Michael Jordan: Billy Packer Predicts Greatness in 1984 USA Team vs. NBA Stars

Do you think MJ was made the G.O.A.T by the media? A fellow featured columnist wrote an interesting piece about Chicago's most beloved athlete. Though I disagreed with Michael Jordan's Legacy: How the NBA and the Media Lied, it is impeccably written by Kwame Fisher-Jones.

A true testament to its potency is the fact that it made me think. I sought out things to validate my opinions about Jordan as the best. It didn't take long to reassure myself.

While I completely acknowledge Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's greatness, (the new 50 greatest NBA players in history) hearing Billy Packer analyze a 21-year-old Jordan was priceless and unbiased.

The commentary is from the summer of 1984, and the game takes place in Phoenix, Ariz. The 1984 USA Olympic team was made up of MJ, Vern Fleming, Patrick Ewing and others. The team of NBA All-Stars was even more impressive: Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Larry Nance and others played a very serious and hard fought contest against the young Olympic squad.

Seeing Jordan shine, and to some extent dominate, in this exhibition was very impressive. More than that, Packer's analysis and basketball prophetic words about Jordan were before the shoe contracts and before the icon status.

The media hype and the NBA hadn't blessed Jordan with G.O.A.T status. Packer was speaking with uninfluenced, pure basketball expertise.

He was acknowledging what we would all soon witness; Jordan was the greatest player that ever lived.