Why is Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player in history?

“Who is the greatest?” is always a controversial topic in any field, including sports. However, controversies on this topic do not happen with basketball, when Michael Jordan is the name that receives the highest consensus.

In addition to the statistics and achievements in his illustrious career, what makes Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player in history lies in his enormous influence.

Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are great, but Jordan is the player most recognized for the GOAT title (Greatest Of All Time) from experts and legends. basketball to the most demanding audiences. In 2019, ESPN organized a GOAT voting round with participants being players playing in the NBA and Jordan won convincingly with 73% of the votes.

Ordan showed rare athletic qualities as a high school student by excelling in all three sports: basketball, baseball and football. However, basketball is still his most favorite sport. Jordan was a star on the Emsley A. Laney High School basketball team, averaging 25.8 points in 43 games.

Natural talent helped Jordan receive many basketball and baseball scholarships from top universities in the United States at the same time. He finally decided to attend the University of North Carolina to pursue his basketball dream.

Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to dominate the NBA with 6 championships in the 90s.

Jordan averaged 17.7 points, 54% shooting efficiency and 5.0 rebounds in 101 matches in NCAA Division I (America’s highest-ranked student basketball tournament). He showed his star value in the 1982 NCAA Division 1 finals when he made the decisive throw that helped the University of North Carolina win the championship. Later, Jordan said that shot was a major turning point in his basketball career.

At the NBA Draft (the NBA’s annual selection of players from the college level) in 1984, Jordan was selected by the Chicago Bulls at No. 3. The decision to select Jordan opened a period of dominance for the Bulls throughout the 90s. .

Jordan’s statistics throughout his career are staggering. Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 82 games in his first year in the NBA. This is considered one of the best performances of all time by a rookie.

Jordan has averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 1072 career games. In addition, Jordan finished the season at the top of the scoring list 10 times. Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points and ranked 5th on the NBA All-Time Points list (list of NBA players with the most points of all time).

Under Jordan’s leadership, the Bulls won 6 NBA championships in the 90s. In addition, Jordan received the NBA Finals MVP title 6 times (Finals Most Valuable Player: best player in the final series).

In 2009, Jordan entered the Hall of Fame after his great contributions to basketball during his illustrious career.

Michael Jordan is the man who helped change and popularize basketball around the world.

Change basketball and the NBA

Jordan is known for his aggressiveness and strong desire to win in every match. This is what helped Jordan leave behind many historic matches in his career. The most famous is the “flu game”, the match where Jordan scored 38 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists to help the Bulls defeat the Utah Jazz.

Before entering the 5th final between the Bulls and Jazz, Jordan suffered from flu-like symptoms and was advised by doctors not to play. Ignoring all warnings, Jordan still played to help the Bulls win to take a 3-2 lead in the 1997 finals. This was a turning point that helped the Bulls continue to win the 6th match to take the championship. NBA championship season 1996/97.

Jordan’s playing style influenced many generations of players to come. According to Bleacher Report, Jordan changed basketball in a much more entertaining direction. Basketball matches now have many points scored, instead of being strict and heavy on defense like in the 90s and before.

Jordan’s unique playing style helps basketball receive more attention and become a popular sport in the world. The NBA also benefits from that by becoming one of the sports leagues with the most followers on the planet. The impact Jordan had on the NBA was greater than any other player in history.

Jordan Brand helps the value of Michael Jordan’s assets increase rapidly every year.

Definition of personal brand

Not satisfied with the success he achieved in basketball, Jordan also pioneered the use of his own brand to make money from advertising and business contracts.

The Jordan Brand brand is the clearest proof that Jordan takes advantage of its own brand to make money. To this day, the first pairs of Nike Air Jordans still have extremely high value on the market even though they were manufactured in the 80s. Jordan has long since retired, but still makes huge amounts of money from the brand. own mark.

In 1984, Nike cooperated with Jordan to establish Jordan Brand, a sports shoe and fashion brand. The 57-year-old legend is always actively consulting in Jordan Brand’s shoe and fashion designs. He also played an important role in recruiting sports stars for Jordan Brand.

According to Forbes, Jordan pockets $130 million per year from the Jordan Brand brand. Currently, Jordan owns assets of up to 2.1 billion USD. According to Business Insider, Jordan earned $34,246 per hour in 2019.

Michael Jordan’s popularity and strong personal brand further affirmed Michael Jordan’s position in basketball. Bill Russell is the most NBA champion with 11 times, Wilt Chamberlain once averaged more than 50 points in a season and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored the most points in NBA history, but Michael Jordan is the basketball player. greatest of all time.