Michael Jordan is the GOAT: Come fight for it. That’s what most of you guys reading this article believe. That’s what Magic Johnson, Big Shaq, and Dwayne Wade believe. But of course, in a diverse world, debates come with opinions. Like Scottie Pippen choosing to walk the other end. In the recent PBD podcast, Scottie called the entire GOAT debate ‘stupid’. Ouch. His argument? Basketball is a team sport, so one cannot rank the best players just based on their stats since the game relies so much on teamwork! But is he alone? No! Like Pippen, another former NBA star snubbed Michael Jordan as the GOAT.

While appearing on VladTV, Brandon Jennings made a bold admission that MJ does not make his top 5 list of best players. Instead, he named Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Shaquille O’Neal as his top 5. When asked why MJ was not included in the list, Jennings had a very interesting answer. Probably reasonable too?

Jennings explains, “I was born in 1989. When Michael Jordan won his last championship, I was eight years old. I don’t know what’s going on.” Well, that’s a fair argument. Jennings had previously mentioned that he was not into basketball until the early 2000s. “I didn’t start loving or really knowing the game until I saw A.I., Kobe Bryant in the early 2000s, and guys like that. So that’s why he (MJ) can’t be in my top 5,” said the former Point Guard. Jennings clarified that he has massive respect for MJ. His choices are purely based on the players he grew up watching or his contemporaries on court.

“I respect it, you know. I can go watch a highlight tape, but what I saw, what I really felt and understood, was the Steph Curry’s, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant’s, Shaq’s, and KD’s,” added Jennings. He also asserted that ‘it’s not a big deal’ if today’s kids consider players like Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic, or Paul George as their favourites. “When other kids are coming into the NBA and say,’ Yo, my favourite player is Paul George,’ or ‘My Favourite player is this or that,’ I get it. That’s what they grew up on; that’s what they know,” said Jennings. Different eras, different role models. That’s what keeps the NBA alive.

But Jordan is well above the debate without anything more to prove in the court. But what was one of his underrated attributes? His ability to trash-talk his way inside an opponent’s head and then back it up on the court. This led to a funny yet iconic moment.

Chris Webber’s Jordan regret: Leaving Calbert Cheaney hanging

Almost everyone trash-talks on the court, but very few back it up with their performance. Michael Jordan was one such exception. He used to eat his opponents and leave no crumbs. And to Chris Webber and his Washington Bullets, MJ did exactly that. In the first round play-off, the Bullets came up against the rampant Bulls. Having lost game 1 at home, the Bullets arrived in Chicago aiming for a victory, but an encounter with Jordan before the game completely rattled Webber and company.

Webber narrated the story in detail on the Dan Patrick Show. “He’s smoking a cigar before the game, which I mean, you can do whatever you want. And we’re the lowly Bullets, and Juwan and I are getting off the bus. Juwan was very close with him, so he’s like,’ Juwan, Web! Who’s guarding me tonight?” reveals Webber. The question caught both of them completely off guard. Before they could even formulate a response, both reflexively pointed towards Calbert Cheaney.

Webber still regrets doing that. “Calbert Cheaney was behind us, and we both looked and did that (pointing fingers at him),” said Webber. Jordan went on to completely cook poor Calbert Cheaney and the Bullets en route to scoring 55 points. Webber adds, “That was the one time I cringed about how I left a teammate hanging because Jordan had 55 on us that night and beat us.”

That was the greatness of MJ – Greatness that could not be described in a few words, because the things he did on the court were just absurd. The GOAT debate may rage on, but MJ doesn’t care. He came, he saw, he conquered, and then left.