Michael Jordan is still widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, but he didn’t even land in the starting lineup in Trae Young’s all-time team. Young was asked to build it during a recent appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, and he made some interesting choices.
“I got to have Bean at two, Kobe at my two,” Young said.
When asked by co-host Gillie Da Kid, if he was really putting Bryant over Jordan, Young had quite a straightforward explanation for it.
“Yeah, that’s my Mike,” Young stated. “… Mike’s my sixth man.”
Gillie Da Kid and his co-host Wallo267 hilariously started grilling Young over making Jordan the sixth man. The three-time All-Star stated the Chicago Bulls icon would have gotten the start if he hadn’t put himself in there.
“If I wasn’t starting, I’d put Mike in my place,” Young said. “… So, I can’t put him at the three, ‘cuz that’s KD’s (Kevin Durant) spot. That’s Oklahoma City, that’s one of my idols. And then LeBron (James) at the four and then I’m putting (Shaquille O’Neal) at the five.”
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Young then deliberated for a while on who would join Jordan on the bench. The 25-year-old eventually went with Reggie Miller, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also added that he considers Duncan to be the sixth greatest player of all time.
So, Young’s all-time team has a starting lineup of himself, Bryant, Durant, James, and O’Neal, with Jordan, Miller, Duncan, and Abdul-Jabbar coming off the bench. I would say that’s a pretty impressive group.
Bryant, Durant, James, O’Neal, Jordan, Duncan, and Abdul-Jabbar all won multiple championships and at least one MVP. They’re some of the greatest players the league has ever seen. Miller, meanwhile, is arguably one of the five greatest shooters in NBA history and is a pretty solid selection.
Getting back to Young’s reason for picking Bryant as the starter over Jordan, it’s one that we hear quite often these days. Many of today’s players grew up watching Kobe and never got to see Michael at his best. Bryant was simply their Jordan.
From an objective standpoint, though, there isn’t much of a case for Kobe to get the nod over his idol. Bryant won five titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles in his career. Jordan, meanwhile, won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and a DPOY. Even if you put the championships aside, one resume is just a lot better than the other.
Trae Young Believes He’d Have Been The Greatest Ever If He Was 6’8″
Young looks set to go down as one of the finest guards of his generation but he believes he could have turned out to be even greater if he had been taller. Young feels he would be the best player ever if he was 6’8″.
“I used to hate when I used to see guys that are tall and that’s all. They just out there tall, and that’s all. If I was 6’8″, I feel like I would be the best player ever to play this game. Just because of my mentality, the way I play, and the smartness I have about this game, I feel like I can bring a lot to the game.”
I am not sure about the best player ever, but it certainly would have helped if Young, who has career averages of 25.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game, was taller. His being 6’1″ means there are some things that he just cannot do on the court, and it holds him back from being a truly dominant force.
Stephen Curry is really the only small player who has managed to dominate despite that disadvantage but even he isn’t in contention for that GOAT title. I think if Curry had been taller, he would have been part of that debate.
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