Why Players Are Always Being Compared To Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers have just won the 2010 NBA Finals, and of course, the comparisons to Michael Jordan are going to be discussed and argued.  Yes, Kobe is probably the best player in the game right now, but that doesn't mean you can compare him to any player that's ever won a championship.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and even Grant Hill have been compared to His Airness, but all those comparisons have dwindled after disappointing playoff performances, bad regular seasons and career-changing injuries.  

Wade probably deserved the comparisons more after winning an NBA title his rookie year, but Jordan would have never let the Bulls get a 15-67 record, which the 2007-08 Miami Heat ended up with.

The reason why players are always compared to Jordan, is that we always want to feel like we are witnessing history.  Jordan's era has passed, and most of us have forgotten about his his historic performances, so thinking that players like Kobe and LeBron are better than him, give people something to look forward to. 

Roy Halladay recently pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins, and the Marlins front office wanted to make a profit off of it.  They ended up selling the unsold tickets from the day of the perfect game.  Why would anyone want to buy those tickets?  To make people think that they witnessed history.

As Bill Simmons wrote in his book, "It's more fun to think about what could happen than what already happened."  What's happened in the past is history, and we want to experience even more exciting moments more than anything.  

Think of what it would be like in Cleveland if LeBron helps win them a championship.  The last title the Cavaliers won was in 1978.  Plus the Indians 62 year drought, and the Browns 46 year drought, the city of Cleveland would finally have something to feel good about in professional sports.

And what if LeBron brought back basketball to New York?  Think of how legendary he would be if he won a championship for them.  After the Ewing era, the Knicks really have had nothing to look forward to.  The days of Willis Reed and Walt Frazier are gone, and all they have left is David Lee and Al Harrington.

The stats and records are all there.  From Jordan's flu game, to never losing in the NBA Finals.  Yet, people continuously force themselves to believe that another player is as good, or will be as good as Jordan.

Yes, one day, a player unquestionably better than Jordan will come around, and the arguments will pile up.  I might even switch sides, being the die-hard Chicago fan that I am.  But in the present generation, no one comes close to being in Jordan's world.