People's Basketball Hall of Fame: Michael Jordan

If you're doing something on basketball, where else to begin but with Michael Jeffrey Jordan? I don't need to go into his bio, because you already know his story. You know about his high school days (I know the story of him getting cut is really a myth, but I prefer to believe that version), UNC, lifting the Bulls to greatness, his retirement, his return to the top, I can go on and on. Even a decade and a half after his retirement, his impact can still be felt today. Don't believe me? Go by a shoe store late at night on a Friday. If there are people camping out with chairs, sleeping bags, and whatnot, some new retro of his shoes is probably going to be released early Saturday morning. That's right. Michael Jordan is such a powerful force in basketball people camp out and stand in line all night for shoes that came out 20 years ago. To this day, we're still looking for "The Next One," the player who can match Mike's level of greatness. Many have received that title, not many have even done half of what Mike has done (more on one of the few who did later). I mean, if you're going to reach the level of Michael Jordan, you're going to have to:

Win MVP, the scoring title, and Defensive Player of the Year ALL IN THE SAME YEAR

Go 6 for 6 in NBA Finals, and win Finals MVP every time

Win 7 straight league scoring titles

Win 5 MVP awards

Hit game winning shots with regularity

Win 3 straight titles, retire, come back a year and a half later then win 3 straight titles again

Strike fear into opponents with your mere presence on the court

AND

Do a movie with the Looney Tunes (haha).

Which is why I think a lot of the Michael Jordan comparisons are simply unfair. He's one of those once in a lifetime talents that we won't see again, and when someone like him is seen again, we'll all be long dead.

MJ resources: