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| "Why isn't Bill Russell considered the greatest?" |
I wrote an article entitled "LeBron is Better Than Jordan (At 26)" comparing the careers of both players. I looked at both careers up to age 26 because of LeBron's current age during the 2011 season. For the past year everyone that has commented or called me has said the same thing, "What about Jordan's 6 titles?" Like I've always said, Jordan didn't win an NBA title until he was 28 years old bruh. So for the sake of this argument they don't exist. Lebron is only 27 years old bruh! People act the kid is 35 and is about to retire. I can remember when I caught a lot of heat when I said that Kobe was better than Jordan at 22! It's flat out true bruh. People are stuck on the entire career of Jordan and can't understand that his career was built one brick at a time. Like boyz completely forget that Magic played in 9 Finals, lost 4 of them and played terribly in 2. It takes time to win championships bruh. That's why they call them titles!!! They don't just give them joints away at the flea market!
However, since everyone wants to use titles to measure the greatness of a player let's take a look at it. Here is a sampling of some of the greatest players to ever play the game that have won multiple titles:
1. Bill Russell -11
2. Kareem Abdul Jabbar- 6
3. Michael Jordan- 6
4. Magic Johnson-5
5. Kobe Bryant- 5
6. Tim Duncan-4
7. Larry Bird-3
8. Wilt Chamberlain-2
So if we're only looking at titles why aren't people talking about Bill Russell or Kareem as opposed to Jordan? Better yet, why not Robert Horry who has 7 rings? While you're at it throw in Derrick Fisher who has 5 or John "Freaking" Salley who has 4! My point exactly! If we were only looking at titles we'd have to put Horry in the discussion and we all know that that doesn't make any sense. He was just a guy that was lucky enough to get on the right boat 7 times.
Titles don't always tell the story of greatness because Dan Marino was probably the most gifted quarterback to ever play the game and he never won a title. Can you say that Joe Montana was better than Marino or Peyton Manning because he won 4 Super Bowls? Absolutely not! He was just blessed to be throwing to the best receiver to ever play the game in Jerry Rice and coached by the inventor of the west coast offense, Bill Walsh!
Along those same lines we saw the same thing happen in the NBA with the Bulls. Not only did Jordan have Scottie and Rodman, they played for probably the best coach to ever walk the side lines. So to win 6 titles with that cast of characters wasn't impossible bruh. Do you really think the Jordan would have won 6 titles if he were playing in Milwaukee without Scottie or Phil bruh? Really?
Rings don't always tell the story of greatness because Jerry West, who is the Logo of the NBA, only has one. I think that people loved Jordan so much that after he started winning titles they started equating greatness with championship rings. Like I said before if that is the case, then Robert Horry is the 2nd greatest player in NBA history. Now how stupid does that sound?
Greatness comes down to a players complete game and what they bring to a team. Is the team better with a particular player on the field or on the court? But the amount of titles that a guy wins isn't the deciding factor because it's a team award. If that were the case they should change the NBA Logo to Bill Russell or Robert Horry! So to say that a person with more titles is greater based on the rings alone is completely ridiculous. By using that logic what you'll be saying is that Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing weren't great players! C'mon bruh!
Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Hit me up on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Well cuz, I see it is time for me to impart some of my basketball knowledge on you once again. I get a little uneasy whenever you start tugging at the throne of the G.O.A.T. aka Michael Jeffrey Jordan, so I will give you some insight from a true basketball fan and part time analyst (I need to work for ESPN!). When you talk about greatness, you are correct..it is not about the amount of rings, however it is definitely about where you are the determining factor of why your teams were in the position of winning a championship. That is what sets MJ apart from the rest of the cats you mentioned...the great ones have that "it" factor. You can't measure "it", there are no stats for "it", but "it" kicks in when games are on the line and they are willing to do whatever it takes to win a ballgame or championship. MJ had "it", Russell had "it", Kobe has "it", Bird and Magic. When you think of Russell, yes he was on great teams but he had the will and grit to do whatever it took to win. Wilt was a far better ballplayer..but he didn't have the heart, luckily he joined up with a couple of other great players and got a couple of rings. Russell battled Wilt for every rebound and bucket and made the plays needed to win 11 championships. Let's look at some of the other cats you named..Barkley extremely lazy and out drinking when he should have been pushing his teammates and practicing..Dominique, couldn't and wouldn't pass the ball or play defense..Reggie, one dimensional, refused to learn how to beat cats off the dribble..Karl Malone, flat out scared of the bright lights, classic choke artist. Here's the thing about MJ..he was so great that he made other players raise their levels of play. You mentioned he was coached by Phil and had Scottie, yeah true but Scottie was soft (headache in game 7 against the Pistons, deftly afraid of Xavier McDaniel, Anthony Mason, and Rodman). Oh and by the time Rodman got to the Bulls, he was on the decline bro. Those Bulls teams were not loaded..dude they had Luke Longley, Cartwright,and Will Perdue in the middle. MJ was the franchise and would will them to victory. When you talk about greatness, check out game 6 against the Jazz-the Bulls last title, Jazz completely healthy and a better overall team. The Bulls on the other hand had MJ, Scottie was having back issues and barely played, and got nothing from Rodman. MJ put those boys on his back and won it right then because he knew there was no way they would have won game 7 in Utah. Look at his final 3 plays in that game with the Bulls down 3, driving layup, stripped Malone, and crossed Russell for the game winner. When you have a moment, look at the Bulls roster from each of those teams and tell what each of those cats did great after they weren't playing with MJ anymore..dude was out there with a lot of NBA scrubs, trust me. True Steve Kerr hit a game winner and so did Paxson, but why were they open? There's a reason why there were open dawg...MJ. You had to double him with the game on the line or its a wrap.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to this cat Lebron James...the media annointed Great or Chosen One. Last night, he watched his sidekick Wade stink up the joint and they got blown out. At some point during the 2nd half, Lebron has to say to himself, "Wade is terrible tonight, let me put this team on my back". Lebron should have damn near shot the ball every time down the court and went off for 50 points and willed the team to victory. Wade has a ring bruh, he's proven, Lebron doesn't..he should be in desperation mode. In Game 6 against Jazz, MJ knew he wasn't getting nothing out of Pippen, Jordan took 35 shots and scored 45 points..title clinched. That is what greatness is about..understanding the situation, seizing the moment, and willing your team to victory. Lebron should have been on "screw D Wade" mode last night and dropped 50 on Granger, instead he only had 6 points himself in the second half.