Was Jordan over-rated?

[meloman315]

How tall was Jordan? The average high in America for men is around 5'9". I don't think he was a normal sized guy.

6' 4" i believe, i meant for nba standards. a normal sg is around 6'7" id say

[drtom2005]

6' 4" i believe, i meant for nba standards. a normal sg is around 6'7" id say

That's cool. I'm just messing with you.

[WilyWestbrook0]

My guess is that anyone who says Jordan was overrated was born post 1980-

It's probably more accurate to say post mid-1980s. LeBron is my age (a month and a half younger, to be precise; we were both born late in 1984), but he definitely remembers MJ, and I doubt he believes his hero was overrated. I also remember MJ - sure, more of the Bulls MJ from 1995-1998, but I did see the 1993 NBA Finals as well, and was old enough to comprehend what was going on then.

For my own opinion, as someone born in 1984, I believe MJ was overrated by the media and fans when he played - but I believe the 1990s teenagers tend to underrate him now. The reason for this is that most people live in the present and cannot assess the past and future realistically, so the two always seem to be inferior to what's going on right now in their minds. And if people do look at the past, they usually are only able to analyze and understand the more immediate past. For instance, 1990s teenagers have absolutely no memory of Jordan's first three titles, and probably sparing memories of even his very last title (the oldest of this decade, born Jan. 1 1990, was still only eight years old when Jordan made his final Bulls shot against Utah in the 1998 Finals). Unless they are diligent and do research by looking at film, stats, and the like, they really won't have much of an idea of what the more distant past was like.

[meloman315]

That's cool. I'm just messing with you.

ok lol, i was like deng! and i though kobe fans were bad lol

[drtom2005]

ok lol, i was like deng! and i though kobe fans were bad lol

LOL. LOL.

[WilyWestbrook0]

6' 4" i believe, i meant for nba standards. a normal sg is around 6'7" id say

Jordan is 6'6". The average height of players in his era was 6'7", although the average height today is now 6'6". Players continue to get shorter as the league places a greater emphasis on finesse over power play. The 1990s were the last great decade of dominant centers, when Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem, David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Rik Smits were all playing in their prime. That Andrew Bogut and Emeka Okafor are the best centers in the Eastern Conference after Dwight Howard shows the laughable and lamentable state of the less talented big man in today's game. (Ancient Shaq is second in West center voting after Yao Ming, if anyone needs additional insight into how much the position has declined.)

In greater context, this also means that Jordan had to drive to the basket against bigger, stronger, better centers players than today's swingmen - and he didn't have the benefit of the hand-checking rule, either!

[drtom2005]

Was incidental contact a rule during Jordan's Era? I don't know. If so I think his famous last shot should have been a foul.

[WilyWestbrook0]

It was a rule, but they seem to have called it less then. They started calling it more in the early '00s, and that was because fans voiced continuous complaints over the hackfests teams like Miami and New York got away with for several seasons.

[whalechaser]

Wow I can't believe this thread has gone on for 10 pages. Nice discussion. I miss early 90's basketball.

[drtom2005]

I tired to keep going. I'm sure people will see and comment again tomorrow.