Nick Wright recently released a list of his Top 50 NBA players, where he placed Michael Jordan third. The analyst gave Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the number one ranking and placed LeBron James second.
There is no argument that these three deserve to be in the Top 3. But not many are pleased with the way Wright has ranked them.
The co-host of “The First Things First” recently appeared on Colin Cowherd’s podcast to once again explain his choices. He gave some pretty valuable explanations to which even Cowherd agreed.
While discussing the all-time list, Colin Cowherd shared a pretty interesting take on what could be a possible knock-on Jordan. He said:
“The biggest knock on Jordan is this, how many playoff series did he win without Scottie Pippen? Kareem and LeBron won multiple championships with other players.
“Jordan could not win with other players, because of Michael’s style, which you often saw in Washington, you saw in his first five years in Chicago, he did not play well with other scorers, he played well with Pippen who acknowledged he would be in the passenger seat.”
Michael Jordan had many great teammates during his time with the Bulls. However, Scottie Pippen was the one that stood out the most.
The pair were instrumental in the Bulls’ dominance during the 90’s. Pippen was brilliant on both ends of the floor. With him on the court, Jordan had the freedom to be himself, which is what helped him become one of the greatest in the game.
MJ’s most successful time in the NBA came with Pippen. Prior to the Bulls drafting him, Jordan failed to take the team beyond the first round of the playoffs. After his stint with the Bulls, Michael Jordan decided to retire from the game, but he did make his way back in 2001. “His Airness” joined the Washington Wizards but was never the same player as before.
