When asked who is the basketball G.O.A.T most fans will say Michael Jordan without a second thought. Even those that have never seen him play, and far too many that were not even born when he played. Social media often clowds people's minds when blatant untruths are posted by famous but often naive "experts" and accepted as reality. This is the world we live in.
Common sense still stands out even though ignorance has run rampant. Common sense is still able to win in the end simply because of a small thing called FACTS. For example, a Los Angeles Laker owner (Buss Group) publically stated that Kobe Bryant was the greatest Laker ever. Out of respect for the Bryant family and the deceased former star, no one debated this. With former Lakers like Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Magic Jognson, and Kareem Abdul Javbar all having MUCH HIGHER Player Valuation Numeric scores her comment was wrong, disingenuous, and basically disrespectful because she made her statements to shake up her customer base, and make more money.
With this being said Kareem Abdul Jabbar has quietly listened to all of this nonsense and said nothing to push himself into the forefront for recognition. Kareem is clearly one of the Top 5 players in NBA history, but too many people do not realize that Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul Jabbar is one of the Top 3 players in basketball history when high school and college accomplishments are included, if not the best.
Since Michael Jordan was a high school "phenom", a college standout, and professuonal legend, comparing his basketball career with Kareem's seemed apropo. Here are the results that stand out:
1) Lew Alcindor was a three time high school All-American, and three time national player of the year. Just before the dominant 7'2" Alcindor entered college the NCAA made dunking illegal. That is when he developed the "sky hook" and literally dominated the game even more.
Michael Jordan was the top player coming out of high school his senior year. He was also a late bloomer that did not play varsity until the 11th grade when he unexpectedly grew 9 inches taller than his older brother Larry, the 5'7" varsity star. Therefore, Lew Alcindor was far greater as a high school player.
2) Despite the "no dunking" rule Lew Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins thrived. While in college Lew Alcindor won three (3) NCAA Championships as well as three (3) more National Player of the Years awards. It would have undoubtedly been four successes in both categories except for the fact that freshmen were not allowed to compete.
Michael Jordan on the other hand, won a national championship with the North Carolina Tar Heels as a freshman. In fact, he hit the game winning shot. Jordan went on to become the National Player of the Year in the following season, but he did not win another NCAA championship before turning professional. Therefore, it is a decisive victory for Lew Alcindor over Michael Jordan with respect to college greatness.
3) Both players went to the NBA and performed in a legendary manner Their accomplishment are comparable and would fill an entire post if listed. For example, Michael Jordan is the all-time points per game leader, while Kareem Abdul Jabbar (name changed after graduating college) is the all-time total points leader. Both have six (6) NBA championships, and Jordan has five (5) MVPs, and Kareem has six (6) MVPs including one in which he became the only player to win the award despite his team not making the playyoffs.
In order to "objectively" determine who was greater as a professional I had to disregard "subjective" awards like MVP and "All-Whatever", go back to the basics, and keep it simple. I used the Player Valuation Numeric to calculate the real value each legend brought to the court during their careers. As I expected it was close, VERY close. Michael "Air" Jordan earned a "next level" PVN score of 50.0. Only four (4) players in NBA history have ever earned scores of 50.0 or higher.
Ironically, Kareem Abdul Jabbar is one of those elite four players to exceed the incredible 50.0 mark. Kareem earned an amazing PVN score of 51.1 for his career. For the record, scores 1.0 or less apart may be debated, but those over 1.0 show a clearly superiority. Therefore, it can be rightfully stated and backed up by facts that Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a greater basketball player than Michael Jordan on every level.
* There are two other NBA legends that have surpassed the 50.0 mark and several that came close. If you would like to know who all of these legendary players are and also get the complete breakdown of the Player Valuation Numeric, then click the link below.
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