Michael Jordan, according to Gilbert Arenas, never faced any of the greatest five shooting guards in history while they were at their best.
The calibre of opposition Michael Jordan faced during his career as a two-guard has been downplayed by Gilbert Arenas. When bringing up Anthony Edwards’ notorious remarks that Michael Jordan was the only skilful player of his period, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan avoided facing any of the top five shooting guards in history during their peak. This was during a discussion of the remarks on the most recent edition of Gil’s Arena.
“Let’s have a real conversation about Jordan’s rivals. Here are the top five shooting guards in history—all of whom he didn’t play against during their prime,” remarked Arenas. “He had a young Kobe in 1998, but Kobe is two now. Jordan avoided facing Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, T-Mac (Tracy McGrady), Vince (Carter), and others. Time has passed, and history is revealing who is who.”
It’s reasonable, in my opinion, to state that Jordan didn’t play with any of the top five during their peak. The best shooting guard he faced in their heyday was definitely Clyde Drexler, who we ranked as the five greatest in NBA history by decade. Some could contend that Drexler is among the all-time greats, but I believe he just falls short. Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, Jordan, and Kobe Bryant would all be there. Jerry West should start in that position if you don’t think of Iverson as a shooting guard.
Although Jordan had to play against Bryant and Iverson from that group, at that point neither of them was close to peak form. Iverson had not even made an All-Star team that season, but Kobe had made one (despite averaging a meagre 15.4 points per game) when he announced his second retirement in 1998. Does that lessen what Jordan accomplished during his career, though? Without a doubt. He faced Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and John Stockton, some of the greatest big men and point guards in basketball history, and he emerged victorious from his playoff matches against them with six championships.
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