Isiah Thomas disputes Michael Jordan's GOAT status, says LeBron and Kevin would've dominated on 80s

[Remote]

Ok and when mike was old and still putting up great #s

The point isn't that Michael was not great.

The point is that this idea that while Michael was great, there were always a handful of players who were not far behind.

Granted, perhaps they were not as flashy and exciting or even as athletic as Michael. But when people make these wild accusations that nobody was as good (or effective, if that's a better word), that's a stretch.

Again this board has this habit of hyperbole.

 

[Jesus Is Lord]

But brehs..he played In the NBA.....we have no business questioning his opinion since was a pro

When it comes to Mike, just like everything else, it’s subjective.

 

[Ben.]

Wait so now we take into account bias and context of NBA Players opinions? The Coli DOT com

 

[Rekkapryde]

Lebron, KD, Giannis, Kawhi, Paul George, Butler, etc being allowed to "hand check" on defense

"Illegal defense" rules forcing teams to play Harden single coverage/no zones


PJ Tucker and Pat Bev knowing they could foul the shyt outta you


CP3 knowing he can still flop like a fish just like Danny Ainge and Laimbeer

Pat Bev on the Pistons... .

nikka would be super ignorant.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Football players were wearing big ass pads and primitive ass helmets, running into each other at fullspeec, playing against the best at that time.
MJ is the GOAT for what he accomplished and how he accomplished it.. retiring TWICE, playing against legendary teams, coaches, and players ALL the way to the finals... in the literal golden era of the NBA. nikka changed the culture on and off the court.

holdup now. Knicks, Pacers, Jazz weren't some legendary teams.

no problem with Mike being considered the GOAT but the legendary teams when he played where the Celts, Lakers, and Pistons. Teams that won titles. And he wasn't runnin thru them. He dominated his era in the 90s though no doubt.

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

Yup. MJ did his thing in his era and sold a lot of shoes, but obviously if the 80s era Lakers/Celtics shared the same decade as the 90s Bulls, the ring count for MJ likely becomes less (same for Magic/Bird)... because it's not a 1 on 1 contest.

On the flipside, you bring prime Lebron and prime KD to the 80s or 90s, and the spectacle of MJ is now split 3 ways bc a 7 foot nygga who can dribble like Isiah, shoot like Bird, glide like Clyde is going to turn heads, and so is a 6'8 superior version of Len Bias.

Any of those scenario would be a win for actually bball fans, to see those matchups.

It's the mental toughness.Jordan just had a stronger will than Bron/KD.I love KD.I think he's definitely a top 2-3 scorer of all time,

but his proverbial shoulders are weak.Same for Bron.It was a different culture back then.You couldn't go out in free agency and

stack the deck like Bron & KD did to get their rings.Replace Bron with Magic on the '91 Lakers, Mike still wins.Replace KD with

with Clyde Drexler on the '92 Blazers, yeah...Putting my money on Mike.Replace Charles Barkley on the '93 Suns with either KD

or Bron...Mike still gone get em

 

[god shamgod]

Yup. MJ did his thing in his era and sold a lot of shoes, but obviously if the 80s era Lakers/Celtics shared the same decade as the 90s Bulls, the ring count for MJ likely becomes less (same for Magic/Bird)... because it's not a 1 on 1 contest.

On the flipside, you bring prime Lebron and prime KD to the 80s or 90s, and the spectacle of MJ is now split 3

But this isn’t what happened y’all stay with this if was a 5th non sense

Jordan did his thing in his era , and if he played in today’s game with the spacing weak ass touch fouls and no rim protection he’d still dominate.unless you think Robert Covington,Arizas or Otto porters of the nba will stop him

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

But this isn’t what happened y’all stay with this if was a 5th non sense

Jordan did his thing in his era , and if he played in today’s game with the spacing weak ass touch fouls and no rim protection he’d still dominate.unless you think Robert Covington,Arizas or Otto porters of the nba will stop him

I've seen a slow footed, watered down version of Kobe(Devin Booker) kill all those dudes

 

[Remote]

But this isn’t what happened y’all stay with this if was a 5th non sense

Jordan did his thing in his era , and if he played in today’s game with the spacing weak ass touch fouls and no rim protection he’d still dominate.unless you think Robert Covington,Arizas or Otto porters of the nba will stop him

They don't have to stop him.

Jordan in 2020 wouldnt be "shut down by Covington" or "dominating everyone"

He would still be elite. But the league has caught up some since 1987.

Why is this such an outrageous concept for some of you?

 

[god shamgod]

They don't have to stop him.

Jordan in 2020 wouldnt be "shut down by Covington" or "dominating everyone"

He would still be elite. But the league has caught up some since 1987.

Why is this such an outrageous concept for some of you?

Just like the league “caught up” in the 90’s compared to the 60’s l don’t see Oscar,wilt,Baylor,west etc being discredited as much as you contrarians try with Jordan

I don’t debate hypotheticals, Jordan won more mvps,championships & finals mvps than anybody in his era. Y’all can do that if lebron Durant played on the 90’s non sense it’s a waste cuz they didn’t

goes both ways btw , if Jordan played today none of these Uber athletes stopping him he’s still more skilled than anybody in today’s league

 

[NYC Rebel]

its about what you come up against

These nikkas are bigger/stronger/faster because of the nikkas before them that was all that without modern technology.. without having anybody pioneer that type of talent.

But people act like these cats weren’t big/strong/fast naturally... like Bo Jacksons just running around now..

Rookie Shaq in this era would dominate ANYBODY

There wasn’t many people jumping from the FT line before MJ. That was looked at as almost impossible. But since MJ did it, now you got monsters like Zion that can do that. But who did they get it from?

my thing is that era was about getting shyt the hard way. Them unathletic white boys was holding, fouling, fukking you up so you will be scared to bring your ass in the paint again. And there were strong/athletic freaks like Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Shawn Kemp, etc., patrolling too.. MJ was about all of that as a GUARD.

Jordan wasn’t scared though... he did the Kobe shyt and put on weight just to prepare for the physicality FIRST. He did it before Kobe... and imo, Kobe was the last real tough nikka/killa in the league. I like Russ, Kawhi, and Giannis because they show it at times.

But like I said, it was more of the mentality that made these dudes tougher to me. They were lifting old school weights... not rubber bands and bumper plates.

Football players were wearing big ass pads and primitive ass helmets, running into each other at fullspeec, playing against the best at that time.
MJ is the GOAT for what he accomplished and how he accomplished it.. retiring TWICE, playing against legendary teams, coaches, and players ALL the way to the finals... in the literal golden era of the NBA. nikka changed the culture on and off the court.

Lol at legendary teams in the 90s

 

[boskey]

Just posting facts. Not taking a side

 

[Remote]

Just like the league “caught up” in the 90’s compared to the 60’s l don’t see Oscar,wilt,Baylor,west etc being discredited as much as you contrarians try with Jordan

I don’t debate hypotheticals, Jordan won more mvps,championships & finals mvps than anybody in his era. Y’all can do that if lebron Durant played on the 90’s non sense it’s a waste cuz they didn’t

goes both ways btw , if Jordan played today none of these Uber athletes stopping him he’s still more skilled than anybody in today’s league

The 1960s players arent discredited. That's harsh.

People don't hold them in the same regard as Jordan and Magic precisely because they acknowledge the talent improved in those 20 years.

How many times do you guys sit here and bash Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain as having played against unathletic scrubs?

Constantly.

It isn't bashing or discrediting Jordan to say he was elite in his era but that things have moved forward in the 30 years since his prime.

We do this in every sport but only with Jordan does it seem to strike such a nerve.

 

[Houston911]

Lmao at 10-11 Jordan level athletes

hell no

 

[ISO]

Just posting facts. Not taking a side

It’s always funny reading old players quotes talking about the zone and expansion.

Rodman also said the Bulls would have went 50-0 in the ‘99 season.