The Best

Let's just call off the dogs and stop all the speculation once and for all. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time. Period. There isn't even a close second. Kobe is a nice player with many similarities to Michael, but he won't ever be able to surpass Jordan because he won his first three rings as Shaq's sidekick. Also, Michael never had as many hiccups as a leader as Kobe has. LeBron proved in this year's NBA Finals that while he might be more gifted athletically, he has nowhere near the level of mental fortitude that Michael possessed. There's no need for any more arguing on the subject. I am not trying to say that my opinion matters more than other people's and that it is the definitive one. On the contrary, I am stating fact.

I don't want to bore you with numbers, but consider these as the irrefutable evidence.

6 NBA Championships as the featured player on his team
6 NBA Finals MVP Awards
5 Regular Season MVP Awards
14 Time All Star
10 Time Scoring Champion

I could go on, but why should I? Those credentials are more than enough. Let's also not forget that Mr. Jordan took a couple of years off to play baseball, so those numbers could actually be inflated. He might have had 8 rings and 7 MVP awards if he hadn't spent time as an outfielder. With all the talk about LeBron and his legacy, I just wanted to bring this up because the comparisons need to stop. Nothing LeBron does will get him anywhere near this level and it isn't fair to compare him to the best that ever played the game. Number one, with a bullet- Number 23.