Michael Jordan is still widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, but former NBA player Brandon Jennings recently revealed he doesn’t have him in his top five. So, when Jennings appeared on Above The Rim with DH 12, he was asked to explain why Jordan isn’t on his list of the five greatest players of all time.
“I don’t have MJ in my top five because when I was seven to eight years old, that’s the last time he won a championship,” Jennings said. “I didn’t really understand basketball like that (at the time). So, I didn’t really start loving the game or started really knowing the game until I saw AI (Allen Iverson) and Kobe Bryant in the early 2000s and guys like that.
“So, that’s why he can’t be (in the list),” Jennings continued. “I respect him. I know I can go watch a highlight tape but what I saw and what I really felt and understood, it’s the Steph Curry’s, it’s the LeBron James, it’s the Kobe Bryant’s, Shaq’s (Shaquille O’Neal), and KD (Kevin Durant).”
Jennings added that if his son ever tells him that Jordan is his favorite player, he would call him out for lying, as he has never seen the Hall of Famer play. The 35-year-old firmly believes you have to experience someone in action to come to such a conclusion and not just base your opinion on what someone else has told you. I think that’s a fair way to look at it.
Jennings was born in 1989 and would barely remember many of Jordan’s best years in the NBA. What he does remember is watching the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal dominate in the league.
Jennings then got to play against those two and the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry when he entered the NBA in 2009. They ended up being the ones to make the biggest impression on him and hence are his five greatest players of all time.
Brandon Jennings Did Name Michael Jordan As One Of The Five Greatest Scorers Of All Time
Jennings had a good reason for not putting Jordan in his top five, but he doesn’t seem to use that reasoning all the time. Case in point, Jennings named Jordan one of the five greatest scorers in NBA history.
“Top five scorers ever to pick up a basketball? Let’s go Michael Jordan, let’s go Kobe (Bryant), I like Kevin Durant, I like Michael Beasley… scoring just (a) bucket, Kyrie Irving,” Jennings said.
Jennings leaving out LeBron here and including Michael Beasley is interesting, to say the least. That aside, I’d say a little bit more consistency is needed on his part. You either never put players you didn’t see playing on your lists or you always consider them.
If you’re part of the latter group, then Jordan is an obvious selection in a list of the five greatest players. He won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and a DPOY award in his storied career.
Jordan dominated the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s in a way that few others have in history. He led the Bulls to two three-peats, first from 1991 to 1993 and then from 1996 to 1998. We are unlikely to see someone else replicate that feat in the future.
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