NBA Legends Reveal Why Michael Jordan is the GREATEST

What if we could send Michael Jordan back to playing basketball with you in your prime? Michael Jordan is one of those rare specimens that could have played at any particular time and is a gifted athlete who is using those gifts in basketball incredibly so. What was going on in that conversation? Well, I just went over to say hello to him and I was like everybody else, I meant all. He has been the liaison between something that's not so good and making it great for all the rest. So when I say the name Michael Jordan, what comes to mind? Michael Jordan. What else do I need to say? We was playing Chicago in Salt Lake. They switched and put John Stockton on it and he turned around and dunked on Stockton. So some guy got up and almost followed him down the sideline and said, Hey Jordan, pick on somebody your own size. Next time down the floor, he dunked on Mel Thurton. And went over and looked at the guy and said, was he big enough? Listen, Jordan was the greatest in my opinion. Is he the best to ever play the game? Oh yeah. All the shit you see on your poster, like he's doing it in real life. Like he came by me so fast, sometimes I was like, oh shit. Mike, I was terrified. You obviously got to play against Michael a lot on the court. What was it about him that made him so special? Determination, man, to win and be great. You could see it in him. I remember back when Mike was first year in pros. He's just a great guy, man. He got the attitude for it. Be a great guy. Determination and the pride to be great. That's one of the few guys that I would pay to watch play. Because he is so talented and so much fun to watch. And if they can get a couple more just good players with him, they'll be championship contenders. He'll laugh and smile with you, just like he did and shoot around with me. He'll smile, hug me. What's up, my boy? Yeah, yeah. He's trying to soften you up. He's going to kill you. Then he's going to smile and laugh with you after the game. See, Michael is like that. That's why you almost can't beat him. The only thing I can see that's a weakness to Michael Jordan is the fact that if he shows up and he just don't want to play and then only score 30 instead of 50. Michael Jordan is not only the best basketball player, but he's the most exciting basketball player to ever play. We only dream about doing things that he can do. Michael Jordan used to always say that you was his favorite player and you was the one he always looked to. When you used to see him play, did you see the similarities? You know, my particular style of play was really rooted in solid fundamental approach to playing the game. And with one exception, when handling the ball, you know, I always would look for daylight. You know, wherever there was daylight. And sometimes, you know, there'd only be a little bit of daylight like between two players and find a way to get the ball between there and your body through there. In the palm of the ball or, you know what I'm saying, the dunk style and stuff like that. Did you see the similarities, the scene that he's watching? You know, I would always see daylight. And maybe I could see daylight that a lot of other players couldn't see. And I see a lot of extraordinary players today, Jordan and Drexler and what have you. They see daylight where other players don't see that. And it was funny because I remember he came down and he dunked on like a whole team. And then I went down and dunked on his team. And I was looking at him, he was looking at me. And he was like, I could do it again, you know. I said, all right, well, I want to get one shot at it. You know, I made it. But it was fun. And, you know, we, those years when we overlap, we kind of caught him before he really hit his stride. You know, I mean, I always liked him. I always felt that he had a lot of respect. He had a lot of admiration. You know, he was going to carry the torch. And he certainly desired to do it. And he did a hell of a job. The legend of Michael Jordan just gets told every single day. You know, it's a Michael Jordan story being told by somebody on earth right now. He was the standard. He was what you strive to be as a basketball player. To, you know, have so many stories and just know what he brought to the game and know how much he changed the game and then to have him walk in and just, to see that in form, it's just like, it's captivating, you know. He's just a polarizing figure. He's built himself up to that point. It's like he's almost 60 years old and we still view him as the best player in basketball, you know. So, he went on a historic run that'll never be matched by anybody in the sport. But to see how he led by example every night, it was the same, you know. He dominated and that was simply, that's just simply the best leadership quality is to go out there and play a game as hard as you can. Play to win. And play at that elite level, you know. Just his skills for the game, his IQ for the game, and his athleticism, it all combined at once and made just a God-level player in my opinion. I really like Michael Jordan and he and I are friendly. This guy has done more spectacular things than any basketball player I've ever seen. I agree. I mean, that's, Jerry, that is saying a lot. I agree. He just stands apart from every player I've ever seen. That speaks volumes. What people don't realize is some of the stuff he could do. I don't think there's any flaw in this guy's game. He's the best defensive player in the league in my opinion. He's the best competitor in the league in my opinion. He's by far the best offensive player in my opinion. He's the best clutch player in the game. He's got the whole package and his skill level on top of that enormous physical package really sets him apart from the other players. He was the best defensive player in the league. Right. And his athleticism. He was in Carolina and they were running, I forget, 100 or 40-yard dives. He ran at some spectacular time. Wow. And one of the coaches said something to him differently and he said, oh, I can do better than that. He went out two-tenths of a second faster. Wow. I love MJ. That's my guy. How many times he been there? I know, I know. Six. Like, listen. I mean, everybody loves MJ. As a fan, as somebody who just loves creativity, competition. Especially in the way that you play the game, you can impact the game on both ends of the floor. I'm sure you always felt like there was time for you to flip a switch and get things back under control. One similarity, I guess there are many, but one that strikes me between you and Michael Jordan, Larry, is that you're ruthless on the court. You have that, and Michael does, too. Well, that's often nice, Bob, comparing me to Michael Jordan. Probably the greatest player in the game right now. I can tell you some things that happened in the games against us. One time I turned, I jumped, and he still went. His knees almost hit me in the chin. And that's when I realized that this guy's pretty special for his jumping ability, but cat quick. He closed down a pass lane as fast as anybody I've ever seen and just a phenomenal player. He was a great player, and I just tried to do the best I could against him. As soon as he came into the league, he started leading the league and scoring. So I knew he could do it, and James Worthy said, watch this guy. He's going to be something, and he was absolutely right. Are you better than Jordan? I'm not better than him, but I was at least as effective as he was. I wear the number because of Mike. I think I fell in love with the game because of Mike. When you're growing up you learn a lot. The way that he approached the game, the way that he led his troops when he went out on the court, and his never say die attitude, was something I always looked up to. For my name to come up in a discussion with the greatest basketball player of all time, it was like, wow. I did pretty much everything that MJ did when I was a kid. I shot fadeaways before I should have. I wore a leg sleeve on my leg and folded it down so you saw the red part. I wore black and red shoes with white socks. So you could see my undershorts underneath. But I did everything Mike did, man. I wanted to be Mike. So for my name to come up in any discussion with Michael Jordan, it's just a wow factor. I don't really have nothing to say.