradually converged with these No. 2 positions to evolve into dual positions. However, the division of defenders and forwards on the field still follows the previous example, and the distinction between defenders and strikers is clear.
Shooting guards in the 80s were still generally small, either projecting and not holding the ball much; Or have organizational skills and can swing between position 1 and 2. The man who finally merged the two into one, radically changing the definition of the number two position, did not enter the league until 1984. That's right, he's Jordan! With the possession and speed of No. 1 and the size and strength of No. 3, but playing No. 2, it is misplaced to face anyone's defense.
Jordan's early defenders were not large, such as Moncrieff, Dennis Johnson, Alvin Robertson, Dumas and others, on the one hand, because he was too fast, and people of the same physique were like stakes by him; On the other hand, also in the 80s, shooting guards were generally one size smaller. It was with the entry of the glider and Jordan into the league that more and more players with forward height and guard speed began to follow suit, switching to shooting guard. The overall physique of the No. 2 position gradually approached that of the small forward.
They are about two meters, good at various scoring skills, holding the ball without the ball, facing the basket with their backs, and many of them are both offensive and defensive. Richmond, Eddie Jones, Spreville, are all new-age shooting guards emerging in this genre. Beginning in the mid-to-late '90s, the Guard Swingman entered a blowout period. Michael Finley can be counted as the big brother of this group of players, and every year the NBA has produced at least one star wing: Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen in '96, Maddie in '97, Carter and Pierce in '98, Manu in '99, Reid in '00, and Joe Johnson in '01. So people gradually took it for granted that shooting guards should be like this, and even began to be unable to distinguish between the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
Without Jordan, the shooting guard position would never have such a glorious history. Almost single-handedly, Jordan has made his way through the jungle of countless big centers, making quarterbacks shine for decades. Therefore, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that Jordan is the "grandfather" of the founding school, he has created a new way of playing, changing people's previous inherent cognition.
Unmatched "hard honor"
How many career accolades does Jordan have? We can list them: two three-in-a-row championships, 6 FMVPs, 10 scoring titles, 5 MVPs, 3 steal titles, 1 Best Defensive Player, 10 First Team, 9 First Defense, 14 All-Stars, 2 Olympic Gold Medals
And among these, we need to take 1988 alone, because this year is so legendary! Jordan won the best defensive player this season, and won the All-First Team and All-Defensive Team, and won the scoring title and MVP of the season, achieving the regular season honor Grand Slam. This is not only unprecedented, but also unexpected, which shows how strong Jordan is!
Jordan came out in the early eighties and ascended to the throne in the nineties! Unlike ancient gods such as Chamberlain and Russell, the era when Jordan played was within our reach. More importantly, the league's regular schedule in the nineties has also become more modern and reasonable in every way, which makes Jordan less controversial than later players due to the time difference.
Among Jordan's many honors, I personally believe that there are several that future players cannot match. The first is two consecutive championships + 6 FMVPs. It is now generally accepted that the threshold standard for dynasty teams is three consecutive championships, and after Jordan, only the Lakers under O'Neal Bryant have reached this standard. What's more, Jordan has 6 FMVPs, which represents his most central position in the team and his unparalleled contribution!
Jordan's six-time Finals average is as follows:
1991 Finals: Bulls 4:1 Lakers, Jordan averaged 32.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.2 blocks, and shot 56.2% from the field
1992 Finals: Bulls 4:2 Trail Blazers, Jordan averaged 35.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and shot 52.8% from the field
1993 Finals: Bulls 4:2 Suns, Jordan averaged 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.8 blocks, and shot 51.0% from the field
1996 Finals: Bulls 4:2 SuperSonics, Jordan averaged 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, and shot 41.1% from the field
1997 Finals: Bulls 4:2 Jazz, Jordan averaged 32.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and shot 46.0% from the field
1998 Finals: Bulls 4:2 Jazz, Jordan averaged 33.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks, and shot 43.2% from the field
And the second unattainable record is that Jordan has ten scoring titles! As we all know, the scoring king is an important criterion for testing top scorers, and we know Allen Iverson, Durant, Kobe, Anthony and others as they all hold the scoring champion. But after Jordan, the highest scoring record is only four times for Allen Iverson and Durant. It can be said that in the next twenty or even fifty years, one hundred years, there will not be another player who can win ten scoring titles in his career.
What is even more terrifying is that Jordan won ten scoring titles and won five regular season MVPs in his career! If championships are the pinnacle of team honor, regular season MVP is the pinnacle of individual honor. Players who have won MVPs, such as Duncan, Kobe, O'Neal and others, are all famous superstars in history. People say that there may be parallel goods, but MVP definitely does not have parallel goods, which is enough to see the gold content of MVP. After Jordan, only James is closer, and it is already very good to have won 4 MVPs
A legendary career
O'Neal once said of Jordan: "Even if my grandma is on the same team as Jordan, she can win the championship." "It's a joke, but it's a testament to Jordan's place in the hearts of players and the legend of his career!
In the 1982 NCAA Finals, Jordan represented North Carolina and hit a sharp shot before the final game to defeat Ewing's Georgetown. This is the beginning of Jordan's road to God, about this shot of the NCAA championship, Jordan said in the post-game interview: I didn't even look at whether the ball went in, I didn't dare to look, I just kept praying. Two years later, Jordan came to the Bulls, and he brought his talent and ambition to Chicago!
Young Jordan is passionate, but the Pistons and Celtics, two enemies who cannot be bypassed, also make him suffer. How dazzling Jordan's later conquest of the league was, how deep the pain of defeat by the Pistons Green Army was in the marrow. Jordan, who is the peak of his rookie, has been putting on his solo show all the time since he entered the NBA. His personal ability is extremely outstanding, but the weakness accumulated by the team for a long time also makes him unable to escape the first-round law for three years! The first to give Jordan a taste of bitterness was the Green Army and Bird, two clean 3:0, as if to Jordan: Hey, welcome to the NBA!
Jordan won MVP in 1988, and the era of Bird and Magic's black-and-white duo was nearing its end, and Jordan's long-awaited opportunity seemed coming. But the court is like a battlefield, and the inheritance of the throne is never by alms, but by Jordan to grab it himself in the grind of blood and tears. At this time, Michael encountered the mountain of Detroit, and if he could not climb this mountain, the olive branch of the times would never be put on his head
Losing to the same opponent three years in a row, the core of this team is Isaiah Thomas, a team called the Pistons. Thomas, Dumas, Sully, Rodman and Ranbier, these names all stung Jordan's heart. He's a loser, and the Pistons have stepped on the bones of the Bulls to win an NBA championship two years in a row. Over this mountain, people can hear Jordan's story. A careerist from North Carolina wants to start writing the story of heroes coming true. Jordan began to gain weight, began to accept triangle attacks, and his second-in-command, Scott Pippen, began to transform.
After cleanly addressing the Knicks and Philadelphia this new season, Jordan meets the Pistons again. Nothing makes Jordan's blood boil more than revenge, killing the Pistons so that Jordan can cross this hurdle. Jordan not only wants to win, he also wants to completely drive this group of notorious bad kids into the abyss and drive them out of NBA history. Facing the aging Lakers in the finals, Jordan finally sent them to fishing with his own hands, and the long-buried unwillingness and anger in his heart was completely released at this moment! Jordan finally stood at the peak of the times and accepted the worship of the people of Chicago!
The road to the tempering of the flying man is over! But the journey to victory is never about flowers and wine. The Blazers' Drexler, the Knicks' Patrick Ewing, Sun City's Barkley, the SuperSonics' Gary Payton and Kemp, and the Jazz's Utah Shuang Malone and Stockton are all like a bunch of vicious roadblocks, blocking Jordan's way. Behind the championship honor is Jordan's fight for his life. And the most legendary and tragic is that after the first trifecta, Jordan chose to retire at his peak
After winning the first trifecta, everyone, including the media, was secretly asking: Is there anything in the basketball court that Jordan can't do? But off the court, the unexpected death of his father, gambling rumors are rife, and the "Jordan's Law" also wears the flyers. The last straw crushed Jordan, who once said that when you lose the motivation to play, you don't need to prove yourself, it's the moment to leave basketball. So at the peak of his thirties, he chose to retire from the rapids, and he announced his retirement!
On March 19, 1995, Jordan officially announced his comeback wearing the number 45 shirt after nearly 18 months of retirement, causing a world sensation. I'm back, Jordan announced his return to the NBA in a simple and domineering sentence. The downturn in his baseball career, the mockery of the media, the expectations of fans, everything made Jordan feel that it was time to go back. Although he has been away from the NBA for more than a year and a half, Jordan's skills are not diminished, and many people think that Michael Jordan is ready to win his fourth NBA championship. But in the end, it turned out to be unexpected, and Jordan lost to the Magic team with O'Neal and Hardaway. People thought Jordan was old and he was no longer the flying Michael.
Jordan is a shame! His ambition did not allow him to fail so easily. The offseason Bulls bring in their former foe Rodman and start a new journey! In the final 37.1 seconds, he rushed out of the postman's blind spot and made a direct steal. Dribble alone through the half, in Brian's defense made a large emergency stop to close the ball, dashing shot, the ball hit steadily. The second triple championship, the sixth FMVP, this fatal blow not only shattered the hearts of tens of thousands of Jazz fans, but also made Jordan ascend to the throne, and it can no longer be shaken!
Extraordinary impact off the field
Jordan's huge influence has opened a new era for the NBA, and can even be said to have driven the economic development of the United States. In 1995, former U.S. President Bill Clinton gave a speech in which he said: "Jordan's return will add 10 million jobs to America!" This speech has caused a lot of sensation, as a result, a few days later, the three major news channels in the United States reported that there was major news in an hour, you know, the major news that the United States can stop the news is only Nixon's death, the Gulf War and the Los Angeles earthquake, just half an hour later, various channels began to broadcast Jordan's career highlights, an hour later, Jordan's simple "I'm back" made the whole United States and even the whole world boil!
After Jordan retired, Nike's stock fell 4%. But after Jordan's strong comeback, Nike's stock price soared instantly, rising by about 31%. Jordan's comeback No. 45 jersey was out of stock in the United States, and sales exceeded the combined sales of O'Neal + Hardaway + Grant Hill in a month! Some factories have had to stop producing jerseys for rising stars such as O'Neill, but demand still outstrips supply.
And Jordan's second comeback was even more sensational, when the media directly hailed "He is back to save America!" "2001 was a traumatic year for the United States, they experienced the horrific 911 incident, the people of the country were in a state of panic, the NBA was depressed, and at this time, the United States hoped that a national figure would stand up and give people a belief and spirit. Right! Michael Jordan, 38, announced his comeback on September 25, signing a contract with the Wizards. And donated all the annual salary of the first year, which stabilized the mood of the American people.
Later, in the All-Star Game Carter, Iverson rushed to give up the starter. The Heat, as an opponent, retired Jordan's No. 23 jersey, all of which reveal Jordan's huge influence! Today, Jordan is not just a player, he represents a spirit and fighting spirit. When you mention basketball, you have to mention Jordan; Speaking of Jordan, you can't help but talk about basketball, the two have become one and are inseparable. The No. 23 jersey flying high in the Chicago arena inspires a group of juniors to continue to forge ahead and dedicate their lives to the basketball career they love, which is probably the meaning of Michael for basketball!