Impact: Lebron, KAJ, Bird, MJ

[ShawkFactory]

You really don't quit, huh?

[3ball]

Without getting too much into the premise of your post - dynasty impact - that game tying shot in game 3 of the 1991 Finals is one of the most overlooked big shots of Jordan's career. He had missed the game 1 game-winning attempt by the thinnest margin (the shot looked perfect and bounced in and out). Jordan faced a chance for redemption in game three, a game in which he had earlier hurt his toe and had been struggling from the floor. At that point after Divac had stumbled into a layup to take the lead and drew a sixth foul against Pippen, Jordan had only scored 20 points with a pedestrian shooting percentage.

But he didn't hesitate or second guess himself. He got the ball, drove full court against pressure defense from Scott, rose up and hit the game tying shot over Divac's outstretched fingertips to send it into overtime. Then Jordan scored six points in overtime, including two beautiful driving layups and two free throws to finish with 28 points. He also assisted Horace Grant in overtime. Despite not having Pippen, the Bulls dominated the overtime session and never looked back in the series.

It was a tremendous shot and really launched the Bulls' dynasty. Who knows if they would have won that championship had he missed? There are a number of players in NBA history who would not have hesitated to take that shot like Jordan, with varying degrees of success. Sam Jones, Magic, Bird, and Kobe come to mind for me. Other greats, like Lebron, would have a good chance of hesitating, second guessing themselves, and settling for a pass or poor shot. It's one of the big differences between the two. In any event, thanks for highlighting one of the most important and most forgotten of Jordan's gamewinning/tying shots.

You know, speaking of shots that would've changed a series if they'd happened:

Toni Kukoc hit a series-changing shot like that when he hit the walk-off GW in Game 3 of the 1994 ECSF.. If he misses, Bulls go down 3-0 and Scottie's epic choke by sitting out that play might now be perceived as the ultimate alpha..

And by getting swept, Pippen wouldn't have the chance to choke again in Game 5 by fouling a 3-point shooter on the last possession.

It's funny because Pippen's epic chokes in the seminal, biggest series of the season proved how incapable he was of being the #1 option team leader.. Heck, he was already playing to capacity alongside MJ - his PPG only went up 0.4 PPG when MJ left.. Ultimately, the fall from 3-peat to 2nd round is the furthest any team has ever fallen without their star and represents MJ's goat impact.

[OldSchoolBBall]

I've never seen basketball fans truly look to disregard the impact of an obvious all time great player in Lebron.

I don't believe he will surpass MJ but he has a greater impact on wins-losses than Bird,KAJ and Magic. MJ had that rare ability to score at any point at a high volume on good efficiency.

If you had to build a team with no decent options, Lebron James gets picked over everyone. A Lebron James team is good for 50 plus wins.

In today's Eastern Conference, yeah. Not in any conference during any era. Peak Jordan also guarantees 50+ wins in the late 00's EC, as do most of the top 10 GOAT's in their primes.