While the likes of Bryant and James have come close to matching his legacy – and certainly the latter has continued to make an impressive argument for his own case for being the best in history – Jordan’s name and reputation still stand firm.
Given his place among the greats, Jordan having his say on who some of the other best basketball players of all-time are, is always bound to draw attention, and he did exactly that.
Ahead of the release of NBA 2K14, Jordan named his dream basketball pickup team, and he included some absolute legends of the game in it. Unsurprisingly, given he was still in the middle of his career, James wasn’t included in Jordan’s choices.
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan has never hesitated in naming the best point guard in NBA history, unequivocally declaring that Magic Johnson was the number one. And when you look at his achievements as a Los Angeles Laker, you can see why Jordan holds the 6 foot 9 guard in such high regard.
The on-court mastermind of the Showtime Lakers during the 1980s, Johnson would win five championships, and was named Finals MVP in three of those victories. Such was Magic’s greatness, that he even filled in at center for the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a remarkable show of versatility, skill and basketball IQ.
Magic would make the All-NBA First Team on nine occasions consecutively, and would lead the league in assists four times as well as being at the top of the table for steals at the end of the season twice.
Michael Jordan
Unsurprisingly, Jordan picked himself to be a part of his dream pickup team, and who can blame him? Many people’s GOAT of basketball, Jordan’s greatness in the 1990s is virtually unmatched, winning six championship rings and being named the league’s Most Valuable Player an astonishing five times across his career.
While Jordan as a scorer was relentless and one of the best in the clutch too, much of what made him even greater and even more important to the Bulls during their legendary reign as champions, was his defensive work. A Defensive Player of the Year, Jordan could lock down any guard and along with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, formed a formidable trio of high-intensity and high-IQ players.
Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen may have been the secondary act to Michael Jordan in Chicago, but that’s not to understate just how important he was to the team and actually how great of a player he was too, especially as one of the best defensive players in history. Given his size and skill, Pippen was a point forward who was ahead of his time in that sense, and was named to the NBA All-Star team seven times and to the All-Defensive First Team on eight occasions.
Pippen is actually also one of the only two NBA players in history who won an NBA title and Olympic Gold Medal in the same year, having done so twice in 1992 and then again in 1996. One of the greatest small forwards in NBA history, Pippen was also a key part of the 1992 US Olympic team known as the ‘Dream Team’ which beat teams by an average of 44 points during their triumph.
Indeed, speaking during the beginning of the 1997/1998 season when he had missed a few games, Jordan himself said:
He’s made unbelievable strides. There used to be inconsistency to his game that people criticized. But now, he’s alleviated the inconsistency. He’s got to be one of the best players in the game, if not the best. He’s learned how to challenge himself every night. When one phase of his game is not clicking, he’s contributed in other areas. That’s a sign of greatness.
James Worthy
Given just how dominant both Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were during the 1980s, James Worthy’s contributions to the Los Angeles Lakers often goes somewhat overlooked. But the man nicknamed as ‘Big Games James’ was one of the most clutch players to have ever played the game, winning three NBA titles and being named the NBA Finals MVP during their triumph in 1988.
Named to both the 50th and 75th anniversary teams, Worthy was selected with the first overall pick by the Lakers in 1982, and was named to the All-Star team seven years in a row from 1986-1992. His most prolific season as a Laker came when he averaged 21.4 points per game in the 1990/1991 campaign, but his rise in the playoffs, particularly in 1989 when he averaged 24.8 points per game, made him one for the big occasion.
Hakeem Olajuwon
It is a testament to Hakeem Olajuwon’s greatness that Jordan regards him as the center whom he feels is the missing piece to his dream NBA pickup, even over the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. The cornerstone of the Houston Rockets during the 1990s, Olajuwon was a two-way machine, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award and the MVP award in his career.
His role in helping the Rockets to back-to-back title successes only added to his legacy, including defeating an emerging O’Neal and Penny Hardaway combination with the Orlando Magic. Indeed, Jordan himself was unequivocal in his praise.
Olajuwon, he was in the top 10 in five categories, steals, rebounds, blocked shots, scoring, and shooting percentage. To have a big guy of his size to be in the top 10 in steals, you would assume that he would be in blocks, which to me showed versatility and what type of guy he really was.
