Michael Jordan Research Paper

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“If you do the work, you get rewarded. There are no short cuts in life.” It is no debate that Michael Jordan, professional basketball player and speaker of this quote, put in many rigorous hours filled with blood, sweat, and tears to get to where he is today. His non-stop effort, commitment to the sport, and love for the game has earned him his title as one of the best NBA basketball players in history. His legend lives on, through his championships, awards, and statistics won throughout his career. These titles arguably make him the best professional basketball player of all time. Many other players have been compared to MJ. Some argue that LeBron James is the best to play the sport. The only reason people tend to favor James is because …show more content…

The main argument people bring up is that LeBron is playing better competition every single game. They also tend to say that Michael Jordan never played against teams as good as the Golden State Warriors. The era the players competed in needs to be held in consideration. Lebron has had much easier seasons than Jordan ever had. Michael Jordan played mostly in the late eighties through the nineties. This era of basketball was a lot harder for superstar caliber players. Michael Jordan played when hard fouls were just that, a foul. James’ career started in 2003 when hard fouls were flagrant fouls. A flagrant foul is when a player uses excessive force or violence that could injure the player being fouled. This is important because when Jordan played they had different rules making it a lot harder for players to score. The game also had a much more physical toll on their bodies, confirming that Michael was in tip top shape. Jordan faced teams that designed a certain …show more content…

He started strong with his brilliant first year in the league. Right out of the gate people around the league knew this kid was the real deal. “There is no I in team but there is in win.” This quote by Michael Jordan proves that he is willing to do anything to get the team a win. He would push everyone in the gym to be better. Even the opposing team played better when he was on the court. Jordan went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1985 (“NBA Legend Playoff Edition”). The Chicago Bulls legend went on to win the scoring title ten times, making him the only player to ever accomplish this. The scoring title in the NBA is awarded to the player who has averaged the most points that season. The next closest player, Wilt Chamberlain, has seven. This stat jumps out at a lot of people because it shows that he was a force to be reckoned with. Jordan was an elite scorer which lead to him being feared by many of the top perimeter defenders. Michael’s scoring came from his excellent defensive skill as well as his astounding dunking ability. This skill carried him to back-to-back dunk contest victories. Michael developed the nickname “Air Jordan” for his incredible free throw line dunk to win the 1988 contest. “He couldn’t walk on water, but he could hang around in the air for what seems like a minute or two.” (Smith 442) This just shows that Michael could dominate on both ends of the court. If his opponents didn’t