The Way I See It

By Frank Thomas

If you were born after 1970, you are most likely to believe that Michael Jordan is the greatest Basketball player to have ever played the game, and rightfully so. He led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA World Championships, while averaging 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assist per game during his 14 years in the NBA. Jordan was selected as a Parade High School All-American. He won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I - Basketball Championship as a freshman, while attending the University of North Carolina. He was named the College Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior by Sporting News. He left college after his junior year and was drafted into the NBA by the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan was voted the NBA 1984-85 season Rookie of the Year; voted Five-time NBA MVP; Six-time NBA Finals MVP; Ten-time All-NBA First Team; Nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team; Defensive Player of the Year (1988); 14-time NBA All-Star; Three-time NBA All-Star MVP; Ten NBA scoring titles; and the All-time NBA Leader in points scored. Yes, that’s quite an accomplishment by one person in any one’s life time.

However, if you were born before 1955, you probably have a different perspective and opinion as to who was the greatest Basketball player to have ever played the game. Michael Jordan is probably on everyone’s top ten lists, but I doubt very seriously if the pre-1955 fans have him at the number one spot. In fact, he probably did not make the majority of the top five lists. In a previous BSTM issue, I listed my top three NBA All Star Teams by position, and Michael Jordan was on the second team. I was approached by a lot of people who disagreed with my leaving Michael Jordan off the first Team. Most of these people were born after 1970. As I explained to those who disagreed, Michael played in a different NBA than the “Greats” who came before him.

The rule-changes in the NBA that came along during and after the Jordan era favor the offensive players. There is more media coverage of both the players and games. The NBA rosters are watered down more than ever because of the salary cap. There are more teams in the league now than in the 1950s – 70s, which has made the over all competition weaker. Players coming into the NBA during the Jordan era and now are probably more athletic but are in too many cases less skilled and have a poor understanding of the game due to the lack of college coaching and training, as well as the mental and physical maturity that comes with attending college. Attending college for at least four years provides the optimal environment and opportunity for the human mind to develop and mature. Basketball is a thinking man’s game and anyone born before 1955 will tell you that there has been a big drop off in the way the players use their intelligence during the games. Don’t get me wrong, I have always preferred a dunk to a lay-up and a freak move or get “jiggy” with-it pass to a traditional dribble or chest pass. However, stupid is stupid, no matter how athletic or entertaining it looks. In my experiences, the best athlete has always had one of the best minds. That’s what separates the best from the rest. The athletes playing during and after the Jordan era have had the benefit of better sports gear and training equipment; better insurance and player health benefits; and most importantly, better financial compensation. The greatest disadvantages that the pre-Jordan-era players had and still have, in many cases, have been the social conditions and hardships that the players had to endure outside of basketball. Despite all the things thrown in there way on and off the court, there are five players that standout as the greatest of all-time.

My top five greatest basketball players ever to play the game list include the following: #1 Wilt Chamberlain; #2 Bill Russell; #3 Kareem; Abdul-Jabbar #4 Magic Johnson; and #5 Oscar Robertson. Anyone of these five players could arguably be called the “Greatest” of all-time. [If you were born before 1955, you most likely agree.] Wilt is still the “Greatest” player I ever saw and the NBA record books more than support me on that thought.

Wilt holds 56 NBA regular season records. Michael Jordan has four. Wilt scored 50 or more points in 7 consecutive games and 45 times in one season. Michael Jordan has 27 career 50-point games. Wilt scored 40 or more points in 14 consecutive games and 63 times in one season. Wilt averaged 45.8 minutes per game over his career. Nate Archibald is the last player to average 45 minutes for one season (1972-73). Wilt played in 47 consecutive complete games. A.C. Green is in second place with 7 career complete games. Wilt has the top three highest scoring games in NBA history. David Robinson is the only other center in the top 35. Wilt averaged 22.9 rebounds per game over his career. Dennis Rodman averaged less than 13 rebounds through his first 10 seasons. Wilt grabbed 55 rebounds in one game. The 1995-96 World Champion Chicago Bulls had 55 rebounds as a team in only two games during the entire season. Wilt grabbed 40 or more rebounds in 14 games. No player on a 1995-96 NBA roster ever had as many as 36, which includes Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone, Shaq, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and all the other competition MJ dominated. Wilt grabbed 1,700 or more rebounds 10 straight years. No player on a 1995-96 NBA roster ever had more than 1,530 rebounds in one season. Wilt averaged 37.6 points per game as a rookie. Wilt has the NBA record for the most points by a rookie in a single game, with 58 points. Reprint permission from www.bstmllc.com.