Michael Jordan - Unparalleled

un⋅par⋅al⋅leled

  [uhn-par-uh-leld]

-adjective

not paralleled; unequaled or unmatched; peerless; unprecedented:unparalleled athletic ability.

Funny isn't it, that we are all so caught up in the opening weekend of the 2009 NFL Season that most of us were totally oblivious to the fact that the greatest basketball player of our generation, and arguably the biggest athlete of our time was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday?

That's right, I came right out and said it in the opening paragraph. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of our generation, and likely of all-time as well. Now, that's not to downplay the accomplishments of those that were inducted with him, as the class the included David Robinson and John Stockton as players represents a collection of players that leave no shadow of a doubt as to their Hall of Fame credentials. Nor am I looking to downplay the players that came before Jordan or followed him. There is a place on the pedestal for guys like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Irving, George Gervin, et al, but there is only one seat on the thrown for the best player of all-time, and Michael Jordan deserves to sit in it above all others.

It's almost too easy to list his accomplishments as evidence to what he meant to the game, but it is necessary to put him into perspective.

6 NBA Championships - Twice Winning Three Consecutive

2 Olympic Gold Medals

1984-85 NBA Rookie Of The Year

5 League MVP Awards

6 NBA Finals MVP Awards

14 Time League All-Star

10 Time All NBA First Team

10 League Scoring Titles

32292 Career Points - Third All-Time

30.1 PPG Scoring Average - First All-Time

7327 Free Throws Made - Fourth All-Time

2514 Career Steals - Second All-Time

5633 Career Assists - Thirty-Fifth All-Time

5004 Career Defensive Rebounds - Fifty-Third All-Time

Mere stats do not show the complete package that Jordan brought to the game. His competitive spirit and complete knowledge of the game saw him sink or set-up his fair share of game-winning shots, putting him constantly in the position of having the ball in his hands when crunch time hit. His ability to dominate lead many teams to incorporate special rules when it came to defending him, which in turn, lead Jordan to become a more complete basketball player who made his teammates better.

Jordan also transcended the game itself. Whether he rode the wave created before him by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, or he helped to explode it further, one will never truly know, but Jordan created a persona in the game that is unmatched by any player that has attempted to follow him. He became a marketing powerhouse, both for the league and the hundreds of sponsors that saw him as a goldmine, using his fame to both grow the game and to become the most financially secure athlete of all-time until Tiger Woods came along.

So while David Stern continues to try and find the next Michael Jordan among his latest crop of NBA talent (?), we can rest assured that we just saw the unparalleled best ever get his just due, perhaps putting an official end to The Jordan Era.