STILL THE KING

Enough already.

Enough about who will be the next “Michael Jordan” because there simply won’t be one.

Call me spoiled, but after watching the best basketball player of all-time, it’s hard to get excited about any young superstar that the NBA forces its fans to watch these days.

Albeit, the NBA has done a fantastic job of hyping so many players as “next,” they’ve been able to keep league-wide attendance high while marketing an entirely new stable of horses.

By creating many new stars for NBA fans to latch onto, the loss of “Air Jordan” hasn’t been nearly as bad as originally thought. But the truth needs to be told sooner or later, and the bottom line is that not a single player in today’s NBA is as good as Michael Jordan.

Every NBA fan, even the casual NBA fan, knows that Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game (ppg) after his second retirement in 1998. That average dipped to 30.1 ppg after to sub-par seasons with the Washington Wizards, but is still a NBA record.

It’s the statistics Jordan compiled in other areas of the game that put him in a completely different universe than today’s NBA stars.

As a rookie, Jordan averaged a mere 28.2 points per game to go along with 6.5 rebounds per game (rpg) and 5.9 assists per game (apg). Two years later, he averaged—averaged—37.1 ppg. Are you kidding me? The leading scorer in the NBA usually struggles to average 30.

For those who think Jordan was nothing more than a ball hog, think again. Jordan averaged 5.3 assists per game throughout his career to go along with his 6.2 rebounds every night. Scottie Pippen aside, there is a reason that teams consisting of Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley, Bobby Hansen, Bill Wennington, Jud Buchler, Dickey Simpkins and Craig Hodges tasted such success.

The laundry list of names you’ve never heard of is much longer and there’s a reason none of the players tasted such success wearing anything other than a Chicago Bulls uniform. Horace Grant came close with the mid-90’s Orlando Magic and finally won another championship with the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers, but didn’t play a major role. Steve Kerr also received another championship ring with the 1999 San Antonio Spurs while averaging just over eight minutes a game.

What truly set Jordan apart from the frauds around the league right now were his defensive attributes. As a 6-foot-6-inch guard, he averaged .83 blocks per game in his career as well as 2.35 steals each game. Jordan was named to nine all-defensive first teams and was the 1988 defensive player of the year when he averaged 3.16 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
The usual suspects that the public was told would make them forget about Jordan began with Kobe Bryant and currently rest with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Bryant has had a fine career and is arguably the closest to reaching Jordan’s level. He is already halfway to Jordan in terms of championships with three. Yet, Bryant had a little help in his championship runs in the form of Shaquille O’Neal. Centers are the most dominant forces in basketball and O’Neal might be the most dominating of them all. Bryant was merely a sidekick. In addition, Bryant has only had one season averaging 30 points a game, which was 2002-03 when he averaged exactly 30. Jordan had eight such seasons.

Where Bryant loses in the battle with Jordan is in the playoffs. During crunch time, when all athletes need to perform at their best, Bryant’s career averages remain remarkably similar to his regular season numbers. Meanwhile, Jordan’s statistics increased across the board to 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

Bryant’s real test has just begun as he is trying to run the Lakers with the same system head coach Phil Jackson used with the Bulls. Bryant is scoring more (34.2 ppg) but dishing out fewer assists. Meanwhile, his team is limping along at 5-7 and will most likely miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

LeBron James came into the NBA as arguably the most hyped player in history and there is no doubting his talents. He had a terrific rookie season, though not as good as Jordan’s, averaging 20.9 points per game. James is slightly better in the rebounding and assist categories but it hasn’t paid off for the Cleveland Cavaliers just yet. In his third NBA season, James has yet to play beyond the 82-game mark. What’s even more staggering is that in a league lacking true centers, James has a legit man in the middle with 7-foot-3-inch Zydrunas Ilgauskas and still can’t find his way into the playoffs amidst a weak eastern conference. Comparison to Jordan can’t even legitimately begin until James leads his team deep into the postseason. When he does and when he earns his first championship ring then bring the debate to the table.

The player that reminds me the most of Jordan in today’s NBA world is ironically the player that doesn’t want the comparisons. Dwyane Wade is a proven leader with the talent to hit a midrange jumper and take the ball to the hole. He explodes at the basket like a young Jordan and has even shown glimpses of coming through in the clutch the way Jordan used to.

But Wade is also a smart basketball player; he grew up in Chicago and watched Jordan play during his entire childhood. He knows that nobody will ever be Jordan and he doesn’t want the added pressure. He simply wants to be D-Wade.

It’s unfair to ask anybody to be something they’re not and the fact of the matter is that nobody is Michael Jordan. Nobody will ever be Michael Jordan and that’s the bottom line.

If the NBA were smart, they’d run a weeklong special before the season begins each year. Like Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” it would be simply called “His Airness: a tribute to the best basketball player ever.” They could replay some of his best games; show highlight reels and documentaries about Jordan’s remarkable career.

Something must be done to inform the new generation of the player for all generations. But it’ll never happen, that would be essentially the same thing as sitting down Bryant, James, Wade and any other superstar that has drawn comparisons to Jordan and telling them, “You aren’t that good.”

Now, that’s the truth.

For complete statistics on Michael Jordan's career, visit http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_stats.html