Was it clear on the court that Jordan was better than Magic and Bird?

[Bronbron23]

I know there were some quips from Magic or Bird saying Jordan was god disguised or something like that.

But did anyone watch them face each other, maybe around 87-88 ish before Bird sharply declined...did you feel like this Jordan guy was clearly better?

No bird and magic were probably better because of the mental aspect of the game. Mj at the time was playing more of a ball dominant style like bron which was inferior to the way magic and especially bird played. Mj didn't get on their level until phil convinced mj to play within the system instead of being the system

[FKAri]

No bird and magic were probably better because of the mental aspect of the game. Mj at the time was playing more of a ball dominant style like bron which was inferior to the way magic and especially bird played. Mj didn't get on their level until phil convinced mj to play within the system instead of being the system

He didn't have Magic's leadership and Bird's bbiq. And although he improved those aspects it never reached their's. That being said, give MJ a good team in the 80s and I'm not sure those guys were much better if at all at the tail end of the decade. MJ's terrible teams held him back from being able to prove his abilities on the highest level(which is what was keeping him from the conversation of best in the world). The 63 point performance was an eye opener for a lot of people.

[WhiteKyrie]

Definitely. Especially in the 1991 Finals.

Jordan: 31 ppg (56%), 7 rpg, 11 apg, 3 spg, 1 bpg
Magic: 19 ppg (43%), 8 rpg, 12 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg

Magic Johnson is the best point guard ever, and a mount Rushmore player. But he was atrocious on defense. Significantly worse than Larry Bird. He literally lets Sleepy Floyd in a playoff game drop 51 points on him

[Overdrive]

Definitely. Especially in the 1991 Finals.

Jordan: 31 ppg (56%), 7 rpg, 11 apg, 3 spg, 1 bpg
Magic: 19 ppg (43%), 8 rpg, 12 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg

Magic Johnson is the best point guard ever, and a mount Rushmore player. But he was atrocious on defense. Significantly worse than Larry Bird. He literally lets Sleepy Floyd in a playoff game drop 51 points on him

What did Madonna think about Magic?

[Psileas]

Definitely. Especially in the 1991 Finals.

Jordan: 31 ppg (56%), 7 rpg, 11 apg, 3 spg, 1 bpg
Magic: 19 ppg (43%), 8 rpg, 12 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg

Magic Johnson is the best point guard ever, and a mount Rushmore player. But he was atrocious on defense. Significantly worse than Larry Bird. He literally lets Sleepy Floyd in a playoff game drop 51 points on him

Magic literally had very little to do with Floyd's 51 points:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYvbSTWrgBk
And he wasn't an atrocious defender. He was always a smart, valuable team defender and never do such players qualify as "atrocious". Neither was he atrocious when he got to guard players close to his own size and athleticism instead of small, quick guards that weren't his type.

[Bronbron23]

He didn't have Magic's leadership and Bird's bbiq. And although he improved those aspects it never reached their's. That being said, give MJ a good team in the 80s and I'm not sure those guys were much better if at all at the tail end of the decade. MJ's terrible teams held him back from being able to prove his abilities on the highest level(which is what was keeping him from the conversation of best in the world). The 63 point performance was an eye opener for a lot of people.

Yeah its tough to say for sure because those guys had better teams but i don't think mj dominates the 80's like he did the 90's. At very least i feel like the bad boys, laker and Celtics would get at least a chip or 2 off mj's 90's bulls. It's hypothetical so who knows but i don't think he gets 6 in the 80's

[Full Court]

If anyone actually remembers that far back, there was a lot of debate in the late 80s over who was better - Bird or Jordan. To say that it was clear back then that either one was better than the other is just flat out wrong. It was extremely close. Now I think that in the 90s when Jordan peaked, he passed up Bird (and pretty much everyone else).

And a lot of people today don't realize just how significant Jordan dropping 63 on the Celtics was at the time. But still, neither one was blowing the other out of the water.

[RogueBorg]

I'm old enough to have watched all three. The Celtics and Lakers were a better team than the Bulls and they remained better the rest of the decade. But by 1988, Jordan was the best player in the league, offensively and defensively better than both Bird an Magic. There is no player in the history of the game that if you could some how have plucked them out of their era and put them on the 80's Bulls, they're still not beating those Lakers or Celtics.

[RogueBorg]

If anyone actually remembers that far back, there was a lot of debate in the late 80s over who was better - Bird or Jordan. To say that it was clear back then that either one was better than the other is just flat out wrong. It was extremely close. Now I think that in the 90s when Jordan peaked, he passed up Bird (and pretty much everyone else).

And a lot of people today don't realize just how significant Jordan dropping 63 on the Celtics was at the time. But still, neither one was blowing the other out of the water.

From '85-'87 it was pretty clear Bird was better. But by 1988, Jordan had passed him. But the Bulls weren't beating that great Celtics team. Bird had too many quality teammates around him. One player isn't beating 5 by himself.

[FKAri]

Yeah its tough to say for sure because those guys had better teams but i don't think mj dominates the 80's like he did the 90's. At very least i feel like the bad boys, laker and Celtics would get at least a chip or 2 off mj's 90's bulls. It's hypothetical so who knows but i don't think he gets 6 in the 80's

The talent disparity in the 80s between the elite teams and lottery teams was huge. There were no super teams in the 90s of comparable strength to those of the 80s.

[Bronbron23]

The talent disparity in the 80s between the elite teams and lottery teams was huge. There were no super teams in the 90s of comparable strength to those of the 80s.

Yes the elite teams in the 80's were better than the 90's but it's not like mj had alot of help offensively especially during the second 3 peat. Pip averaged 18 on 41% during the post season during that time and i won't even bother bringing up Rodman's numbers. Defensively they were elite though. This is why i think they could of possibly hung with the elite offensive teams of the 80's. If The bad boy Pistons could hang with them no reason why the 2nd three peat bulls couldn't

[Gohan]

Bird is white therfore he could never be better than jordan who is black

[tontoz]

Bird is white therfore he could never be better than jordan who is black

You do realize the current MVP is white, right?

[RogueBorg]

Bird is white therfore he could never be better than jordan who is black

Bird's not white, he's clear.
Sincerely, Bill Murray

[ralph_i_el]

I STRONGLY disagree, I WATCHED all those games between the Celtics, Lakers and Chicago. The Celtics and Lakers had the better teams but NO ONE could stop Micheal Jordan. He was moving at a different speed than everyone else and it was obvious. What Micheal was critized for back then was not playing team basketball or winning basketball but skill wise Micheal he was on another level.

Team basketball is a skill.