Bulls legend Michael Jordan is usually the first or second name mentioned when someone gives their all-time starting five of basketball. But for the reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, Jordan didn’t even make the cut.
“LeBron at the four, Steph at the one. Kobe, Kevin Durant, and I might go Bill Russell because it’s a different game now,” said Brown in a chat with House of Highlights.
Thoughts on Jaylen Brown’s All-Time Starting 5?? 👀🏀 https://t.co/ayK0cIAsOW
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) July 24, 2024
Overall, the lineup is pretty stacked and many fans expressed as much in the comments. Guys like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are the greatest shooters and scorers ever at their position and their time together on the Warriors led to unprecedented prosperity. No matter the matchup, those are two players who can score with ease and they have the ability to open up the floor with their three-point shooting.
LeBron James, of course, might be the greatest player of All-Time. As a 4x champion and 4x MVP, James’ resume is unmatched and Jaylen has seen for himself just how impactful LeBron can be when he’s got control of the game. Even now, at 39, LeBron continues to hold his place as one of the best and he deserves a place on any top-five list involving the game.
Kobe Bryant and Bill Russell would not be everyone’s first choice but they both bring qualities that cannot be overlooked. With their leadership, discipline, and relentless play on the court, Kobe and Russell can set the tone for any lineup and force opponents to go on the defensive.
But even with all of those players being some of the best in their position, Michael Jordan’s exclusion is shocking, to say the least. The 6x champion is considered the greatest player ever by countless individuals and Brown had paid his respects plenty of times before.
And while Brown and his co-star Jayson Tatum are often compared to Jordan and Scottie Pippen, they clearly aren’t as high on the duo as some of their peers in the league. In the case of Brown, he clearly isn’t too impressed with Michael Jordan and it’s shocking given all that he has accomplished on the court.
During the 90s, the Chicago Bulls were a dynasty in the East, and Michael Jordan was the man at the center of it all. Over his Bulls tenure, the iconic shooting guard averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on 50.5% shooting.
He and his co-star Scottie Pippen captured six championships for the Bulls, going 6-0 in the Finals to complete two separate three-peats. To this day, that Bulls team is widely considered to be the greatest player ever, and Michael is still seen as the face of the game itself.
For Brown, however, building a team in modern times means adapting to the modern form of the game. As good as Michael was, he thrived in a completely different era of the game and Brown preferred to add someone in that position who was better equipped to handle a perimeter-oriented game. It’s the same reason why he chose Bill Russell over Shaquille O’Neal, who often struggled to keep up with faster, smaller lineups.
Top five lists will always be subjective but they can give us a good understanding of how certain players think and interact with the game. For Brown, it’s clear that he has great respect for the winners and that he recognizes how much things have changed from before the three-point revolution. Whether he forgot Jordan or just simply prefers Kobe, Jaylen leaving him off the list is likely to cause some major debate among the NBA community.
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