Nobody talks about Michael Jordan: He lost three times in the 1st round, he lost twice in the 2nd round, twice in the Conference Finals. That matters. It almost seems like all Jordan did was play in NBA Finals. No he did not. He played 15 years in the NBA.

Shannon Sharpe

The NBA GOAT Debate is, in my opinion, the greatest debate in sports. Who is the greatest basketball player of all time? Two names dominate the discussion: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Before LeBron came into the league, Michael Jordan was widely regarded as the GOAT. 6-0 Finals record, 6 Finals MVPs, 5 MVPs, 10 Scoring Titles. There wasn’t really a debate. I mean, one of his nicknames on Basketball Reference is literally “G.O.A.T.”

But ever since LeBron came on the scene, there has been a legitimate case for him taking MJ’s crown as the GOAT.

The GOAT Debate has caused LeBron’s entire career to be put under the microscope. Most people who grew up watching MJ have a hard time admitting anyone else can be better than him, and as a result, they try to find holes in LeBron’s career wherever possible to prove he’s beneath Jordan. This has caused him to be scrutinized more than anyone in the history of the NBA. All of his failures have been magnified and used as ammunition to diminish his legacy.

At the same time, all of MJ’s career blunders have been swept under the rug. People just see the 6-0 Finals record and think that he had a flawless career. If we want to have a fair and accurate debate, we need to bring MJ’s flaws to the forefront just as LeBron’s have been.

Let’s look at 10 things MJ stans don’t want you to remember:

10. Steve Kerr hit the game-winner to clinch the Bulls’ 1997 title

In the final seconds of Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals, with the score tied at 86, Steve Kerr hit the game-winning jump shot to give the Chicago Bulls the title over the Utah Jazz.

Haven’t heard of this? Strange right. It almost seems like the media doesn’t want you to know that MJ wasn’t the hero for once in his career.

The only reason I bring this up is to point out the hypocrisy of MJ stans. For one, MJ stans like to point out how Ray Allen and Kyrie Irving’s big NBA Finals shots saved LeBron’s career, but they completely disregard Kerr’s game-winner. Also, this is also an example of Michael Jordan passing up the last shot – something MJ stans like to knock LeBron for doing. 

If Kerr never makes this shot, this series could have gone to Game 7. And who knows if Jordan’s 6-0 Finals record would stand.

9. Gary Payton was injured in the 1996 NBA Finals. When they finally decided to put him on MJ, he shut him down

The Bulls were HUGE favorites over the Seattle Supersonics in the 1996 NBA Finals (CHI -950). Why? Well, Hall of Famer Gary Payton was injured. 

Gary “The Glove” Payton was known as one of the best guard defenders ever, but given his injury, Seattle coach George Karl wouldn’t let him cover MJ in the first 3 games of the series. The Bulls went 3-0 in those games. On the brink of elimination, Seattle had nothing to lose and Karl threw the injured Payton on Jordan.

What happened? He shut Michael Jordan down, and the Supersonics won 2 straight games before losing a close one in Game 6, as Michael Jordan put up weak numbers:

Game 4: 23 points on 6-of-19 shooting (32% FG) Game 5: 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting (50% FG) – best game Game 6: 22 points on 5-of-19 shooting (26% FG) – outscored by Detlef Schrempf

Summary of Jordan’s numbers:

First three games: 31 points, 46 FG%, 50 3PT%, 12.3 FTA. Record: 3-0

Last three games covered by Payton: 23.7 points, 36.7 FG%, 11.1 3PT% 10 FTA. Record: 1-2

It’s clear that if Gary Payton had never been injured and covered Jordan all series, the Chicago Bulls could have easily lost the 1996 NBA Finals.

8. John Paxson came up clutch in the final minutes of the 1991 NBA Finals

The Player of the Game in the close-out game of 1991 NBA Finals was not Michael Jordan. It was teammate John Paxson.

Player of the Game: John Paxson (Game 5, 1991 NBA Finals)

In Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals, the Bulls and Lakers were in a tight game in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. It wasn’t Jordan who came up clutch in the final minutes. It was John Paxson. 

With the Bulls holding a 2 point lead in the final minute of the 4th, John Paxson hit a clutch jump shot to ice the game for the Bulls and give Jordan and the Bulls the first title in 1991. Paxson was clutch the entire time down the stretch – he scored 10 points of the Bulls 12 points in the final 4 minutes of the game.  Paxson, not Jordan, was awarded the Player of the Game.

7. John Paxson’s game-winner in Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals

Again, another example of Jordan’s teammate making a crucial shot in the clutch. And this time it’s John Paxson…again. Except this shot was much bigger than what he did in the 1991 NBA Finals.

The Chicago Bulls trailed 98-96 in the final seconds of Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. With 3.9 seconds on the clock, John Paxson hit the game-winning 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 99-98 victory and the title over the Phoenix Suns.

If Paxson never hits that shot, the Bulls would have gone to a Game 7 on the road in Phoenix. Again, who knows if Jordan’s 6-0 Finals record would stand.

6. Jordan lost in the first round of the playoff 3 times in his career. 2 of these times he got swept.

One of the biggest things Michael Jordan stans don’t want you to remember about MJ’s career is that he was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in three straight seasons from 1985 through 1987. In two of these series, his team got swept.

1985 vs. Milwaukee Bucks (Bulls lose 3-1) 1986 vs. Boston Celtics (Bulls lose 3-0) – sweep 1987 vs. Boston Celtics (Bulls lose 3-0) – sweep

On the other hand, LeBron James has never lost in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, there was a span from 2012-2018 where he hadn’t lost a game in the first round — his ridiculous streak of 21-straight first round playoff victories was snapped in 2018 against Indiana.

Now, I’m not going to be ignorant and say that MJ didn’t lose to good teams. That Boston Celtics team was one of the greatest teams of all time. The only reason I bring this up is because MJ stans like to point to LeBron’s Finals losses, including getting swept twice in 2007 and 2018, as the main reasons why he’ll never be the GOAT. How could they use this as an argument while ignoring the fact that MJ lost in the first round of the playoffs three times, getting swept twice? Is it really worse to lose in the Finals than the first round? No chance. I’d rather win 3 playoff series than win none.

5. Scottie Pippen had more assists, rebounds, steals and blocks than MJ in the Bull’s 6 Finals runs

No one disrespects Scottie Pippen more than MJ stans. When people talk about the Bulls 6 championships, it seems like all of the credit goes to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is 6-0 in the Finals. I’ve even heard people say Michael Jordan didn’t have help. This is absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful to an all-time great in Scottie Pippen. Scottie Pippen is a first ballot Hall of Famer — a 7x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 10x NBA All-Defensive, and the 1995 NBA Steals Leader.  

You could make the case that Pippen had just as big of an impact on the Bulls 6 titles as MJ. In the Bulls’ 6 Finals runs, Scottie Pippen had more assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks than MJ in the playoffs in the same number of games played (playoff totals). MJ didn’t have to worry about much other than scoring. 

On the contrary, LeBron James does everything for his team. He’s never played a season not leading his team in points and assists, an NBA record 16 straight seasons. He even led both teams in points, rebounds and assists in two NBA Finals series — no other player in the history of the NBA has done this even once. In the 2016 NBA Finals, LeBron became the first player in NBA history to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a playoff series of any length. LeBron does much more for his teams than MJ did for his.

4. The Bulls only won 2 less games when MJ retired, and were a blown call away from the ECF

When one of the greatest players of all time leaves a team, you would generally expect to see a big drop-off. That was not the case with the Chicago Bulls after Jordan’s first retirement. The season MJ retired, Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to a 55-27 record — only two less wins that they had the previous year with MJ. They were a blown call away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals after they took the New York Knicks to Game 7 in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

Given that there wasn’t a drastic drop-off with Jordan leaving, this shows how good that Bulls team was outside of MJ. That season Scottie Pippen came in 3rd in the MVP race, was an All-Star, All-Star Game MVP, 1st Team All-NBA, and 1st Team All-Defensive. Horace Grant averaged 15 and 11, was an All-Star and made the NBA All-Defensive team. BJ Armstrong averaged 15. Toni Kukoc averaged 11 off the bench. 

The Bulls also showed how good of a defensive team they were even without MJ, as they allowed the 3rd lowest ppg in the league that season. 

But arguably the biggest thing that this shows is that Phil Jackson played a huge role in the Bulls success. Phil Jackson is one of the greatest NBA coaches in history and yet MJ stans completely underestimate his impact on the Bulls success. The fact that the Bulls were able to make it so far without MJ shows just how effective Jackson’s offensive system was. 

It’s clear that the Chicago Bulls success was not strictly due to MJ. They were title competitors without him. Bottom line, the Chicago Bulls 6-0 Finals record should not solely be credited to MJ.

3. Michael Jordan has a losing record in elimination games

Clutch moments are not strictly defined by game-winning shots. It matters how you perform when your season’s on the line — the entire game. MJ faced elimination 13 times in his career, and he has a losing record in these games (6-7).

When you have the lead in a series, it’s much easier to perform. There’s inherently less pressure. On the other hand, when your season’s on the line, the pressure is mounted and the stakes are higher.

MJ’s Elimination Games:

Game 3, 1985 Round 1 vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Win Game 4, 1985 Round 1 vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Loss Game 3, 1986 Round 1 vs. Boston Celtics: Loss Game 3, 1987 Round 1 vs. Boston Celtics: Loss Game 5, 1988 Round 1 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Win Game 5, 1988 ECS vs. Detroit Pistons: Loss Game 5, 1989 Round 1 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Win Game 6, 1989 ECF vs. Detroit Pistons: Loss Game 6, 1990 ECF vs. Detroit Pistons: Win Game 7, 1990 ECF vs. Detroit Pistons: Loss Game 7, 1992 ECS vs. New York Knicks: Win Game 6, 1995 ECS vs. Orlando Magic: Loss Game 7, 1998 ECF vs. Indiana Pacers: Win Record: 6-7 (0.462)

LeBron’s Elimination Games:

Game 7, 2006 ECS vs. Detroit Pistons: Loss Game 4, 2007 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs: Loss Game 6, 2008 ECS vs. Boston Celtics: Win Game 7, 2008 ECS vs. Boston Celtics: Loss Game 5, 2009 ECF vs. Orlando Magic: Win Game 6, 2009 ECF vs. Orlando Magic: Loss Game 6, 2010 ECS vs. Boston Celtics: Loss Game 6, 2011 NBA Finals vs. Dallas Mavericks: Loss Game 6, 2012 ECF vs. Boston Celtics: Win Game 7, 2012 ECF vs. Boston Celtics: Win Game 7, 2013 ECF vs. Indiana Pacers: Win Game 6, 2013 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs: Win Game 7, 2013 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs: Win Game 5, 2014 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs: Loss Game 6, 2015 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Loss Game 5, 2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Win Game 6, 2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Win Game 7, 2016 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Win Game 4, 2017 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Win Game 5, 2017 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Loss Game 7, 2018 Round 1 vs. Indiana Pacers: Win Game 6, 2018 ECF vs. Boston Celtics: Win Game 7, 2018 ECF vs. Boston Celtics: Win Game 4, 2018 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Warriors: Loss Record: 14-10 (0.583)

Even more mind-blowing is that since his 2011 NBA Finals meltdown, LeBron has faced elimination 16 times…he is 12-4 in those games (0.750)

2. MJ only faced 9 Hall of Famers in his 6 NBA Finals appearances, while LeBron faced 26+

People will try to say that MJ had less help in his NBA Finals appearances, but they are completely ignoring the quality of competition. The Bulls were favored in every single one of their 6 NBA Finals appearances. They were favored in every playoff series leading up to their 6 NBA Finals appearances. MJ stans will say it was because of MJ, which is partially true. But everyone knows that one player cannot win an NBA championship. The Bulls always had the better team, which is partially due to weaker competition.

There were no super teams in MJ’s NBA. The closest thing was the Chicago Bulls with MJ, Pippen and Rodman/Horace Grant.

MJ’s NBA Finals Hall of Fame Opponents:

Magic Johnson (1991*) – year before retirement for HIV James Worthy (1991*) – injured (ankle), left Game 4 early and missed Game 5 Vlade Divac (1991) – 2nd season Clyde Drexler (1992*) Charles Barkley (1993*) Gary Payton (1996*) – injured (calf), see #9 Karl Malone (1997*, 1998*) John Stockton (1997*, 1998)

Total: 10

Prime (*All-Star that year): 8

LeBron’s NBA Finals Future Hall of Fame Opponents:

Tim Duncan (2007*, 2013*, 2014) Tony Parker (2007*, 2013*, 2014*) Manu Ginobili (2007, 2013, 2014) Stephen Curry (2015*, 2016*, 2017*, 2018*) Kevin Durant (2012*, 2017*, 2018*) Dirk Nowitzki (2011*) Russell Westbrook (2012*) Klay Thompson (2015*, 2016*, 2017*, 2018*) Draymond Green (2015, 2016*, 2017*, 2018*) Kawhi Leonard (2013, 2014) James Harden (2012) Jason Kidd (2011)

Total: 30

Prime (*All-Star that year): 21

Let’s also look at quality of defenders:

MJ’s NBA Finals Opponents:

1991: AC Green (1x All-Defensive – 1989) 1992: Clifford Robinson (2x All-Defensive), Buck Williams (4x All-Defensive* – 92 he was 2nd team) 1993: Dan Majerle (2x All-Defensive* – 93 he was 2nd team) 1996: Gary Payton (9x All-Defensive, DPOY* – 96 he was 1st team and DPOY), Nate McMillan (2x All-Defensive), Eric Snow (1x All-Defensive – 2003) 1997: Karl Malone (4x All-Defensive* – 1st team), John Stockton (5x All-Defensive* – 2nd team) 1998: Karl Malone (4x All-Defensive* – 1st team), John Stockton (5x All-Defensive)

All-Defensive Nominations: 6 (3 1st team)

DPOY: 1

LeBron’s NBA Finals Opponents:

2007: Tim Duncan (15x All-Defensive* – 1st team), Bruce Bowen (8x All-Defensive* – 1st team) 2011: Tyson Chandler (3x All-Defensive, DPOY* – 2nd team), Jason Kidd (9x All-Defensive) 2012: Serge Ibaka (3x All-Defensive* – 1st team), Thabo Sefolosha (1x All Defensive – 2010) 2013: Tim Duncan (15x All-Defensive* – 2nd team), Kawhi Leonard (5x All-Defensive, 2x DPOY), Danny Green (1x All-Defensive – 2017) 2014: Tim Duncan (15x All-Defensive), Kawhi Leonard (5x All-Defensive, 2x DPOY* – 2nd team), Danny Green (1x All-Defensive – 2017) 2015: Andre Iguodala (2x All-Defensive), Klay Thompson (1x All-Defensive – 2019), Draymond Green (5x All-Defensive* – 1st team), Andrew Bogut (1x All-Defensive* – 2nd team) 2016: Anderson Varejao (1x All-Defensive – 2010), Andre Iguodala (2x All-Defensive), Klay Thompson (1x All-Defensive – 2019), Draymond Green (5x All-Defensive* – 1st team), Andrew Bogut (1x All-Defensive – 2015) 2017: Andre Iguodala (2x All-Defensive), Klay Thompson (1x All-Defensive – 2019), Draymond Green (5x All-Defensive, DPOY* – 1st team) 2018: Andre Iguodala (2x All-Defensive), Klay Thompson (1x All-Defensive – 2019), Draymond Green (5x All-Defensive* – 2nd team)

All-Defensive Nominations: 11 (6 1st team)

DPOY: 4

1. Michael Jordan choked in the clutch against the Orlando Magic in the ’95 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Michael Jordan stans like to bring up LeBron James’s choke in the 2011 NBA Finals, citing that MJ never choked in key moments, which is why he’s the GOAT. To be fair, Michael Jordan choked in multiple key moments in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.