Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest player of all time, yet some people still find ways to dismiss his impact on the game and legacy. The Chicago Bulls legend was responsible for taking the NBA to new heights, opening new doors for them, and making it one of the best brands in the world.
He didn’t have the best beginnings in the league, struggling to get things going with the Chicago Bulls, but Mike never gave up, tried, and tried until he beat his rivals and became the greatest player to ever exist. However, many people discredit Jordan for his early struggles, when he faced big teams as a young player.
It’s well known that he faced difficult times against the Boston Celtics (who he never defeated in the playoffs) and Detroit Pistons during the first part of his career, but he eventually overcame them and started his domination over the league. Yet, some of his rivals don’t think that was very impressive of him.
Isiah Thomas, Jordan’s long-time nemesis, recently sat down with Stephen A. Smith to discuss who the GOAT is and the differences between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Zeke stated reminded people that Jordan struggled in his early days, not beating Larry Bird and his Celtics or Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Lakers during the 80s.
“Michael Jordan never beat Larry Bird. You show Michael Jordan going between his legs one time to the highlight against Larry Bird and that was the game he got 63. They got swept. Not lost. They got swept. Michael Jordan in the 80s, he never won. And he never beat Larry Bird and he never beat Magic and Kareem. Truth be told, I beat Magic and Kareem and I beat Larry Bird’s Celtics. In the 90s, he beat Barkley, he beat Karl Malone, he beat Stockton, he beat Gary Payton, he beat Shawn Kemp. Those all the people that he beat. The way y’all are trying to tell the story is that, ‘he came through Boston, he came through L.A. No, he beat the Detroit Pistons at the end. And then he went on to having his career.”
Thomas then recalled that Jordan wasn’t as dominant as he was during the 90s, struggling to get past rivals, especially his Pistons, even when he was at the peak of his game.
“I remember the 80s, it was Philadelphia with Dr. J, Magic, Kareem, Bird. Michael Jordan, he was a non-factor in the 80s in terms of his basketball team. He was MVP, the best year that he had was he was the MVP of the league and the Defensive Player of the Year, I believe that was in 88’. We beat them four to one. I’m gonna say that again – four to one.”
Thomas does have a point with his claim, as Jordan never beat Larry Bird’s Celtics. On the other hand, he’s the only player to beat Larry, Magic and Jordan during their prime.
Mike was 0-6 in the postseason against Larry Legend and his incredible Celtics, losing two series against them. Jordan tried everything to get the best of the Greens, even dropping 63 in a single game to show he was the future of the league.
From 1988 through 1990, he faced Isiah three times in a row, losing the three series against him and the Detroit Pistons. MJ won 6 games, while Thomas got 12. Even though Stephen A. agreed with Thomas’ comments on Jordan, he explained that those bad moments are the ones that create legends, reminding Zeke that he also had a few of them.
It wasn’t until he had the right pieces around that Jordan could get past the Pistons and finally faced the Lakers in the playoffs (which happened in 1991), beating them to win their first NBA championship. This has happened to so many stars, including Thomas himself, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and more. Even though Jordan is the GOAT, he couldn’t do everything by himself.
Still, he showed what he could do without any help, and that put the league on notice for when the Bulls backed him with the right players to compete.
