If Barkley, Malone, Ewing, Wilkins won a ring each, wld Jordan be still considered the best in his time?

Question

Jordan's rings came over Magic, Drexler, Sir Charles, Mailman, Payton during his reign, right?

Answer 1

No,

What makes Jordan so great is that all those guys didn't win rings BECAUSE of Jordan. During the 90s, M.J. ruled the NBA with an iron fist. It's a testament to his greatness that if anyone wanted to win an NBA championship during that time, they had to go through him, and because no one (except the Orlando Magic with a young Shaq, Anfernee Hardaway, Horace Grant, and co., and w/ Jordan coming back like halfway thru the season in 95' from the 1st retirement) beat him in the playoffs.

Answer 2

YES!

Think about this, all the championship teams of the NBA from the past to the present have always had a dominating center,from russell, chamberlain, kareem to shaq (look at kobe now w/out Shaq)...Jordan never had the benefit of having a dominating inside presence (anyone remember Luc Longley??? ) and thats what makes his 6 rings all the more spectacular and impressive!

Barkley, Malone, Ewing and Wilkins were all great in their prime but Jordan was simply unstoppable...6 rings!!! If he didn't retire the first time he did, maybe he might've had 8 rings instead of 6.

Lastly to add more to that argument, Jordan stepped away from the game for almost 2 years, he came back and simply stamped his class on the league...how many guys can do that huh?

Answer 3

That is a resounding yes. The reason being is that his impact on the game of basketball goes beyond the court. He was as marketable as they come because of his charm as well as his showmanship. He was the first to get huge endorsements through Nike and that propelled the NBA to greater heights because of his popularity. He essentially became the face of the NBA. Barkley, Malone and company were superstars, but they did not have that marketability. That is why although Magic and Bird have championships below their belts, they are still not considered the greatest of all time, even though they were better than Barkley, Ewing or Wilkins. That is the same reason why Kobe, Lebron, wade nor Shaq can claim that title also.

Answer 4

I don't know, this is kinda off the top of my head, just a reaction thought, not much dwelling..I love MJ, but think about some things... K, MJ was all-time leader in points per game, but that was more can't u put more of the credit of the titles to calling it one of the greatest TEAMS... the bulls maybe were statistacally the best every year, but player for player, and matched up against any team, they were amasing... rodman, K, nobody understands rodman, but he could rebound like no other, so automatically u have to put ur best rebounder (who most like is a good blocker and low scorer) against rodman, pippen at the same time was so solid in every category no one person on another team could take care of him, if a small guy had him, he'd post downlow and rebound or draw the guy off rodman, if gaurded by a big guy, he'd bounce outside, leaving small guys down low...then every year they'd fill the roster with a tony kukoc, or horse grant (sp) to help them out in certain spots... basically what I'm getting at, is MJ, is more like dwayne wade, but wade wont be the same ill explain why, but MJ is less like Lebron...I honestly think Lebron CAN (NOT IS DON'T KILL ME ) a better player than MJ, and if on a team like the mavs, suns, pistons, or heat, would dominate!!! but just like wade and MJ, because there are so many threats on the team, the opponents are forced to do a lot of 1-on-1 and with the good coaching they had, the bulls would set up someone like rodman or pippen perfectly for a shot, and suck in not just the guy gaurding him, but another, leving one bull open, who would either be jordan, or screen for jordan opening jordan for the easyness...

Answer 5

yes i would say he'd still be the best in his time. if all the listed guys in the question did win a championship and jordan didnt then he would be no different then kobe(without shaq) and lebron. Jordan was such an explosive scorer and flashy player and he also played in a big city. that always helps.

But dont forget that jordan had some guys around him that could play like pippen and even rodman.

Answer 6

That is a BIG YES! For me it's simple before Michael Jordan when you talk about basketball there were lots of names mentioned such as Magic, Bird, Jabar, etc. During the Michael Jordan era, he was basketball. After MJ, there came Shaq, Kobe, D-Wade, King James, Nash, Nowitzki, and who knows who. And after MJ left NBA ratings went down and NFL went big. I barely watch basketball now, it's kinda boring.

Answer 7

you damn straight he would still be considered the best!!!! and always will be. Kobe is just a little punk, too. He's such a child that he had to choose no. 24 because Jordan was no. 23. What a lil p**sy Kobe is!!!!!!!!! And Dr. J was better than Kobe too!!!!

Answer 8

Geesh Larry and Magic won title so I dont see how Mike was the greatest ever....anyways mike did dominate for a period of time when he was in the league but its like he won every year he played...

Answer 9

Yes hands down he took the game from Bird n Magic n took it to another level

Answer 10

Yes, Jordan revolutionized the game. That's why you never ask who's the greatest of all time, you ask who's the 2nd greatest.