NBA - Main

no, but i dont believe he played in a particularly competitive era.

it was post expansion, with many of the greats who proceeded jordan, retiring earlier than expected to due to injury (Bird, Magic, Isiah). Pair that with a few of unfortunate deaths (reggie lewis, len bias, drazen), and you have a pretty big talent draught (not to mention the amount of talent that left the league or never realized their potential due to the rampant substance abuse in the 70's/80's. Then you bend the rules to force players into more one-on-one situations (illegal defense rules, hand checking), and a big physical guard who physically outmatches most guys is going to dominate. Then lets put him next to the second or third best wing (also the greatest perimeter defender of all time imo) of his era for ten years.

i think jordan is either the first or second best player ever, but i think his dominance deserves a nuanced discussion as there was a lot of wind in his/the bulls sails. Ultimately, you play the competition that you get, and he took care of business, thats why he is probably the goat, because nobody dominated their era harder. But, i think it is insulting to other great players, to think the gap is as big as some would lead you to believe.