Isiah Thomas put out a little list this week where he asserts Michael Jordan was No. 4 on his list of all-time NBA greats. Isiah was a great player with two rings and a college national championship at Indiana, but I don’t put much stock in his little list this week.
Michael Jordan was easily the greatest player of all-time and his game would easily transcend to the present because of his ungodly athleticism coupled with his equally awesome will to win.
That will to win with Michael puts him in rarified air. In fact, on my list it is what pushed Michael past both Kareem and Bill Russell.
Michael won six NBA rings and was 6-0 in NBA Finals play. Bill Russell won nine NBA championships in eleven seasons of play. Kareem won a title with the Bucks then went on to do his iconic thing with the Lakers.
These are the top three players on my Pantheon of all-time…. 1 Michael, 2 Bill Russell, 3 Kareem, 4 LeBron, 5 Kobe, 6 Magic, 7 Bird, 8 Hakeem, 9 Timmy, 10 Dr. J, 11 D Wade, 12 Shaq, 13 Dirk, 14 Kawhi, and 15 Isiah
One of the things I genuinely wanted to see this season was the eventual clash of Lebron vs. Kawhi in the Western Conference Finals. I wanted to see if Kawhi could move up on my list.
Next season I want to see where Kevin Durant’s game is in the East after the rehab from the Achilles injury. Klay Thompson is my favorite player in the game currently—same thing with him. I want to see if his defense will remain top notch after the ACL injury. Same thing with little Steph…can his body stay intact after this season of rest?
Westbrook and Harden? Can they learn how to bring their usage down and become championship players? I was seriously interested in watching the Rockets in post season this spring.
But maybe we’ll still get a tournament albeit without fans in the arenas. I’m still hopeful of a post season.
But for right now…it’s living in the past with Michael Jordan—the greatest ever.
The Last Dance resumes tonight with parts 5 & 6.