Michael Jordan is still widely considered the greatest player of all time. While many accept LeBron James‘ case for GOAT as well, most basketball purists stick with Jordan because of how he dominated his era single-handedly compared to LeBron’s four championships over 24 seasons.
Most players from the 1980s and 1990s who played alongside Jordan readily admit that he’s the greatest player of all time, including his former college teammate Kenny Smith. Smith and Jordan played together in 1983 with the UNC Tar Heels, with Smith joining the NBA on the Sacramento Kings with the seventh pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, three years after the Chicago Bulls selected Jordan at No. 3.
Even though Smith competed against Jordan for years, he recently appeared on The Pivot Podcast and explained why Jordan is the GOAT in his eyes. He highlighted how Jordan’s work ethic helped him turn his weaknesses into strengths, while reflecting on how much he enjoyed having a personality like Jordan’s in the locker room.
“Michael is, if you look at him from day one to day last, and this is what makes him the greatest player in the world. He’s the only player who came into the league where his weaknesses were his strengths by the time he left. Most guys come in with strengths they get better at. His ball handling was good, but then it became great. His shot was inconsistent, and then it became indefensible. He’s the only player in the world I look at like that. His post-game, there were no flaws. I didn’t know he’d become that guy. I knew he was a hard worker.”
“We used to have a thing where we had so many pros at that time in the league, so the pros would be on one end and the college guys would be on the other, and we’d play against the pros. The first game would always be college vs. pros. We’re playing, and we win. I’m going to get water, and I turn around, Michael is in the middle of the court with his hands on his shorts. I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m letting these mother—– know that I’m never leaving this court.'”
Smith openly admitted that he loved being around Jordan so much that he was actively resentful of the opportunity Scottie Pippen received as his teammate for six years after the pair got together.
“That’s why I love being around him. I’m a shit-talker. But he did it, and he had some things to do with it. I just enjoyed being in that environment. When people saw the last dance and were like, ‘Oh, he’s hard,’ I was like, ‘That’s what I loved about him!’ I love the fact that it was all day. All day we’re going back and forth. I love that part. That’s the way I grew up. That’s the way the coaches talked to me. For my first six years in the league, I was so jealous of Scottie Pippen.”
Smith averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists over his 10 seasons from 1987 to 1997, winning two championships with the Houston Rockets. He never beat Jordan for the title, as Jordan retired in 1994 and got eliminated by the Orlando Magic in 1995.
Scottie Pippen averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists over his 13-year tenure on the Bulls, so the franchise was definitely better off with Pippen instead of Smith next to Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals over his career, establishing himself as the greatest of all time when he retired. His six NBA Championships, six Finals MVPs, 10 scoring titles, five regular-season MVPs, and one Defensive Player of the Year award prove that. The weaknesses Smith referred to as his ball-handling and inefficiency, stopped being a problem within a few seasons of Jordan entering the NBA.
Smith had a glittering NBA career himself as well, but he lived through the Jordan era and will always show deference to the man who dominated the NBA for almost his entire professional career.
