Is Michael Jordan overrated?

[Wordup]

In my view I would say he is the best player in the 90's but I think he was overrated and one can easily say that guys like wilt chamberlain and magic johnson was just as good or better.

Even though Jordan played in more total games (due to playing a couple seasons more than Wilt Chamberlain and being in more playoff games) Wilt Chamberlain still holds the most individual records. For a big man he possesses alot of skills better than some guards. In his prime sometimes he was the quickest guy on the court, he also led the NBA in assists per game in one season, scored 50.0 points a game whereas Michael Jordan did not score 40.0 points a game but he was unable to win as much as Jordan because he did not have the supporting cast that Bill Russell had and the coaching staff like Red Auerbach.

Magic Johnson was more versatile than Michael Jordan. This is a guy who could play any position on the court. Magic resume is more impressive he won 5 rings and played in 9 championship appearances in only 11 seasons whereas Jordan won 6 rings in 13 seasons. Also for the most part Magic played against tougher teams from the east that it took jordan 7 years to get over. Also Magic Johnson played in a more physical era for most of his career. Whereas in the 1990's especially mid 1990's-late 1990's Jordan benefited from flagrant fouls being called more and more disciplinary actions so it was hard for opponents to rough him up the way they did Magic in the 80's and the way they did Jordan in the 80's.

[inclinerator]

yes

[KG5MVP]

have u watch MJ played? how old r u?

[ProfessorMurder]

Yes he's a little overrated, but he is the greatest.

All stars are overrated to some extent... Especially a certain player on the Lakers.

[poido123]

Here we go...

He gets what he deserves, he was the best so shouldn't he get the most adoration?

But seriously, we can come up with better threads than this, surely...

It's usually the new forum members who start these threads, so I guess it's understandable...

[madmax]

He only becomes overrated whem his stans proclaim gim consensus GOAT, which is the biggest BS of all times...other than that, he is probably a GOAT SG - not much to argue here.

[che guevara]

He only becomes overrated whem his stans proclaim gim consensus GOAT, which is the biggest BS of all times...other than that, he is probably a GOAT SG - not much to argue here.

Are you serious? He is the consensus GOAT player.

Consensus: majority of opinion: The consensus of the group was that they should meet twice a month.

I'm not an MJ "stan", by the way.

[Showtime]

have u watch MJ played? how old r u?

Coming from a kid who admits he never even watched KG in minny. Fail.

[Roundball_Rock]

Yes. What do you expect when he had the biggest marketing campaign in the history of certainly North American sports and perhaps the world behind him? Nike was a blip on the radar screen in 1984. It became a dominant company solely because of the massive marketing campaign it built around Jordan. There was also immense money spent by Hanes (to this day you see MJ doing Hanes ads), Gatorade (likeness still used in some Gatorade commercials), McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Rayovac batteries, Ballpark hot dogs, and on and on. Even right now Sirius radio is using him in an ad. There was a Spike Lee movie hyping Jordan. There was Space Jam. There were catchy jingles ("I wanna be like Mike"). Name one athlete who comes close to having this much $$$$ behind him. Maybe you can find a soccer player overseas but you won't find anyone in North America. Even in Formula 1, which has 350 million viewers for each race around the world, their equivalent to Jordan (Michael Schumacher) did not have such a big marketing machine behind him. Yeah, he had a lot of endorsements but nothing like Jordan. Jordan's marketing machine rivals that of a national presidential campaign--except over 20+ years, not for one year.

Jordan was a great player, perhaps the best ever, but the notion that he is the "clear GOAT" is ridiculous and a direct product of the massive marketing campaign Jordan benefited from. When is the last time you saw Kareem or Russell in a commercial? Magic is doing ads--selling furniture but that is about it. When you combine the money behind him--a lot of companies had a vested interest in Jordan being viewed as great as possible--the exposure that money gave him and the fact that he played more recently than Kareem, Magic, Bird, Russell, and Wilt it isn't surprising most people today have him as the "clear GOAT." It always amazes me how Kareem and Wilt are #2 or #3 on 90% of lists yet rarely get to #1. What makes Jordan indisputably better than them? What is the big difference between having him #1 and Kareem (who had very little marketing behind him...) #2?

Consensus: majority of opinion:

What do you expect? Suppose there is primary election for governor.

Candidate A: Spends $50 million
Candidate B: Spends $10 million
Candidate C: Spends $2 million

Who do you think is going to win? That is just the financial aspect. Name recognition matters. People wear, or used to wear, Jordan shirts even in remote African and Asian villages. How many people know Wilt, Kareem, or Russell in America let alone remote parts of foreign countries where basketball is not huge? Even if they do know who Wilt was how well do they know him compared to how well they know Jordan? Name recognition matters in the formation of opinions. Why do you think Hillary was ahead by 20 points in practically every state in the spring and summer of 2007? Jordan is all some people know and he is the only "GOAT candidate" level player, other than Shaq, that most people know well so what do you expect them to say when they are asked who the GOAT is?

[triangleoffense]

Hey did you know that in basketball there is a thing called a position?

Michael played the SG position
Magic played the PG position
Wilt, coincidentally, played the C position!

Name me one SG that is better than Michael at that position and you win a prize!

Coming from a kid who admits he never even watched KG in minny. Fail.

That's really sad. Never taking said poster seriously again. Oh wait, I never did to begin with.

[sipitri]

Overrated? Yes
Goat? Yes

[SAKOTXA]

Coming from a kid who admits he never even watched KG in minny. Fail.

You beat me to it...

[elementally morale]

He sure is.

He has a good case for GOAT but not any better than Kareem or Russell. He has a good case for best prime, but not any better than Wilt or Bird. He also had very good teammates, who often don't get enough credtit, and he even had some luck.

That having been said, he is arguably the best player ever. But when people say he is the clear cut GOAT and noone else comes close... they are overrating him.

It's not more than a habit though, and it will go out of style in a few years. His story sold well for 15 years, but it's time for a change of perceptions. And reality is... perception.

[DuMa]

yes but if any player deserves to be overrated. its MJ. His life story is often retold time and time again and it always inspires greatness.

[cotdt]

Shaq and KAJ were more dominant than Jordan in their primes. Wilt might have been even more dominant, but I was not born yet when he dominated so I don't know. Jordan probably the GOAT wing player, though both Kobe and Lebron have many years left.