Did the Media called Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time in 1993?

[Lebron23]

After the Chicago Bulls won their 3rd straight NBA title. Here's Jordan Resume from 1984 to 1993.

Magic Johnson called MJ the GOAT in 1993

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6og_pOVi2w

3x NBA MVP
3x NBA Finals MVP
3x NBA Champion
9x NBA All Star
7x All NBA First Team
6x All NBA First Team Defense
7x NBA Scoring Champion
3

[Kblaze8855]

Some people were calling him the GOAT in 1987.

These things happen. Jerry Sloan had Bird as the goat after the first round of the playoffs in 1981....before he ever won a title.

It doesnt take as long to see it as people take to accept it.

Thats one reason I tend to shy away from the "Well...he needs to do more" side of arguments on young players. Special is special. And I hate to look back and say someone was better than I thought they were at the time.

People are gonna watch Steph murder defenses the next 10 years before some rank him next to guys hes no doubt gonna be ranked with. And in 20 years will argue Steph 2016 vs ____ from 1984 and act like its a more valid question than people will right now.

Steph is probably not getting much better if at all. I cant imagine it at least...how much better does one get at the things he does?

Hes just gonna be it for a while...and then people will compare accolades and rank the guy he is...today...with guys they wont compare him to now....as if he got better in retrospect. Always hated that.

[tmacattack33]

Yes. I was only a kid at the time, and I had just started following b-ball during his baseball years. He was a legend and I was mad that I never saw him play. And then he wrote his famous fax where he said I'M BAAAAAAAAACK.

And then i was happy that the GOAT (actually, no one used to say GOAT back then...they just said BEST EVER) would return to bball

[sdot_thadon]

The conversation definitely had legs by then, iirc it started before that though.

[Lebron23]

Yes. I was only a kid at the time, and I had just started following b-ball during his baseball years. He was a legend and I was mad that I never saw him play. And then he wrote his famous fax where he said I'M BAAAAAAAAACK.

And then i was happy that the GOAT (actually, no one used to say GOAT back then...they just said BEST EVER) would return to bball

The conversation definitely had legs by then, iirc it started before that though.

I heard about a man named Kareem Abdul Jabbar when I was a kid. But Jordan's game was more exciting because he was a perimeter player, and back in the 1990's he was really the most popular athlete on the planet.

He had his Gatorade commercial, and that 1990's cartoons called pro stars

[ClipperRevival]

Some did, some didn't. He had a case for GOAT given his sheer level of consistent dominance despite only 9 seasons but it's what he did in his 2nd 3 peat that settled the debate.

On a side note, most youngsters don't realize how MJ had a negative perception surrounding him before he won a ring. They said, "yeah, he scores a bunch of points but he ain't Bird or Magic. Those guys win." MJ was actually viewed as a loser who couldn't win by some. But he settled that debate also.

[72-10]

I think the media (outside of Chicago) really began to start mentioning him in the conversation circa 1989. Obviously, no one would want to outright state something so ludicrous without having won a ring.

He certainly was being referred to in those terms before his first retirement. A notable example is the commentary in his 56-point game against the Miami Heat in the 1992 Playoffs.

[Angel Face]

Knee jerk reaction as he was the most dominant player back then but he wasn't the clear cut GOAT "yet" during his 1st three peat. He has a case but not as lopsided as what he has right now. Him returning in 1995 and completing a second three peat 96 - 98 cemented his legacy as the greatest player of all time.

[sportjames23]

First time I ever heard MJ being referred to as the GOAT was around the time of the 1991 Finals. Bob Costas brought it up. Even being the MJ fan that I am, I didn't agree with that notion at that time. Personally, I didn't feel MJ was in the GOAT discussion until 1993, after showing the drive and determination to complete the first three-peat in about three decades. His return to the NBA in 1995 after his first retirement and subsequent three-peat just cemented it for me. But yeah, I thought 1991 was too early to call him the GOAT.

[ClipperRevival]

Yeah, MJ's 2nd 3 peat is what really separated himself from pretty much everyone else. He was past his physical prime and was still the best in the world until his retirement in 1998, at the age of 35.

[Prime_Shaq]

Nothing wrong with that.

[72-10]

As I recall The Sporting News (a defunct publication out of St. Louis, Missouri) was one of the first non-Chicago publications to refer to him in those terms, during its 1988 or 1989 All-NBA Team announcement. It's in the Sporting News archives if you want to look. It was a discussion by the sportswriters and some of the players, if I recall correctly.

[Straight_Ballin]

I heard about a man named Kareem Abdul Jabbar when I was a kid. But Jordan's game was more exciting because he was a perimeter player, and back in the 1990's he was really the most popular athlete on the planet.

He had his Gatorade commercial, and that 1990's cartoons called pro stars

Pro stars was the shit!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=px5njG8ikvo

[ClipperRevival]

As I recall The Sporting News (a defunct publication out of St. Louis, Missouri) was one of the first non-Chicago publications to refer to him in those terms, during its 1988 or 1989 All-NBA Team announcement. It's in the Sporting News archives if you want to look. It was a discussion by the sportswriters and some of the players, if I recall correctly.

People referring to him being greatest ever as early as 1989ish were doing so as an individual talent. That's different from being ranked on the all time list based on all factors. I mean the league had never seen a guy like MJ. He took Erving to another level so it's easy to see how some can get caught up in the moment and say he was the best they had ever seen. But again, that's different from being ranked on the all time list.

[72-10]

People referring to him being greatest ever as early as 1989ish were doing so as an individual talent. That's different from being ranked on the all time list based on all factors. I mean the league had never seen a guy like MJ. He took Erving to another level so it's easy to see how some can get caught up in the moment and say he was the best they had ever seen. But again, that's different from being ranked on the all time list.

You're right.

The New York Times wrote an article in 1985 stating that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the greatest player in the game's history. I will find it if anyone cares to know about it.

I checked on the Sporting News article, dated May 23, 1988, here's how it read:

"While such a landslide could hardly have been predicted, it seems to confirm what Chicagoans have been saying for the last two years - that Jordan has become the greatest player in the game, perhaps the greatest guard or forward ever."