Once again..... Michael Jordan is and was the Best player in the history of Basketball. Or Greatest, whichever you prefer. When you’re the Best ever at basketball, people will search hard for things to nitpick or discredit you, in order to make the case that another player was better than you. And in Michael’s case, people have said numerous times that the competition he faced was mediocre, or lackluster. But is there any merit to these claims? Allow me to preach the Basketball Gospel
Let’s start from the beginning of Michael’s championship glory. Michael Jordan broke through and won his first NBA Championship in 1991. People say one of the main reasons why the Bulls were able to win, is because the Bad Boy Pistons got old. Shannon Sharpe from FS1 has echoed this statement numerous times in attempt to discredit MJ on Undisputed. But that’s quiet literally a lie. Isiah Thomas was 29, Joe Dumars was 27, Dennis Rodman was 29, and Mark Aquirre was 31. The Pistons that season were a 50-Win team and were ranked 4th in Defense and 1st in Fewest Points allowed per game. Not only did the MJ led Bulls beat this team, but they swept the Pistons so badly that the team cleared the benches before the final buzzer sounded in game 4 in humiliation.
The Bulls would go on to face the Magic led Los Angeles Lakers in the 91’ NBA Finals. The Bulls would capture their first NBA Championship. But just like with the Pistons situation, people say the Lakers weren’t any good and Magic was old. Consider this graphic, made by yours truly, and decide for yourself how good that Lakers team was.....
Now next up, let’s examine his 1992, championship run. The Bulls would capture their second title in a row, and they defeated the Clyde Drexler led Portland Trailblazers. In addition to that, the Bulls faced some pretty solid teams in the playoffs as well. Below I have highlighted these teams. 
So as far as competition is concerned, I’m still not sure how MJ’s Comp was weak. But let’s move on, perhaps there is some super weak and lame comp coming up.
Moving on to 1993, some would say this was MJ at his Peak. The Jordan led Bulls completed a three peat, which hadn’t been done since Russell’s Celtics of the 1960’s. However, once again, people have made the claim the Competition MJ faced was weak. So let’s take a closer look at the 1993 playoffs. 
So let me get this straight.... During the Bulls 1993 Championship run, they faced and eliminated two 60-Win teams, which were the Knicks and the Suns, and not to mention, that both of these teams actually won more games than the Bulls!!!! But I’m supposed to believe that Jordan didn’t face any competition? Insane.
Jordan would retire after this championship for reasons we won’t get into in this article. But he made his return in the 95’ season where he find himself out of the playoffs, after being eliminated by the Shaq/Penny Magic in the second round. We shall now move onto 1996.
The 96’ Bulls were iconic because they had the best record at the time in NBA History. They won an astonishing 72 Games and only lost 10. They went on to beat the Gary Payton led Seattle SuperSonics. Now let’s take a look at some of the comp for Jordan. 
So a similar situation to the 93’ playoffs; the Bulls faced two teams that won 60 games. Gary Payton was the Defensive player of the Year and Shaq was basically in his prime. Where is all the lame competition I wonder???
Furthermore, let’s discuss the 1997 Championship run. This run isn’t discussed much by fans, and my guess is that’s because it isn’t too memorable. But that doesn’t make it any less spectacular. The Bulls captured their 5th NBA Championship, by beating the Utah Jazz in 6. Now let’s take a closer look below. 
You might be able to argue that this was some of the best competition Jordan faced in any given championship run. The Bulls faced and beat a 50 win team, as well as two different 60 win teams. I’m having a terrible time trying to understand how Jordan’s competition was bad.
Last but not least, the 1998 Championship run. The Finals Bulls Championship. This is the title run that solidified Jordan as the best basketball player ever. Let’s take a look at the notable competition that Jordan faced: 
A 58-Win Pacer team, being top 5 in both offense and defense. Then the Utah Jazz, who were 1st in offense. So how did this notion of having bad or weak competition arise? It doesn’t make any sense. Also, when it comes to beating 60 Win teams, nobody beat more then MJ. 
Another thing I want to mention, is that Jordan beat the elite players of the 90’s. Nobody else won championships under Michael’s watch in the 90’s. In fact, Jordan beat EVERY member of the 92’ Dream team in a playoff series at some point in his career, except Bird and David Robinson.
Not to mention, that if we take a look at just the 90s, Jordan had a winning record against all of these all time greats:
In conclusion, stop the lies. Jordan faced great competition. Not the best, I believe Kobe faced the best overall competition of any all time great, but Jordan had to beat great teams and players as well. Hope you learned something.
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