“I didn’t hear the comments. Let me tell you about what being great is. Ever hear of Elgin Baylor? Never mention his name, do we? Great basketball player. You know what you have today? Michael Jordan was a great player, but he won after Chicago got Pippen, Grant and those other players to go along with him, because for a while they couldn’t beat Detroit…

The media now has anointed Michael Jordan the greatest of all time. Is he greatest of all time? No, I don’t think he is.”

Oscar Robertson is on point. Jordan rose to popularity at a time when the media was becoming more ubiquitous in our lives. With the combination of Nike branding and mindless journalism, Jordan was anointed as the greatest. They completely ignore the fact that Stern changed NBA rules on hand checks to cater to Jordan. Detroit bad boys basketball could no longer exist and Jordan was freed up to dominate. Jordan is great but he’s not the greatest.

Robertson and his contemporaries are dinosaurs compared to Jordan era players. They will only get name dropped occasionally but will never get the respect they deserve.

The ridiculous comparison should die now. Jordan has never averaged less than 29 points in the playoffs. LeBron has played in 8 Finals games, and he never scored 30 points or more in any of them. There’s no comparison. The funniest part is LeBron’s so athletic no one on Dallas should be able to stop him one on one. He’s still a streaky shooter but he should average 30 points easily.

Part 2

Part 3

2) Vince Carter’s great showcase in 2000 – 4 total dunks.

Final Round 2000. Elbow Dunk

3) Dwight Howard’s Superman Dunk 2008

4) Jason Richardson’s off the backboard & between the legs dunk in 2004

5) Dominique Wilkin’s Off the Board Tomahawk Dunk 1988 – Classic battle vs. Michael Jordan

6) Nate Robinson’s Kryptonite Dunk over 6’11 Dwight Howard

7) Isaiah ‘J.R.’ Rider’s Between the Legs Dunk, 1994

8) Spud Webb 5’7 – tops Dominique Wilkins in 1986

9) Dee Brown, 1991 – No look dunk

10) Gerald Green’s Cupcake Slam in 2007

With this mix I tried to do a figurative assassination of Michael Jordan. Most people will probably interpret the MJ plays followed by the Kobe ones as a comparison and it is, but at the same time it is also showing Kobe erasing or eclipsing MJ. When you think of the greatest today, you think of Kobe Bryant, he’s clutch, he scores at will, he makes impossible shots and is just breathtaking on the court. He’s the MJ for a new generation.
I did the mix to The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. It is a fantastic film, and I encourage anyone who enjoys the mix to go out and see the movie.

on 2nd thought, I guess it’s not THAT rare if it’s on Youtube.