MJ…The Best Ever

From Jordan, to Kobe, to LeBron, who really is the best? Jordan had the airiness, Kobe with the fade-away, and LeBron with leading the charge in the 3-1 lead comeback against the greatest regular season team of all time in the 73-9 Warriors. Personally think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time for countless reasons. 

First of all, he has 6 rings and he is undefeated in the NBA Finals (6-0). LeBron has 3, and Kobe has 5 rings. Lebron has been to the finals so many times, and he has won 3 times which is impressive but he also lost 5 times (3-5).

Jordan was able to win defensive player of the year. He was so dominant on offense, but he also was able to win that award showing he is a complete player on both ends. LeBron and Kobe have never won Defensive Player of the year. LeBron did finish twice as runner up for Defensive Player of the Year and Kobe made the NBA All Defensive Team 12 times which is the most for any guard to play the game.

(I still can’t believe Mamba is gone. It does not seem real. MJ thought of Mamba and referred to him as little brother in his tribute to him: https://bit.ly/2xxm7sE. RIP Kobe, Gianna, and all that were lost in the tragic accident).

Next, the numbers don’t lie. Michael Jordan won 5 MVPs, he had 10 scoring titles, 10 all NBA first teams, 9 all defensive first teams, and averaged 30.1 PPG throughout his whole career which is the most in NBA history. Lebron averages 27.1 PPG throughout his whole career so far, and Kobe averaged 25 PPG throughout his whole career.

Finally, Jordan is clutch and had so many huge shots when the game was on the line. MJ holds a 45% clutch shot percentage which is really amazing. One could argue that LeBron’s clutch percentage is slightly higher at 47%, however, I would still pick MJ….he is also a much better free throw shooter than LeBron (84% vs 74%).

To conclude, Bill Russell might have 11 rings and Wilt might’ve averaged 50 points back in his day but that was before my time and basketball was so different then with no 3 pt shot. I do believe Michael “Air” Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever because of his mentality, accolades, defensive skill, and offensive domination.

-This article was written by Tarun Singh, a 15 year old high school student who loves basketball and is the nephew of Girish Mirchandani.