Jordan: God of Sport or Beneficiary of an Era

You have to understand, these past few weeks have been rough for me. You see, I'm a Los Angeles Lakers fan. I'm proud to admit it. I have been since 1988 (Magic's last championship).

This year, for the first time in my history as a Lakers fan, I questioned my team. I wondered whether or not they were capable of playing the game of basketball. I was disappointed. I was angry.

I wanted to call Pau Gasol and tell him to play with some fire in his soul. I wanted to sit Lamar Odom down and force him to watch tape of his days with the Clippers. I wanted to write an e-mail to Phil Jackson telling him to stop changing the line-ups that Lakers fans had become accustomed to winning with.

Most of all, I wanted to meet with Kobe Bryant and explain to him—if you drive, you WILL score. That was my biggest problem. Why weren't the Lakers forcing the issue and driving to the basket—creating easy opportunities for themselves?

This responsibility fell on Kobe, in my mind. And I, like many basketball fans of all teams, began to wonder if he was really as good as I've believed him to be—if he's really on the cusp of being just as good as—or even better than—Michael Jordan.

I remember being in high school and learning about history. We learned of "great men" like Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and many others.

Most of these men were great. In fact, all of them were. But they were great because their era allowed them to be great. They excelled above others because no one during their time could rise to the standards they set.

Would we consider a modern Thomas Jefferson, a slaveowner who claims that all men are created equal, a hero or a flip-flopper?

That’s the type of question that history often overlooks—and the same is true for Michael Jordan. We as a basketball community have simply overlooked the advantages Michael Jordan had in his era.

It is my firm belief that if prime Michael Jordan played in the NBA today that he'd be undeniably a great player, a superstar. But we'd be comparing him to Kobe and LeBron trying to determine which out of the three is the best. Plain and simple: in today's game Jordan would not be the clear-cut GOAT.

I went back to my library here at home, dug through the tapes, thoroughly searched my hard drive, and explored the Internet to find as much footage as I could of Michael Jordan.

What can be derived from my research is that defenses are simply more complex today (NOTE: I love saying simply and complex in the same sentence). Due to rule changes zone defenses are stronger. Due to the evolution of human beings and the game itself, players are smarter and more athletic.

When you watch Jordan play there is no doubt that he is better than everyone else on the court. He's more athletic, over time he developed a higher basketball IQ, and he's more talented than everyone else. This is not Jordan's fault. In the same token, it's not the fault of players before, during, or after the Jordan era.

Jordan saw double teams a lot—but not nearly as often as the superstars of today. One look at this years NBA finals and you'll see Kobe Bryant being soft doubled, and then any movement whatsoever garners a hard double or triple.

You'll see all five men on the floor focused on stopping one player. You'll see five guys finding legal position to prohibit any movement into the lane. Turns out that basketball’s more difficult that it looks on TV.

Jordan did not face these types of defenses. The one-on-one defense of isolation play in the 80s and early 90s, even while being more physical, was easier to score against than the defenses orchestrated by basketball coaches today.

I've forgiven the Lakers for their collapse in the Finals. They met a superior team with a superior defense. But this does not diminish Kobe Bryant's legacy or skill one iota.

Kobe Bryant remains the best basketball player in the NBA today. Furthermore, anyone who tells me a player of Kobe Bryant's caliber could not do it against the defenses of the 80s and 90s just hasn't watched enough tape. Kobe would be good. He'd be damn good—LeBron, Wade, and AI too. These guys are in a class of basketball players that could excel during any time period. 

It is time for us as a community of fans to stop believing that merely because someone came first that that makes them the best. We're never going to truly be able to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. The best we can do is look at the facts and realize that both players are remarkable and, no matter how much you want to deny it, that Kobe Bryant has achieved a level of basketball prowess that rivals the great Michael Jordan.