WS Chronicle

Michael Jordan is the best player to ever play the game of basketball, in my opinion. Several players have attempted to make their claim as the best, but all have fallen short of Jordan.

Now that LeBron has put up some great numbers throughout his career, people are attempting to say he is the greatest. I put that argument to bed by just saying Jordan was 6 for 6 with no game 7s in the NBA finals; argument over. There is no need to debate individual stats or attributes.

Since we can easily back up why Jordan is the best, people are now trying to dissect specific parts of his game. Recently, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey made some interesting statements about James Harden and Jordan.

“It’s just factual that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan,” Morey said on the “Selfmade with Nadeshot” podcast.

Before I totally dismissed what else Morey had to say on the subject, I wanted to hear him out. He attempted to explain how the numbers support his claims.

“Based on literally, like you give James Harden the ball and before you’re giving up the ball, how many points do you generate? Which is how you should measure offense. James Harden is by far No. 1 in NBA history,” Morey said on the podcast.

Of course, Harden is going to have the advantage over Jordan when it comes to statistics since the game has changed drastically over the past 25 years. But let’s not forget that Jordan was a 10-time scoring champion that averaged over 30 points per game in eight different seasons. Harden has led the NBA in scoring twice and averaged 36.1 points per game last year.

Jordan was notorious for his commitment to his craft. He shot less than two 3-point shots per game while Harden averaged over 13 threes last season. If Jordan was playing in today’s game, you mean to tell me one of the hardest workers in NBA history wouldn’t improve his 3-point shot? If the game was similar back then, I’m sure Jordan would have been one of the game’s most prolific 3-point shooters, because he was so dedicated to being the best.

People seem to forget when Jordan lost some of his leaping ability later in his career, he developed one of the most consistent mid-range jump shots in the league at that time. His turnaround jumper from the post was impossible to stop, so he adapted his game accordingly to his skill set.  

Yes, I must admit that Harden is a tremendous scorer, but he seems to use so much effort to get his buckets. He also dominates the ball more than any other player I have ever seen. Jordan seemed to score with such ease, while also playing off the ball so much more effectively. Harden would not be able to pull off such great numbers playing off the ball as Jordan did.

I just can’t get with Morey’s statements. It just does not add up in my opinion. I must give Morey his credit for standing behind his players, because he really went all out for Harden.

“The counterargument is reasonable,” Morey said. “They say if you put Michael Jordan on a team now, he would do more than James Harden. That’s possible. But if you’re just saying NBA history, if you give this guy the ball, how much does his team score after you give him the ball before the other team gets the ball? It’s James Harden. And I know that makes people mad, but it’s literally a fact.”

I almost choked on the Gatorade I was drinking when I read that last statement by Morey. I understand having your players’ backs, but why make such a claim when we all know it’s not true. Harden is a great scorer, but he is not even the best scorer in the league now, so to claim he is the best in NBA history is ridiculous.  

Jordan is and always will be the G.O.A.T. simply because he looked like a man among boys in his prime and he scored with such ease and versatility. If he played in today’s era, he would average 40 plus.