Greatest of All Time

Hello again,

For those of you who watch ESPN, whether you're like me and make a habit of watching SportsCenter on a nightly basis, or you simply put it on in flipping from channel to channel, you've probably noticed that the last few weeks have centered around the semi-centennial birthday of the great Michael Jordan.

In lieu of this utterly momentous event (it's difficult to portray sarcasm through the written word, but I'm hoping you're staying with me) we've seen countless clips of some of his greatest moments, and little vignettes documenting his impact on the game narrated by Common and others rando's voices aren't as awesome as Common's. This doesn't bother me at all - who doesn't enjoy reminiscing about His Airness, the great Jordan?

What does bother me is all of the comparison that's been going on around this network-created holiday. 'Is LeBron at the level of Jordan?' 'If not now, will LeBron ever be at the level of Jordan?' 'Will we ever see another Great One ascend, and meet the expectations set upon them, since people like Vince Carter, Tracy MacGrady, Sebastian Telfair, and countless others have fallen short?'

Who really cares? Ultimately, Jordan was Jordan, and that was all he needed to be.

He's generally recognized as the greatest, but for what reason? His game wasn't all-around the greatest out there. He was a great scorer, of course; he was an amazing dunker, sure; but what about other categories? Bill Russell was arguably the best blocker the game's ever seen. Wilt was definitely the most dominant player the game's ever seen (he averaged 50 pts/gm one season...... AVERAGED). They may not have been the best in their respective areas of expertise, but John Stockton was a much better passer than Jordan, and Walt Frazier was just as impressive a defender, if not more so.

All that being said, I still believe Jordan was and is the best of all time, as I'm sure most of you do, so do stats or figures even really matter? Or is it all about the mystique? No doubt Jordan has that air of divinity; that legendary feel. Maybe it was his 6-0 record in the Finals... with 6 Finals MVPs under his belt (holy shit) or his astounding dunk contest wins, but whatever it was, Jordan had it, and simply the fact that these things have stood out to us above all else and for so long shows that he earned every accolade he's been given.

Personally, I refuse to compare the NBA's past with its present, simply because I don't think it matters. If you're just realizing that LeBron is the best the league's seen since Jordan because Mike Wilbon and Skip Bayless are finally saying it, you're a few years behind, and if you honestly put Kobe in the equation you're probably just a die-hard Lakers fan who doesn't understand Kobe's many short-comings (MANY shortcomings, but that's a conversation for another post).

The fact of the matter is, and I'll repeat from above, Jordan was Jordan was Jordan was Jordan. All his in-game achievements aside, he sold tickets, he sold sneakers, he sold Gatorade, he sold the Association, and his contribution to everything that the game now consists of is immense.

So honestly ESPN, I see that your intentions are good, but there's no need to compare every phenomenon we see in present day with those we've seen in the past - and all of this talk about him turning 50 is simply painting him as this aged shade of what he once was. If I were him, I wouldn't appreciate it, no matter how much flattery they threw my way in the process.