IMO, what made 1994 so special was being the first championship. That only happens one time. Even though there were some special plays, the games themselves were ugly. When Maxwell hit the 3 with about 1:20 left in Game 7, that was a moment I will NEVER forget. That's when we all knew for sure what was about to happen. Don't laugh, but that shot had more impact on me than Mario's Kiss-of-Death. But 1995 is something even non-Rockets fans won't forget. Every series had some seriously dramatic stuff.
they believe this because of the NBA and Nike Marketing. Which is the best marketing of any major sports. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/btiiAK_tYrw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-M0xchXccxk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Those posters who aren't old enough to remember Jordan are the kids that say Kobe and Lebron are better, probably because most of the footage they see of Jordan was from the second 3 peat where he was already a lot older and dominated with skill and smarts rather than that athleticism kids love and they equal to greatness.
Us old folk remember MJ vividly because back in the day, the NBA wasn't all spread out on these networks, it was mainly on one network. 80s was CBS and 90s was NBC. And we got our dose of MJ every week. Nobody talks about when MJ's bulls lost to the Celtics/Pistons, except for that awesome game in Boston. The success of the NBA's marketing individual stars makes people believe that it's not a team sport and that it's just one dude who is a superhero. It took awhile for Jordan to achieve true greatness, but nobody wants to know that story.
Great point. It's really the media that is ruining team sports by marketing the individual and making everything so dramatic. You've got "reporters" like Woj writing Homerian epics about how every game is this internal struggle for LeBron to beast his demons and so forth. This leads to people thinking that players are ANGELS and DEMONS and that the players of yore were GODS. It's just a damn basketball game.
Everyone knows that story, its the story that lifted him to greatness when he overcame it along with his teammates on their way to total domination.
The story is that the Celtics dynasty came to an end, Bird's back gave in. The Pistons teams got old. Magic Johnson retired prematurely because of HIV. The story that people are trying to cover up like Watergate is that Jordan didn't play in 95 or wasn't 'ready'. besides that, probably one of the best ever. I liked how he was marketed as a nice guy, which we find out is not the case.
What people forget is that in the 80s, when MJ was putting up the best stats, people called him a ballhog who would never win anything, while guys like Magic and Larry were team players. But MJ had a crappy team and Magic & Larry had all-star teams. Then when MJ's team got better (MJ actually got a bit worse), he won a bunch of titles and suddenly he was the best ever. I am of the opinion that all of those guys were great (I actually rate Magic & Larry higher but I can see it either way) and it's stupid to judge them based on when they won. Now we have the same exact thing with LeBron. Anyone who think he's not going to win some titles in his lifetime is delusional, and anyone who thinks that makes him a better player is equally so.
Magic Johnson ranks MJ as #1 ever why do you still try to argue the fact, coming from the own guys mouth? BIRD over MJ just about made my rib break from laughter.
Maybe Magic thinks so, maybe he's being humble, it doesn't matter. Plenty of people thought Magic>MJ back when both were in their primes in the late 80s. When Jordan started winning against watered-down competition, they changed their mind. It doesn't really matter. It's not a FACT, it's an opinion. And you are too young to have seen Magic, Larry, or MJ in their primes so your opinion doesn't mean anything.
Magic played and was beat by the Bulls b4 he retired. The bulls destroyed them. If Magic didn't retire, you think they would have come back with a vengeance and ruined the Bulls 3 peat? I guess Magic and Bird who were the Basketball gods b4 they even arrived to the NBA were fooled by the media because they both agree Jordan was/is the GOAT.
You really can't go by what a player says. No one is going to say "I'm the best that ever played". We all have to make judgements based on what we saw. One thing I will admit is that MJ totally outclassed Magic in '91. Magic was a bit past his prime and MJ was at his very best, and Magic was being guarded by probably the best perimeter defender ever, but it's still a data point we can't ignore.
clippy clearly your opinion does not mean ****. find me 5 people on this board or in life that have bird and magic over MJ you are full of fail
how can you not go by what a player says, WHEN THE ****ING PLAYER THAT YOUR ARE SAYING IS BETTER SAYS HE IS NOT.
NBA Expansion happened in the early 90s and that diluted the talent pool. There were a bunch of good teams in the 80s but the main thing is that, for most of the era, there were a handful of "superteams". This meant that the Finals were almost always an epic matchup and it was nearly impossible to repeat.
I agree no one is going to say that about themselves(except Wilt's cocky arse). Even Jordan says he can't say that because he didn't get to watch Jerry West, Wilt, Big O, etc. It's not just them being humble though, there are countless people that are well respected in the basketball world/legends that say he is best of all time. Say anyone and everyone who is alive that has been involved with basketball had to vote on the greatest of all time, do you really believe anyone would get close to as many votes that Jordan would recieve.
