Go to www.athleticgreens.com/jonnyarnett for a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D3K2 & 5 travel packs FREE with your first purchase! #AG1 #AG1Partner What is your harsh critique against an NBA star?
To be fair to Jordan, that 1995 playoff, he had gone nearly 2 years without playing basketball and he was certainly rusty and physically not in basketball shape (relative to his basketball shape). The stats showed it as he had the most turnovers per game in the playoffs other than his 2nd season when he had extremely high usage and scored 44pts a game in 3 game series against a good defensive team. And Besides his injury shortened 2nd season, this was his lowest scoring season as a Bulls at only 26.9pts and worst shooting by far with 41.1%. How he had the ball stolen so easily in the final minute of the last game in the playoffs was fitting as it demonstrated he was still rusty. Just looking at the basic stats 33pts 6reb 4ast 49%fg in just game 2-6 doesn't really show he was back. It ignores they lost game 1 as Jordan played bad (which is not counted in the stats on screen) and lost game 6 due to his sloppy play (6 turnovers and the famous turnover at the end of the game).
Lebron had the worst meltdown by a superstar ever in an NBA Finals series where he was a favorite, but he and Wade also mocked Dirk being sick in post game interview and Dirk busted their ass. Damn time flies.
Kobe took accountability for the 2004 Finals loss in his sitdown conversation with Shaq on Inside the NBA that aired on tv. People gloss over the Bulls lost to the Magic because they got swept in the NBA Finals by the Rockets, and nobody remembers the loser.
They remember Nick Anderson. They just don't care, because MJ hadn't played basketball in two years and the criticism that he had 8 turnovers in his first playoff game back is too weak to register.
Everyone remembers that series and it was never glossed over it was literally talked about in the Last Dance. It just wasn't factored in as much because of the circumstances. I bet if your favorite player hadn't played basketball for 2 years, then came back to a large roster change with less than 15 games in the regular season and took the no.1 seed to 6 games in the CS averaging 30ppg you'd never bate an eye at the loss...
Jordan is the only one on this list who didn't really fail that much, personally. He was still amazing vs the Magic. You will have a tough time naming a playoff series where Jordan played poorly for the entire series. With LeBron and Kobe, you can make a list. Jordan did fail, he just failed less.
Jordan failed, but his failures have been masked by time and the internet. It amazes me how we denigrate athletes for getting to the last 2 of 30 teams and losing, but we disregard Jordan’s playoff flameouts in the 80s, 1995 and the Washington years. We count his stats the same, so count the blame too.
Classic case, the 63pt game vs Boston in 1986. If you ask most people, they would say Bulls won. But the Celtics won. Jordan missed his first of 3 FT with 0.0 on the clock. 3 to win, 2 to tie. He made 2 and the game went to OT. But watch the highlight packages of MJ’s 63, *that missed FT in regulation AND OT are deleted.* We all know if LeBron had a legendary playoff game and lost, we wouldn’t talk about his performance….we’d say he “LeChoked.”
@@bamboosho0t people talk about LeBron’s 51 point masterpiece in the finals but the JR moment overshadowes it. The difference is yes MJ did lose early on but he had been getting beat by either the conference champs or nba champions in that particular season he was losing against the best every year. And this is not even the finals!
@@sambeezy007 fr he was such a great 3rd option. To me its funny how people always argue about whos teams were better between mj and lebron but in reality for their primes they had similar support. They both had that elite all-nba level second option and a 3rd option that was crucial to the team’s success yet since they had reduced roles they were overlooked
i get you're trying to give all of them some unbiased criticism but LeBron and Kobe having horrible finals series which costs their teams vs Jordan having 1 bad game in the 2nd round after coming back from baseball a couple months earlier is not even remotely comparable. so if this is the harshest criticism for Jordan, then it just shows how strong his GOAT argument really is.
Honestly thats the best "excuse" one could have for not being able to win. And it showed that all Jordan needed was to be at 100% because when he returned the next year he went 72-10, swept the Magic, and went on to win 3 straight championships, never lost again 😂
Yeah, losing in 2nd round of playoffs is ok but winning all the rounds of playoffs and then losing the finals is very horrible, their are more players in existence who played in more Finals series than MJ won, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic, Kareem, Bird and Kobe, they all won more playoff series than MJ thus appeared more in Finals then MJ, Magic and Bird had their careers defined by playoff success and in turn many Finals appearances more than MJ had, MJ winning six finals and not losing any is a great accomplishment but others were also great in their own right
@@MarcusAureliusDPhilosopherKing Jordan had a much shorter career than most others. he was also drafted by one of the worst organizations in the league and didn't have any star teammates until Pippen's 3rd season. the players you're listing all played for the Lakers and Celtics and got drafted into star-studded teams. draft Jordan onto a Lakers team that had Kareem or Shaq and he would've went to just as many or more Finals as Magic and Kobe.
@@evanclp514 Magic and Bird played less than MJ, Magic had nine Finals appearances won five of them and faced a stacked team of Celtics there, it was not Magic's fault that he was drafted by Lakers and they had Kareem, heck Kareem got injured and who carried them to championship Magic who lost ROTY award to Bird, MJ also won becoz he had a good team in 90s and also there is no gurantee that having a stacked team will win you championship that frequent, Detroit Pistons swept Lakers in 1989, MJ's Bulls defeated Magic's Lakers in 1991, only better teams win championship and road goes through the playoffs in which MJ lost thats what I was talking about, Magic and Bird were not carried by anyone they themselves lifted their teams which was expected from MJ too, he did in 90s and in seven years of that won six years of playoffs series and won all championship, Magic being a rookie and having an ageing Kareem appeared in nine Finals of 1980s, thats why Magic is a great player in his own right, I admire MJ especially for his individual game, mentality and his great carry job in 1997-1998 season with the Bulls, he is GOAT for that reason but I also consider Magic, Kareem, Bird, Russell, Kobe as GOATs in their own right Regarding Shaq and Kobe consider this Shaq lost Finals and playoffs until Kobe showed up, Kobe was a bench player in his rookie season, within two years after finishing his rookie season on bench suddenly Kobe got "carried" by Shaq to threepeat championship who never won before Kobe arrived and won only a single championship without being the FMVP and becam a journeyman and Kobe threepeated WCF and won two Finals, now after all of that do you really think teaming with Shaq helped Kobe or it is the other way around
Stains in Superstars Careers: Jordan: His loss in 1995 against Young Shaq Kobe: His selfishness in 2004 to ultimately lose the championship Lebron: His horrible performance in the 2011 finals Steph: His slight mediocre performance in the 2016 finals Kevin Durant: Him not winning championship without the Warriors
I disagree on losing to Shaq as Jordans biggest stain imo his 3 point contest performance is he literally has the worst performance in 3 point contest history
So the real question is, which one was the worst?? I’m gonna say Kobe. Jordan simply messed up, and LeBron was really bad, but Kobe was selfish in a way that cost the team. That’s next level
Jonny failed to mention Karl Malone's injury, which was a huge factor in that Laker defeat to the Pistons. Phil decided that playing KM 30+ minutes at age 40 could work, and it didn't. As soon as he went down, the team chemistry went haywire in terms of roles. THAT's why Kobe's shot total went up by 8-10/game going into those Finals, and it didn't fit the flow of the offense.
The only thing I'll push back on slightly is after the 95 loss to Orlando, Jordan absolutely gave credit to Horace Grant not being on the team anymore as a reason as to why they lost the playoff series, I remember it very well from the papers at the time
@@John6-40 Jordan did agree to having Rodman on the team when it was brought to his attention that Rodman was going to join the Bulls, but he didn't push specifically for Rodman. No team in the league at the time wanted to deal with Rodman due to his antics (not even Krause. Thank his assistant for convincing him to take a chance on Rodman).
The only reason MJ even came back to basketball was because the MLB players went on strike that year. The mlb owners were trying to use him as leverage to use replacement player to finish the year and Jordan wanted no part of it. The fact that Mj came back to the L with 17 games of chemistry with practically a whole new team and took that Orlando Juggernaut to 6 games speaks volumes to his greatness. But because it’s Michael Jordan and he is held to a much higher standard it’s seen as the biggest blemish of his career.
Challenges for Jordan's bulls 1. Playing vs Shaq and Penny 2. Former bulls teammate 3. Few games played that season Bull's best players Jordan = no rival Pippen = dominant Teams challenging to bull's Pistons + Billups + Wallace (defense) Spurs + Duncan Celtics + Bird Lakers + Shaq + Kobe GSW + Durant + Curry (best team ?) Lakers + Magic + Kareem Lakers + Wilt
@Normajean Eason don't start crapping on Jordan's teammates. They were very good and good enough to assist Jordan with 6 rings. They win nothing without Jordan and Jordan wins nothing without them. #TeamGame
@sambeezy007 I'm not crapping on his teammates. I'm just sick and tired of people thinking Pippen was a majic worker when he first got there. Pippen didn't have to struggle as long as Jordan did. Jordan struggled mighty. You completely missed my point.
At least you said Jordan stans are the ones that pretend the '95 ECSF never happened, but I feel I should point out that the majority of people in the Jordan camp acknowledged that that series happened we just don't make excuses. He was also a little fatigued through the series and wasn't quite himself. Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson even said as such themselves. Like you pointed out though, Orlando was just the better team with the gap being wider without that inside presence to even attempt to combat Shaq. Another reason we don't harp on it much was because of the following year with the Bulls winning 72 games and sweeping Orlando out of the playoffs. I do find it funny though that getting stripped from behind is arguably Jordan's biggest choke moment, especially when you consider he stripped Karl Malone from behind leading up to that iconic game winner in '98 but no one calls that a choke moment for Malone. That being his biggest choke moment just goes to show how cluch he was.
Yes. Was Jordan not himself physically? Yes, players on other team observed it as you said. But when asked abort the series straight after Jordan's first comment was they missed Grant
@@Sf75178 Yes, that's why that was mentioned in the video and by myself. There was another factor that wasn't mentioned and that's that there were only 3 people on the team that were part of the 3peat and there was some chemistry issue. All that said though, the Magic were just better and even having Grant may not have mattered. My contention is with how people make it seem like most Jordan fans like to ignore this loss when we don't. We just don't think it's as big a deal as LeBron fans want us to think because of the other 3peat that followed.
As a big fan of MJ I definitely didn't forget about '95. That Magic team was incredible and would have gone far off not for Shaq leaving and Penny's injuries
We could have had the Bulls, Magic, Knicks, Heat duking it out in the 97' playoffs if the Magic had not collapsed and I think the Magic could have the Bulls a Pacers like challenge.
Yeah but that was MJ after a 2 year hiatus for the last 17 games of the season. Also, Penny's injuries were arguably BECAUSE of Shaq's departure... he had a way heavier load to carry after Shaq left because he was jealous of Penny's popularity.
I love that last part. Where you said this video shows how each one of them bounced back after their failures. Your failures don’t define you and it takes so much strength to get back up and try to win again. And actually do it
MJ and Bulls fan here, his ‘95 post season is his biggest L but honestly, compared to other legends this one is pretty tame. I mean, he still averaged over 30 points that playoffs.
@@cumbusta9175 You realize if we applied the same statement to every Top 10 player it just further separates Jordan as the G.O.A.T, right? Do you realize JUST HOW MANY games and moments LeBron/Kobe/Shaq/Magic/Bird etc. has choked?
"There are ways to criticize the greatest players of all tine, and bounce back from monumental failures". Exactly, thanks Jonny for the video and inspiration.
The TL;DR version of this video: Lebron had a bad series, which probably cost his team a championship. Kobe had a bad series, which probably cost his team a championship. Jordan messed up once at the end of a playoff game, which cost his team the game, and then his team lost the series despite his quality play after that.
@@kiryukazuma8229 Nah, that Bulls team was missing a major piece as they weren't strong enough down low. If they win that game it changes the series, sure, but it doesn't fix the matchup issues they had - note that the Bulls still lost 3 of the next 5 games despite Jordan playing better. Anyway, even if you take it further than I did then we are talking about one bad game from Jordan, not a whole series.
@@marcosmartinez8088 It's fuckin not the same lmfao. Jordan didn't retool the roster and traded every nigga on the team to get Bosh join with him. You're delusional.
@@marcosmartinez8088 No. Bron was on the team all throughout 2011 and was in MVP consideration. He came close to winning it, but Rose won the MVP. It was Bron's team. He just flamed out completely in the finals. The Bulls in 1995 was literally Pippen's all season long. MJ just returned when there were 17 games left in the season.
To be fair to Jordan, that 1995 playoff -- he had gone nearly 2 years without playing basketball and he was certainly rusty and physically not in basketball shape (relative to his basketball shape). The stats showed it as he had the most turnovers per game in the playoffs other than his 2nd season when he had extremly high usage and scored 44pts a game in 3 game series against a good defensive team. And Besides his injury shortened 2nd season, this was his lowest scoring season as a Bulls at only 26.9pts and worst shooting by far with 41.1%. How he had the ball stolen so easily in the final minute of the last game in the playoffs was fitting as it demonstrated he was still rusty. Just looking at the basic stats 33pts 6reb 4ast 49%fg in just game 2-6 doesn't really show he was back. It ignores they lost game 1 as Jordan played bad (which is not counted in the stats on screen) and lost game 6 due to his sloppy play (6 turnovers and the famous turnover at the end of the game).
@@crosswiz6 Anyone that knows basketball knows that taking 2 years off in your early 30's and quickly trying to play is not going to be anywhere near 100%. The stat in the video cherry picked game 2-6 of one series while also ignoring how bad and sloppy Jordan played in game 6. It was just under 2 months between his first game back and the last game of the playoffs. IIRC, he started playing in games within a few days of practicing with the Bulls'. Officially, the day he publicly said he's back and resigned with the Bulls was just 24hrs before his first game! But I think he was was having some scrimmages for a few days before.
Jordan being off in 95 wasnt just a narrative.. it was something a lot of us felt back theni was 20-21 that year and we talked alot abt how jordan was obviously missing a step.. yeah he was scoring buckets but something was off abt him... it wasnt till 96 that he seem to be back to form.. im only saying this because it wasnt a media narrative the local guy felt the same way... and him being out a full 1.5 years its to be expected... that said Olando was Tuff amd going into 95-96 NOONE saw the bulls taking down Olando... in fact ppl were questioning westher or not Rodman would even work on ghe bulls becuase of how he did in Santonio
Totally agree, he could still score but you can see he was missing some. The highlights don’t tell the full story. He did have a good few games but, compared to his previous years he wasn’t moving the same on the court.
I agreed with EVERYTHING you said about Jordan EXCEPT that there wasn’t a narrative when Jordan scored 55. Listen I’m from Chicago and I was 15 at that time. Not only the 55 pt game also the game winner against Atlanta. Yes we started getting the feeling he’s back but myself like EVERYONE in Chicago felt that wasn’t the same Michael the WHOLE time. We didn’t get that unworried feeling until the first Quarter of the following season when they were 72-10. So don’t say there wasn’t a baseball shape narrative after the 55pt game when I was living it and NO ONE felt truly secure about Mike’s comeback until the 72-10 season homie
This 💯. I do not recall anyone saying with complete confidence that the Bulls were gonna win it all upon MJ's return. It's also common knowledge for basketball fans at that time that the reasons why the Bulls were struggling that season was: 1. Jordan wasn't there yet (obviously) and 2. There is no inside presence playing C or PF. And no, true basketball fans do not sweep that 95 comeback under the rug. It was fuel for MJ to bounce back hard
@@punyemas9783 yes THANK YOU is Bulls fans ALL were still nervous about if he’s really back that whole end of the season since he returned. WE ALL SEEN the difference in his body movement and quickness as well.
@@barbaduzas nah dats every Bron fan fr Nd ya try to flip it, ya niggaz act like Bron gon see ya post Nd comments goin hard for em more den kids Nd wife, he don’t kno ya niggaz
@@TakeoneDoe Yep and also in 2010 g7. Good thing Pau played out of his mind in that game offensively and defensively, if not everybody would talk how kobe underperformed in a do or die game in the finals.
Rumor context behind his bad performance in 2011 finals is that he found out Delonte West hooked up with his mom, and this news hit him hard. This is why he couldn't focus on the game and it's also the reason why he never explained the reason for his performance. It's was just embarrassing for him
Bruh, imagine coming from nothing. Literally the rose that grew from concrete. Then you do everything right. Train relentlessly, take care of your body, upstanding citizen because you know media would love to burn you down. And your mom ends up being a savage. Poor guy.
Dats da outcome of Bron wanting to be everybody friend, nigga fucked his momz, Nd didn’t do nun bout it buh got him secretly escorted out da league soft ass
Yeah, each criticism is unique in its own way. Kobe was bad and selfish, LeBron was just terrible, and Jordan was only off in game 1, but it's the excuses that needs to go for MJ.
Jordan still the best player on the court in that series as well. Lebron totally disappeared. They didn't lose because of Jordan. Heat lost because of Lebron. That is the difference. Proof was when he said that Jordan didn't have an inside presence anymore with Horace. It was laughable though that he chose two plays in the entire series to critique. Two plays, really. They lost in 6 with Jordan being the best on the floor. They weren't going to win that series.
@Gabriel W I kind of agree. The fact that the series against the Magic is what people have to point to just shows how consistently great Jordan was. That said, we need to own the fact that Jordan failed, even if the failures were smaller. We come off as obnoxious, otherwise.
i feel like kobe's biggest critique is selfishly tanking the future of the lakers. taking $32M/year for 4 years, while basically still rehabilitating the achilles tear, and judging most of his younger teammates extremely harshly really took its toll on LA. i can forgive him for scoring 60 on his last game ever, but it was a bitter pill to swallow as a kid, especially having to hear clippers fans talk about Lob City for so long. even now, the best they can do was a past his prime lebron and an inconsistent AD. not that they are bad, and the lakers would be much worse without them, but i cant help but feel like kobe's legacy has something to do with the current team's struggles. Similarly, jordan's biggest critique is coming back to play for the wizards for some reason. idk why people dont talk about this more: "the last dance" wasn't even his last season. what did he accomplish in washington? my guess is no one talks about it because he was clearly aged at the time and expectations were probably unreasonable, but then the simple fact that he came out of retirement is the biggest blemish of his career. why come back to do nothing and make "the final shot" not the actual final shot?
That's a good choice, and that one STILL bothers me. Remember when every analyst was saying "the Lakers have room for 2 max contract players".... and then Kobe took that absurd extension, and then LA only had room for one. Was shocked that Kobe did that. Basically sealed the fact that he wouldn't be competing for championships in the twilight of his career
The difference between the critiques of the three is that MJ had ONE bad game while the other two had bad ENTIRE SERIES. No player is perfect, that's a given. However, I would pick MJ for my team before the other two.
People have bad memory when it comes Kobe. Jordan’s loss should be expected. He only had 17 games before the playoffs. When I watched him that year even though the stats were there he was not his old self.
Especially after Kobe tragically passed away (RIP Kobe). They overrate him so much to the point they even throw mud to his teammates in 09 and 10 saying they weren't that good and Kobe carried them. Lol if Artest and Pau didn't played out of their minds in g7 2010 especially in defense and 2nd chance pts, That series would be remembered where Kobe shot 6/24 (25%) against their rival at home.
"Short-Cut" LeBron is known for skipping college ball then skipping out on his hometown Cavs to go Ring-Chasing with Kyrie, Wade, Bosh, Allen, Love and Davis. Which is somehow supposed to prove he's the greatest of all-time? He holds the record for fewest pts scored in NCAA history, but is somehow skipped up to Abdul Jabbar's level who has 6 NBA MVP's 6 NBA titles, 3 NCAA titles and 3 Naismith awards. I guess skipping college is exactly the same as winning 3 NCAA championships huh guys?
It speaks volumes when you criticize a player for coming up short after missing more than one and a half seasons. No training camp. No time to gel, nothing! Of course he was kinda rusty. Rust has many layers.
So the criticism is that Jordan's team wasn't good enough and he choked one game in a seven-game series? Also the fact that he wasn't in basketball shape was evident if you just look at the stats. He was very careless with the ball and less efficient than the rest of his career. Six games in one playoff series doesn't prove that he wasn't Rusty
I know a lot of people won’t like this comment. But my biggest critique of Lebron was joining forces with 2 of the other top 5 players in the Eastern Conference to take an easy path to winning championships. He took away his competition & made it so easy to reach the finals. His toughest competition were a young Pacers team, DeRozan & Lowry, an aging Celtics team & a really good Bulls team for the one year when Rose was MVP. It’s part of why he’ll never be near GOAT status to me & I don’t think I could place him higher than 4th all time at best no matter what else he accomplishes. I have him 5th all time currently.
thats an argument you can make then despite the previous year the heat were struggling before bron got there. But once Bron took the 2018 cavs to the finals despite being unfavored in every playoff series, its hard to unlegitimize his finals appearance. Truth is, regardless who he teamed up with...he was the best player and those teams would never win championships or even get to the finals without him.
@@WissMongler Yes, but on the flip side without Wade & Bosh he wouldn't have those 2 rings which need to be placed in the proper perspective in how they were accomplished. Lebron was the best player on every team but that still doesn't take away from the fact that Wade was a top 5 player in the entire league when Lebron joined up with him & Bosh was a top 5 player in the entire Eastern Conference for the 2010 season. They actually underachieved a bit with that team only going 2 for 4 when they should have won at least 3 out of 4. Jordan, Magic & Bird viewed that move to Miami as weak & said they never would have done that. They were as polite as possible in how they made their statements but it was heavily implied they thought it was a weak move. When it comes to a GOAT list I have to evaluate their entire career & put everything in context. Bill Russell would be the GOAT for instance but unfortunately he played in a much weaker era than when Jordan 3-peated twice in the 90s as well as not being the greatest on offense so that has to go against him to be fair to Jordan. The majority of the time Lebron made the Finals the East was way weaker than the West. If he played in the West he might have only made 4 or 5 Finals at most in his career.
@@johng4099 His East was no weaker than the expansion era the Bulls played through which keep in mind even Larry bird called weak. LBJs east looked weak because he made it look that way. They faced MVP Rose who's team was 16 games above .500 against the west, 60-win hawks' team who had 4 All Stars they were 14 games above .500 against the west, Toronto, Celtics, etc. where all way above .500 against the west. Its also not a coincidence LeBron goes west and stars start going east.
Awesome need more vids like this. It ain't hate either it's just needed info to truly measure how great these dudes were. It shows that the elite of the elite have to fight to overcome stuff just like anyone else. And these guys are alldefinitely elite.
I agree with everything you stated. You also left out the final two minutes of game 6 Spurs vs Heat which Lebron absolutely choked. The only one worse than James in the final two minutes was Greg Popovich. He removed Tim Duncan twice in the final minutes and failed to deliberately foul allowing Ray Allen's game typing 3. He also failed game 7 by letting James shoot all game long instead of being aggressive with Kawai Leonard.
My biggest critiques of each player is the fan made myths that have come up around each. I think it takes great/amazing players and undermines that by playing fantasy about who they are as players. Personally I think the LeBron fan base is the worst and that LeBron himself feeds into it with his words but every great has these. You even talked about one here with Jordan's Orlando playoff loss . I would love to see videos where you break down the big myths of each GOAT candidate. Things like LeBron is a pass first player, or that he makes all his teammates better. For Jordan it would be that his competitive attitude was what separated him from everyone else and not his insane athletic abilities and skill levels. Things like that.
LeBron fans are much less harsh on other GOAT candidates. If someone has LeBron at #1, they almost always have MJ at #2. Then you have MJ fans who treat him like the Messiah and say LeBron is a choker and isn't top 5. MJ fans put down LeBron to lift up MJ, while LeBron fans can lift up LeBron without without putting down MJ
@@sir_sackman Gtfoh, lebron fanboys are the ONLY “fans” that push the BS narratives about Jordan. Easily the worst of the bunch, probably because it’s mostly kids that never saw Jordan or even prime Kobe.
@@reeseon10 MJ's fans are the most disrespectful for sure. I also think they have the worst case of downplaying others. That isn't what I was talking about though. I was talking enforcing narratives around the player themselves and in that regard I think LeBron fans are the worst.
@@sir_sack I agree the worst MJ fans, and there are a lot of them, are the worst when it comes to other players. And definitely around newer players. It is like they have placed their own validity on everything from their "better" era proving them superior. What I was talking about here though is I think LeBron fans are the worst about creating narratives and myths around LeBron.
Got to be honest, man, you spent a lot of time trying to justify your inclusion of Jordan on here when it was one game. I mean, you spent more time on MJ than you did on the other two even though Jordan’s “choke” was way, way less devastating to the chances of the Bulls winning a chip that year than what Kobe or LeBron did. Jordan basically did in that game what Kobe did in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals. He also was terrific the rest of that series, as you yourself pointed out. Also, Jordan never made an excuse saying “I was playing baseball.” And the trainer said that it would be hurt his basketball career in the section where they talk about his decision to quit basketball in 1993, bot when they’re talking about Game 1 of 1995. I think you are being a little biased against Jordan here, just so you can put him in the same category as LeBron or Kobe, when objectively, Jordan was infinitely better than them in their respective series you have here. I will say that I feel you’re talking more to Jordan stans here than actually critiquing Jordan, but if so, that’s a bad way to approach it, as it’s not fair to MJ. He did not make excuses, unless we watched a different documentary. I think a better example of Jordan not meeting the moment would be in 1989, when he stunk the last three games of the ECF.
Every Houston Rockets fan from the 90s gives a massive THANK YOU to you sir for your review of mid 90s Michael Jordan's failure in the Eastern Semi-Finals. The "Jordan wasn't at full speed yet" excuse has always been used to discredit the Rockets 2 championships in 1994 and 1995, while people conveniently forget MJ was dropping 55 in Madison Sqaure Garden when he came back, and even putting up stellar Jordan numbers in the playoffs.
Its still a valid point. Not an excuse. Jordan came back right hefore the playoffs started, he only played 17 season games, he wasn't at full capacity. The thing is Jordan is so good that he could still score 55 even while not in full capacity. But playoffs are another story so full capacity is needed.
@@crosswiz6 he said in the last dance he had been secretly training with the bulls long before he made his comeback. The bulls 100% needed an inside presence which is why they went and got dennis rodman. MJ is the 🐐 but the 95 excuse really is played out.
@@hernanbenitez2828 everyone knew he was practicing with the Bulls at the time, but no one knew or really believed that he (or anyone) would ever 'unretire'. You're correct, but it wasn't a secret. And I've never heard anyone discredit the Rockets' championships, besides the highly unlikely fact that the Bulls would have ran 8 straight.
@@crosswiz6 Jordan still lost. It's not the Rocket's fault that Jordan wasn't there those 2 years. They played who they played and won. The same can be reversed against the Rockets and I would agree with it, it's not MJ and the Bull's fault the Rockets weren't there in 1991-'93 or 1996-'98. But Jordan still lost in 1995.
Jordan just had one bad playoff game out of 6 games against Orlando ... he was great the rest of the series as the stats you showed ... this criticism is nitpicking at Jordan because you can't blame him for one bad game of an entire series ... On the other hand both Lebron and Kobe had a bad series that caused them to lose in the finals
Disagree with you on the Jordan take, there's a reason they say the best ability is availability. Jordan wasn't available for the majority of the season, so he wasn't able to get in full basketball shape. Thats not only a very valid "excuse" but its the entire reason players in any sport practice and always play prior to the season..to get in proper shape.
Love this. Favorite ball video ever. Always disagreed with your takes (active bronsexual) but this is how we talk about legacies and careers outside of just ball specifics
@@z-mane1438 He choked hard and they would've been champs if LeBron avg at least 20, but "the mavs"? That team swept the defending champs and destroyed OKC. They were far better than what people are trying to portray them and they sure are a lot better than the 04 pistons. Kobe felt like he was "IT" when he's not.
@@nicksamp515 woulda coulda shoulda and lebron was in his prime averaged 17 ppg with kobe averaging 22 ppg against one of the best defensive teams in modern history plus nobody looked at the mavs as a threat, they came outta nowhere ..it’s a reason why ppl remember that 2011 over the 2004 finals
It wasn't failure but jordan played really bad in 96 finals. He was excellent in first 3 games and they took 3-0 lead but in next 3 games he was scoring 23.7ppg on 36%fg and in game 6 which they won he shoot 5/19 from field
I think that Lebron might have been in wrong mindset in 2011. Like for all of his career he had to put his team on his back for anything to happen. He came to Miami to lighten the burden however he might have believed that he didn’t need to give everything to win which wasn’t the case. By the time he understood that it was too late…
I know the purpose of your video is to show how the best have their faults but when Jordan’s worst critique is him not playing a full season and losing in the playoffs, I’m very okay with that Lol 😂 not a bad place to be.
One of the many reasons why Jonny is one of the best basketball channels is because he has the ability to make a video like this without sounding bias at all. Jordan and Kobe are my favorite players and I just accept the L of those failures. Respect 💯🔥
THANK YOU for saying this! No offense, I love Jordan and still think he’s the GOAT, but I’ve always thought the excuse that he was not in basketball shape against the Magic in 1995 was BS. Sure he was rusty the first few games coming back (as any player would), but then he scored 55 against the Knicks and averaged around 31 points during the playoffs. Jordan choked in the 1995 playoffs, but that’s okay. Even though he’s considered the GOAT, he’s still human, and even the greatest can fail sometimes. The good thing as you said is that he was able to bounce back from it.
I think Jordan's weakness and the reason he retired prematurely 2 times, is that he gambled, smoked cigars, drank, pkayed golf and didn't sleep for so many years straight, that he burned himself out. If he had led a more "normal" lifestyle, even normal for an NBA superstar, he probably really COULD have won 9-10 rings in a row. In hindsight, he and his fans make wxcuses for him instead of just admitting he had that one weakness of going to hard all of the time.
Eh... Nah. Listen, you're right, but you're not right on MJ. Yes, his conditioning was probably not that important, that is a bit of P.R. to blunt the edge. But if you think one steal in game is the decider in that series, I have some bad news for you: Chicago *DID* steal home court advantage in the next game. The series was tied 1 - 1 going into Chicago for game 3. Let's look at what happened then, shall we? Game 3, Jordan popped off dropping 40 points, but it didn't matter because nobody could stop Shaq and Horace. Some subpar performances from Kukoč and the Bull's bench didn't help, either. Game 4, the Bulls win, due to good performances from Pip and Kukoč, and some awful shooting by Penny Hardaway, and a merely mortal 17 points from Shaq. Game 5, the series is tied 2 - 2, and MJ drops 39 in a monstrous performance: 15 of 28 from the field and 8 for 8 from the stripe. 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, zero trunovers. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the team had their game stolen by the Monstars. Pippen went 4 for 13 and 1 of 6 from the line. Kukoč dropped 2 of 6 and missed 1 of 2 free throws. Even the normally reliable B.J. Armstrong had a bad night, going 6 for 16 from the field. By Game 6, the Magic smelled blood, and Shaq blew up, scoring 27, pulling down 13 boards, and nabbing 4 steals. Merely ordinary performances from Jordan and Pippen could not turn the tide. The real difference, as you mentioned, was the lack of interior presence. It was the despised Jerry Krause picking San Antonio's pocket, trading Will Purdue for *Dennis Rodman* whic secured the Bulls' next threepeat. Nobody ever wins or loses a game by themselves. And if you look at MJ's overall stats, instead of fixating on one play, in one game, Michael Jordan was still the best player on the court in that entire series. I'd argue he played better when *losing* in 1995 than he did when *winning* in 1996, when you look at his personal contribution to the team.
I honestly had no idea about that Jordan series, but it discredits the idea that Jordan would have gone 8-0 if he never retired entirely. Not only was it speculation to begin with but there was literally a season between the 3-peats that they didn't even make the finals.
And dont tel me about rodman as great he was we show in 1998 seson with rodman on the bench and with Scottie for a big part injured mj still being the best player in the league and leading Chicago to the championship
@@ntinoskap4413 he seemed to be playing like himself perfectly fine in games 2-6 and towards the end of the season. Dropping 50+. The Bulls lost due to the roster construction, even with Jordan on it averaging 33 they lost, which means in 3 games after the game 1 loss, his 33 points per game weren't enough to win 3 other games.
It’s crazy how Jordan’s low point is so minuscule compared to the others. Michael also gave Horace grant his credit, so I find that point sort of disingenuous.
They are not completely wrong though. MJ's style of play was never the same after his first retirement. Even George Karl made a critique about it and said that he's not a high flyer anymore and more of a mid range shooter.
My fav wilt story was told by Larry Brown. He was coaching at UCLA and Magic Johnson would organize pick up games in the summer. One day, 43 year old wilt was there playing with 4 UCLA freshman against Magic, Bernard King, Worthy, Scott and Green. Wilt got mad when Magic called wilt for a goaltend. Wilt said “We’ll play again, to twelve, and there will be no more baskets made of this goal.” He then proceeded to block, every, shot that anyone attempted. Again, he was 43.
This video perfectly shows that no hero is perfect. It doesn't take away their greatness. It shows that everyone had their moments of weakness. I didn't know Horace Grant was out of almost the entire series in 1996. It certainly wouldn't have been 4-0, but I believe the Bulls would have won anyway.
Go to www.athleticgreens.com/jonnyarnett for a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D3K2 & 5 travel packs FREE with your first purchase! #AG1 #AG1Partner
What is your harsh critique against an NBA star?
To be fair to Jordan, that 1995 playoff, he had gone nearly 2 years without playing basketball and he was certainly rusty and physically not in basketball shape (relative to his basketball shape). The stats showed it as he had the most turnovers per game in the playoffs other than his 2nd season when he had extremely high usage and scored 44pts a game in 3 game series against a good defensive team. And Besides his injury shortened 2nd season, this was his lowest scoring season as a Bulls at only 26.9pts and worst shooting by far with 41.1%.
How he had the ball stolen so easily in the final minute of the last game in the playoffs was fitting as it demonstrated he was still rusty. Just looking at the basic stats 33pts 6reb 4ast 49%fg in just game 2-6 doesn't really show he was back. It ignores they lost game 1 as Jordan played bad (which is not counted in the stats on screen) and lost game 6 due to his sloppy play (6 turnovers and the famous turnover at the end of the game).
Jonny you've mastered nuanced content
Yes! Just signed up
tbh Kobe never did anything without help
Kobe's not an all time guy, Pau and Shaq are. Kobe's just Paul George but a little better
@@DonSMDT Kobe went back-to-back as the only Top 75 player on his team against 6 HOFers stop it. Pau isnt even a Top 75 player.
Please never stop making videos bro. Been watching for like 5 years and I’m still excited every time you post
Man tho bruh
Fax
I know right
Word
He started 4 years ago
Lebron had the worst meltdown by a superstar ever in an NBA Finals series where he was a favorite, but he and Wade also mocked Dirk being sick in post game interview and Dirk busted their ass. Damn time flies.
Exactly. By far worst chokejob in NBA history.
Dwade was by far the best player that series
@@jonathanpena7165 by far.
That is Def not the worst. He wasn't even a champion yet
@@Kenneth-jc2ls Oh, who is worst?
Kobe took accountability for the 2004 Finals loss in his sitdown conversation with Shaq on Inside the NBA that aired on tv. People gloss over the Bulls lost to the Magic because they got swept in the NBA Finals by the Rockets, and nobody remembers the loser.
Jordan remembered and came back to smoke em!
They remember Nick Anderson. They just don't care, because MJ hadn't played basketball in two years and the criticism that he had 8 turnovers in his first playoff game back is too weak to register.
Everyone remembers that series and it was never glossed over it was literally talked about in the Last Dance. It just wasn't factored in as much because of the circumstances. I bet if your favorite player hadn't played basketball for 2 years, then came back to a large roster change with less than 15 games in the regular season and took the no.1 seed to 6 games in the CS averaging 30ppg you'd never bate an eye at the loss...
And then they got swept the following year by Jordan 😂
@@sakdavid First playoff game back? Did he also have 8 turnovers in the first round's Game 1?
the thing you said about failures at the end gave me chills as im having a very bad year so thank you
Been there. Sorry to hear that. Life is full of seasons, bro. You can get through this one 😤
Sorry to hear your year isn’t going well. It’s about to change you gotta believe that tho brother.
Believe in yourself
Bounce back next season. The warriors were sh!t in 2021 but they become a champ in 2022 just like that. U can do it.
Jordan is the only one on this list who didn't really fail that much, personally. He was still amazing vs the Magic. You will have a tough time naming a playoff series where Jordan played poorly for the entire series. With LeBron and Kobe, you can make a list. Jordan did fail, he just failed less.
Jordan failed, but his failures have been masked by time and the internet. It amazes me how we denigrate athletes for getting to the last 2 of 30 teams and losing, but we disregard Jordan’s playoff flameouts in the 80s, 1995 and the Washington years. We count his stats the same, so count the blame too.
Classic case, the 63pt game vs Boston in 1986. If you ask most people, they would say Bulls won. But the Celtics won. Jordan missed his first of 3 FT with 0.0 on the clock. 3 to win, 2 to tie. He made 2 and the game went to OT. But watch the highlight packages of MJ’s 63, *that missed FT in regulation AND OT are deleted.* We all know if LeBron had a legendary playoff game and lost, we wouldn’t talk about his performance….we’d say he “LeChoked.”
@@bamboosho0t The only reason why Lebron gets so much crap is because he failed while being the favored team. While running to form those super teams.
@@bamboosho0t people talk about LeBron’s 51 point masterpiece in the finals but the JR moment overshadowes it.
The difference is yes MJ did lose early on but he had been getting beat by either the conference champs or nba champions in that particular season he was losing against the best every year. And this is not even the finals!
And succeeded more in less time
I always thought highly of Horace grant...he was EXACTLY what a 90's pf exemplified in that NBA.
Certainly overlooked at times.
Fun fact: He ended his career on the 2004 Lakers.
It bothers me how people don't appreciate Horace Grant. He's 1 of the main reasons why Jordan got his first 3 peat.
Blue Collar for sure
@@sambeezy007 fr he was such a great 3rd option. To me its funny how people always argue about whos teams were better between mj and lebron but in reality for their primes they had similar support. They both had that elite all-nba level second option and a 3rd option that was crucial to the team’s success yet since they had reduced roles they were overlooked
He was solid. Always hit that outside J like clock work. Was a Piston/Knicks fan so I know. lol
i get you're trying to give all of them some unbiased criticism but LeBron and Kobe having horrible finals series which costs their teams vs Jordan having 1 bad game in the 2nd round after coming back from baseball a couple months earlier is not even remotely comparable. so if this is the harshest criticism for Jordan, then it just shows how strong his GOAT argument really is.
Honestly thats the best "excuse" one could have for not being able to win. And it showed that all Jordan needed was to be at 100% because when he returned the next year he went 72-10, swept the Magic, and went on to win 3 straight championships, never lost again 😂
Lol you basically just repeated the horrible nonsensical excuses which Jhonny refuted, thanks for nothing
Yeah, losing in 2nd round of playoffs is ok but winning all the rounds of playoffs and then losing the finals is very horrible, their are more players in existence who played in more Finals series than MJ won, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic, Kareem, Bird and Kobe, they all won more playoff series than MJ thus appeared more in Finals then MJ, Magic and Bird had their careers defined by playoff success and in turn many Finals appearances more than MJ had, MJ winning six finals and not losing any is a great accomplishment but others were also great in their own right
@@MarcusAureliusDPhilosopherKing Jordan had a much shorter career than most others. he was also drafted by one of the worst organizations in the league and didn't have any star teammates until Pippen's 3rd season. the players you're listing all played for the Lakers and Celtics and got drafted into star-studded teams. draft Jordan onto a Lakers team that had Kareem or Shaq and he would've went to just as many or more Finals as Magic and Kobe.
@@evanclp514 Magic and Bird played less than MJ, Magic had nine Finals appearances won five of them and faced a stacked team of Celtics there, it was not Magic's fault that he was drafted by Lakers and they had Kareem, heck Kareem got injured and who carried them to championship Magic who lost ROTY award to Bird, MJ also won becoz he had a good team in 90s and also there is no gurantee that having a stacked team will win you championship that frequent, Detroit Pistons swept Lakers in 1989, MJ's Bulls defeated Magic's Lakers in 1991, only better teams win championship and road goes through the playoffs in which MJ lost thats what I was talking about, Magic and Bird were not carried by anyone they themselves lifted their teams which was expected from MJ too, he did in 90s and in seven years of that won six years of playoffs series and won all championship, Magic being a rookie and having an ageing Kareem appeared in nine Finals of 1980s, thats why Magic is a great player in his own right, I admire MJ especially for his individual game, mentality and his great carry job in 1997-1998 season with the Bulls, he is GOAT for that reason but I also consider Magic, Kareem, Bird, Russell, Kobe as GOATs in their own right
Regarding Shaq and Kobe consider this Shaq lost Finals and playoffs until Kobe showed up, Kobe was a bench player in his rookie season, within two years after finishing his rookie season on bench suddenly Kobe got "carried" by Shaq to threepeat championship who never won before Kobe arrived and won only a single championship without being the FMVP and becam a journeyman and Kobe threepeated WCF and won two Finals, now after all of that do you really think teaming with Shaq helped Kobe or it is the other way around
Stains in Superstars Careers:
Jordan: His loss in 1995 against Young Shaq
Kobe: His selfishness in 2004 to ultimately lose the championship
Lebron: His horrible performance in the 2011 finals
Steph: His slight mediocre performance in the 2016 finals
Kevin Durant: Him not winning championship without the Warriors
Did Timi D ever disappoint?
His haircut was not great.
@@cheese3enjoyerI guess the 2013 loss to the heat is the worst stain on his career.
@@JaredGoofball 2011 vs Grizzlies was his worst imo. Memphis upset spurs and he didnt have a great series
I disagree on losing to Shaq as Jordans biggest stain imo his 3 point contest performance is he literally has the worst performance in 3 point contest history
So the real question is, which one was the worst?? I’m gonna say Kobe. Jordan simply messed up, and LeBron was really bad, but Kobe was selfish in a way that cost the team. That’s next level
I agree with the Kobe opinion because he went against his own team
@@synnox9246yeah and people still say he’s the goat which is just not true. If your a goat you have every redeeming quality to your team.
Jonny failed to mention Karl Malone's injury, which was a huge factor in that Laker defeat to the Pistons.
Phil decided that playing KM 30+ minutes at age 40 could work, and it didn't. As soon as he went down, the team chemistry went haywire in terms of roles. THAT's why Kobe's shot total went up by 8-10/game going into those Finals, and it didn't fit the flow of the offense.
@@shaft9000 Really great point.
I agree with the notion that losing due to poor decisions and selfishness is worse than choking and/or just playing poorly.
The only thing I'll push back on slightly is after the 95 loss to Orlando, Jordan absolutely gave credit to Horace Grant not being on the team anymore as a reason as to why they lost the playoff series, I remember it very well from the papers at the time
Jordan is the one who pushed for Dennis Rodman, so he knew. That said, he should've admitted that in The Last Dance.
@@John6-40 Jordan did agree to having Rodman on the team when it was brought to his attention that Rodman was going to join the Bulls, but he didn't push specifically for Rodman. No team in the league at the time wanted to deal with Rodman due to his antics (not even Krause. Thank his assistant for convincing him to take a chance on Rodman).
"We're one Horace Grant away."
So Penny Hardaway tearin' the Bulls asses up didn't have anything 2 do with that playoff comeback debacle either huh.
@@John6-40 Jordan has doubts over Rodman at first but he got on board once they signed him
The only reason MJ even came back to basketball was because the MLB players went on strike that year. The mlb owners were trying to use him as leverage to use replacement player to finish the year and Jordan wanted no part of it. The fact that Mj came back to the L with 17 games of chemistry with practically a whole new team and took that Orlando Juggernaut to 6 games speaks volumes to his greatness. But because it’s Michael Jordan and he is held to a much higher standard it’s seen as the biggest blemish of his career.
correct. the short season and drastic roster change would be a huge excuse if it were some other people.
Challenges for Jordan's bulls
1. Playing vs Shaq and Penny
2. Former bulls teammate
3. Few games played that season
Bull's best players
Jordan = no rival
Pippen = dominant
Teams challenging to bull's
Pistons + Billups + Wallace (defense)
Spurs + Duncan
Celtics + Bird
Lakers + Shaq + Kobe
GSW + Durant + Curry (best team ?)
Lakers + Magic + Kareem
Lakers + Wilt
The only time Pippen could dominate with Jordan on the court. Pippen never won MVP DPOY or a scoring title
@Normajean Eason don't start crapping on Jordan's teammates. They were very good and good enough to assist Jordan with 6 rings. They win nothing without Jordan and Jordan wins nothing without them.
#TeamGame
@sambeezy007 I'm not crapping on his teammates. I'm just sick and tired of people thinking Pippen was a majic worker when he first got there. Pippen didn't have to struggle as long as Jordan did. Jordan struggled mighty. You completely missed my point.
Off topic but Johnny would you ever do a video on how many finals MVP's you think Bill Russell would have?
Absolutely. Can't promise when, since I have so many projects atm, but that's a great idea, and something I wanna do.
hasn’t Jonny already done that though? with his “if the mvp award was given to the best player of every year” video. it was across decades
@@dre4772 he never did the FINALS MVP for the 50s or 60s
@@michael-paulware7330 ohhhh my fault G i misread the comment
6 at least, 8 at most. At least tying Jordan.
At least you said Jordan stans are the ones that pretend the '95 ECSF never happened, but I feel I should point out that the majority of people in the Jordan camp acknowledged that that series happened we just don't make excuses. He was also a little fatigued through the series and wasn't quite himself. Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson even said as such themselves. Like you pointed out though, Orlando was just the better team with the gap being wider without that inside presence to even attempt to combat Shaq. Another reason we don't harp on it much was because of the following year with the Bulls winning 72 games and sweeping Orlando out of the playoffs. I do find it funny though that getting stripped from behind is arguably Jordan's biggest choke moment, especially when you consider he stripped Karl Malone from behind leading up to that iconic game winner in '98 but no one calls that a choke moment for Malone. That being his biggest choke moment just goes to show how cluch he was.
Yes.
Was Jordan not himself physically? Yes, players on other team observed it as you said. But when asked abort the series straight after Jordan's first comment was they missed Grant
@@Sf75178 Yes, that's why that was mentioned in the video and by myself. There was another factor that wasn't mentioned and that's that there were only 3 people on the team that were part of the 3peat and there was some chemistry issue. All that said though, the Magic were just better and even having Grant may not have mattered. My contention is with how people make it seem like most Jordan fans like to ignore this loss when we don't. We just don't think it's as big a deal as LeBron fans want us to think because of the other 3peat that followed.
As a big fan of MJ I definitely didn't forget about '95. That Magic team was incredible and would have gone far off not for Shaq leaving and Penny's injuries
We could have had the Bulls, Magic, Knicks, Heat duking it out in the 97' playoffs if the Magic had not collapsed and I think the Magic could have the Bulls a Pacers like challenge.
Yeah but that was MJ after a 2 year hiatus for the last 17 games of the season. Also, Penny's injuries were arguably BECAUSE of Shaq's departure... he had a way heavier load to carry after Shaq left because he was jealous of Penny's popularity.
I love that last part. Where you said this video shows how each one of them bounced back after their failures. Your failures don’t define you and it takes so much strength to get back up and try to win again. And actually do it
This has got to be one of your greatest ever videos. Never heard these 3 stories lined up like this, it’s excellent. Keep finding good topics Johnny!
MJ and Bulls fan here, his ‘95 post season is his biggest L but honestly, compared to other legends this one is pretty tame. I mean, he still averaged over 30 points that playoffs.
And he choked a crucial game😬😬 goats don’t choke crucial games
@@cumbusta9175 goats don't choke for entire series either or quit on their team 😬😬😬
@@cumbusta9175 You realize if we applied the same statement to every Top 10 player it just further separates Jordan as the G.O.A.T, right? Do you realize JUST HOW MANY games and moments LeBron/Kobe/Shaq/Magic/Bird etc. has choked?
@@cumbusta9175 LeBron in 2011. Kobe in 2006 Game 6 v the Suns. Tragic Johnson. Bird in 1988. Jordan is just way too far ahead of everybody else
@@cumbusta9175 game 1 isn't exactly a crucial anyway he redeemed himself games 2-6. James and Kobe choked away the entire series.
Plz never stop the videos bro I literally pay for every streaming service and still find myself coming to UA-cam loll
"There are ways to criticize the greatest players of all tine, and bounce back from monumental failures".
Exactly, thanks Jonny for the video and inspiration.
Yes, the greatest players of all TINE
Giannis has left the chat...
The TL;DR version of this video: Lebron had a bad series, which probably cost his team a championship. Kobe had a bad series, which probably cost his team a championship. Jordan messed up once at the end of a playoff game, which cost his team the game, and then his team lost the series despite his quality play after that.
Jordan has a bad game which set the tone which if they win that game they probably win the series and the championship. Fixed it for you.
@@kiryukazuma8229 Nah, that Bulls team was missing a major piece as they weren't strong enough down low. If they win that game it changes the series, sure, but it doesn't fix the matchup issues they had - note that the Bulls still lost 3 of the next 5 games despite Jordan playing better. Anyway, even if you take it further than I did then we are talking about one bad game from Jordan, not a whole series.
@@kiryukazuma8229 There's 0 evidence they were winning the series, though. Winning 1 game doesn't suddenly mean you're winning the entire series.
If MJ played at MJ standards, his team woulda EASILY beat the magic. So in conclusion, each player cost their team the series.
Man, what'd we do to deserve so much content from Jonny? This great playoffs is motivating him to put out great content
In Jordan's defense, it wasn't his team in 1995, it was Pippen's team at that point with Jordan just filled in.
man Jordan stans would suck him off to the end of the earth to defend him, 🤣 that mfer reitred of his own accord but gets no. blame
You can say the same about LeBron in 2011 with Wade. Still they both lost those seasons.
@@marcosmartinez8088 It's fuckin not the same lmfao. Jordan didn't retool the roster and traded every nigga on the team to get Bosh join with him. You're delusional.
@@marcosmartinez8088 No. Bron was on the team all throughout 2011 and was in MVP consideration. He came close to winning it, but Rose won the MVP. It was Bron's team. He just flamed out completely in the finals.
The Bulls in 1995 was literally Pippen's all season long. MJ just returned when there were 17 games left in the season.
If MJ is on the team it’s his team lol? With that logic I’d say the 96’ bulls were more Scottie’s team
I love these because every great player in the league has had one kind of massive failure while playing.
To be fair to Jordan, that 1995 playoff -- he had gone nearly 2 years without playing basketball and he was certainly rusty and physically not in basketball shape (relative to his basketball shape). The stats showed it as he had the most turnovers per game in the playoffs other than his 2nd season when he had extremly high usage and scored 44pts a game in 3 game series against a good defensive team. And Besides his injury shortened 2nd season, this was his lowest scoring season as a Bulls at only 26.9pts and worst shooting by far with 41.1%.
How he had the ball stolen so easily in the final minute of the last game in the playoffs was fitting as it demonstrated he was still rusty. Just looking at the basic stats 33pts 6reb 4ast 49%fg in just game 2-6 doesn't really show he was back. It ignores they lost game 1 as Jordan played bad (which is not counted in the stats on screen) and lost game 6 due to his sloppy play (6 turnovers and the famous turnover at the end of the game).
what kind of seasoning do you put on his meat when you eat it
@@ryomuta3156 U.r mom's seasoning.
@@Homer-OJ-Simpson ur so funny bro. Great comeback 🤓
Completely valid and reasonable points, but these Jordan haters will say its an excuse 🤷🏽♂️
@@crosswiz6 Anyone that knows basketball knows that taking 2 years off in your early 30's and quickly trying to play is not going to be anywhere near 100%. The stat in the video cherry picked game 2-6 of one series while also ignoring how bad and sloppy Jordan played in game 6. It was just under 2 months between his first game back and the last game of the playoffs. IIRC, he started playing in games within a few days of practicing with the Bulls'. Officially, the day he publicly said he's back and resigned with the Bulls was just 24hrs before his first game! But I think he was was having some scrimmages for a few days before.
Thank you Jonny for dropping these videos with your hot takes!
These aren't hot takes. Just valid criticism.
@@Recovery305 true, valid criticisms but I’m referring to him dropping more valid content videos that everyone’s been thinking or talking about.
@@cadecrusader I see what you mean now. I agree. I can always appreciate someone who talks about sports with objectivity rather than emotion.
@@Recovery305 that’s good to know!
Jordan being off in 95 wasnt just a narrative.. it was something a lot of us felt back theni was 20-21 that year and we talked alot abt how jordan was obviously missing a step.. yeah he was scoring buckets but something was off abt him... it wasnt till 96 that he seem to be back to form.. im only saying this because it wasnt a media narrative the local guy felt the same way... and him being out a full 1.5 years its to be expected... that said Olando was Tuff amd going into 95-96 NOONE saw the bulls taking down Olando... in fact ppl were questioning westher or not Rodman would even work on ghe bulls becuase of how he did in Santonio
Look at highlights and he was clearly himself lol.
@@ethanjobson3879 highlights? Did you actually watch the games? They are on UA-cam as well…
@@jordanwest43 I did and yes he was himself, I am a fan of Jordan but let us not be dishonest here
Totally agree, he could still score but you can see he was missing some. The highlights don’t tell the full story. He did have a good few games but, compared to his previous years he wasn’t moving the same on the court.
I agreed with EVERYTHING you said about Jordan EXCEPT that there wasn’t a narrative when Jordan scored 55. Listen I’m from Chicago and I was 15 at that time. Not only the 55 pt game also the game winner against Atlanta. Yes we started getting the feeling he’s back but myself like EVERYONE in Chicago felt that wasn’t the same Michael the WHOLE time. We didn’t get that unworried feeling until the first Quarter of the following season when they were 72-10. So don’t say there wasn’t a baseball shape narrative after the 55pt game when I was living it and NO ONE felt truly secure about Mike’s comeback until the 72-10 season homie
This 💯. I do not recall anyone saying with complete confidence that the Bulls were gonna win it all upon MJ's return. It's also common knowledge for basketball fans at that time that the reasons why the Bulls were struggling that season was: 1. Jordan wasn't there yet (obviously) and 2. There is no inside presence playing C or PF.
And no, true basketball fans do not sweep that 95 comeback under the rug. It was fuel for MJ to bounce back hard
@@punyemas9783 yes THANK YOU is Bulls fans ALL were still nervous about if he’s really back that whole end of the season since he returned. WE ALL SEEN the difference in his body movement and quickness as well.
Ditto! Even other players around the league were talking plenty o' trash. That's why he mustered up the 55 points at the Garden.
@@tywayne3 yeah I had to set that part straight
*If he can put up 55pts and still be not at his best... that says more about the level of competition than his skills* 😂
I love unbiased u get with theses videos and state nothing but facts. Just fantasic to watch brother.
It’s crazy how Jordan’s biggest flaw on his resume is a season he didn’t play more than 20 games. True GOAT
Jordan shits on his fanboy's face.
Fanboy: look how warm it is. True goat.
@@barbaduzas that’s so true
@@barbaduzas nah dats every Bron fan fr Nd ya try to flip it, ya niggaz act like Bron gon see ya post Nd comments goin hard for em more den kids Nd wife, he don’t kno ya niggaz
@@barbaduzas “look how warm it is” got me rolling😂😂😂
@@barbaduzas funny how you describe LeBron fans and pretend it's another player's fans
How is this channel not over 1 million subscribers????
Top tier content!!!!!
Give Kobe credit for taking accountability for that tho
kobes game 7 against the suns is indefensible
@@TakeoneDoe Yep and also in 2010 g7. Good thing Pau played out of his mind in that game offensively and defensively, if not everybody would talk how kobe underperformed in a do or die game in the finals.
Rumor context behind his bad performance in 2011 finals is that he found out Delonte West hooked up with his mom, and this news hit him hard. This is why he couldn't focus on the game and it's also the reason why he never explained the reason for his performance. It's was just embarrassing for him
Bruh, imagine coming from nothing. Literally the rose that grew from concrete. Then you do everything right. Train relentlessly, take care of your body, upstanding citizen because you know media would love to burn you down. And your mom ends up being a savage. Poor guy.
@@rene.s.s It's also possible that West and his mom never hooked up, but this rumor affected LeBron's state of mind. It's just sad either way
That was actually in the 2010 playoffs
That was the narrative from the 2010 playoffs dont make excuses
Dats da outcome of Bron wanting to be everybody friend, nigga fucked his momz, Nd didn’t do nun bout it buh got him secretly escorted out da league soft ass
Such an underrated channel
Now you know today's definitely a good Sunday after this upload
All of the failures you mentioned were important learning lessons they all leanred and improved on.
Love your vids and inputs. Keep them coming!!
I love your channel Jonny. The weak criticism of Air Jordan proves he is the GOAT! His Airness had only been back playing hoops for a few months.
Yeah, each criticism is unique in its own way. Kobe was bad and selfish, LeBron was just terrible, and Jordan was only off in game 1, but it's the excuses that needs to go for MJ.
@@jonnyarnett you simply can’t compare them to MJ that’s why the 96 bulls are for you
Very weak since MJ was retired and come back to play 17 games that’s was still impressive
Jordan still the best player on the court in that series as well. Lebron totally disappeared. They didn't lose because of Jordan. Heat lost because of Lebron. That is the difference. Proof was when he said that Jordan didn't have an inside presence anymore with Horace. It was laughable though that he chose two plays in the entire series to critique. Two plays, really. They lost in 6 with Jordan being the best on the floor. They weren't going to win that series.
@Gabriel W I kind of agree. The fact that the series against the Magic is what people have to point to just shows how consistently great Jordan was. That said, we need to own the fact that Jordan failed, even if the failures were smaller. We come off as obnoxious, otherwise.
i feel like kobe's biggest critique is selfishly tanking the future of the lakers. taking $32M/year for 4 years, while basically still rehabilitating the achilles tear, and judging most of his younger teammates extremely harshly really took its toll on LA. i can forgive him for scoring 60 on his last game ever, but it was a bitter pill to swallow as a kid, especially having to hear clippers fans talk about Lob City for so long. even now, the best they can do was a past his prime lebron and an inconsistent AD. not that they are bad, and the lakers would be much worse without them, but i cant help but feel like kobe's legacy has something to do with the current team's struggles.
Similarly, jordan's biggest critique is coming back to play for the wizards for some reason. idk why people dont talk about this more: "the last dance" wasn't even his last season. what did he accomplish in washington? my guess is no one talks about it because he was clearly aged at the time and expectations were probably unreasonable, but then the simple fact that he came out of retirement is the biggest blemish of his career. why come back to do nothing and make "the final shot" not the actual final shot?
That's a good choice, and that one STILL bothers me. Remember when every analyst was saying "the Lakers have room for 2 max contract players".... and then Kobe took that absurd extension, and then LA only had room for one. Was shocked that Kobe did that. Basically sealed the fact that he wouldn't be competing for championships in the twilight of his career
Yk I can’t miss a Jonny arnett video
The difference between the critiques of the three is that MJ had ONE bad game while the other two had bad ENTIRE SERIES. No player is perfect, that's a given. However, I would pick MJ for my team before the other two.
People have bad memory when it comes Kobe.
Jordan’s loss should be expected. He only had 17 games before the playoffs. When I watched him that year even though the stats were there he was not his old self.
Especially after Kobe tragically passed away (RIP Kobe). They overrate him so much to the point they even throw mud to his teammates in 09 and 10 saying they weren't that good and Kobe carried them. Lol if Artest and Pau didn't played out of their minds in g7 2010 especially in defense and 2nd chance pts, That series would be remembered where Kobe shot 6/24 (25%) against their rival at home.
Out of all the NBAtubers your channel is the one I consistently watch.
I appreciate that! Seriously, that means a lot
Jordan lost in 95 but made the most of it and fuelled him to have another 3 peat thats greatness.
"Short-Cut" LeBron is known for skipping college ball then skipping out on his hometown Cavs to go Ring-Chasing with Kyrie, Wade, Bosh, Allen, Love and Davis. Which is somehow supposed to prove he's the greatest of all-time? He holds the record for fewest pts scored in NCAA history, but is somehow skipped up to Abdul Jabbar's level who has 6 NBA MVP's 6 NBA titles, 3 NCAA titles and 3 Naismith awards. I guess skipping college is exactly the same as winning 3 NCAA championships huh guys?
It's so refreshing to hear criticism of Jordan from someone who does think he's the GOAT.
It speaks volumes when you criticize a player for coming up short after missing more than one and a half seasons. No training camp. No time to gel, nothing! Of course he was kinda rusty. Rust has many layers.
You need to be respected for being objective and unbiased
Thank you! I hate how we can’t acknowledge that 95 happened
Fuck 95 what about all the other years Jordan failed??
Another great video. Worst choke for me is LBJ with Heat. No excuses.
Legends can and even should be criticised, because as jonny rightly says no one is perfect
So the criticism is that Jordan's team wasn't good enough and he choked one game in a seven-game series? Also the fact that he wasn't in basketball shape was evident if you just look at the stats. He was very careless with the ball and less efficient than the rest of his career. Six games in one playoff series doesn't prove that he wasn't Rusty
This just proves how many haters Jordan has that something so obvious, so simple as not being in basketball shape just gets overlooked and dismissed
@@wonders5594 he was just so good that even him being out of shape he is better than 90% of these "super stars" 💀
@@whenisdinner2137 Yes, there's just no limit to these Jordan haters
If MJ played at his typical level he would have easily beat the magic. Shut the fuck up casual.
Man this was a great and logical breakdown. I was around for and saw all of this when it happened and you are right.
Awesome video. Even the brightest legends had their lows. But they kept on coming back. That's why they're all time greats.
Great work man, please do more, excellent
I know a lot of people won’t like this comment. But my biggest critique of Lebron was joining forces with 2 of the other top 5 players in the Eastern Conference to take an easy path to winning championships. He took away his competition & made it so easy to reach the finals. His toughest competition were a young Pacers team, DeRozan & Lowry, an aging Celtics team & a really good Bulls team for the one year when Rose was MVP. It’s part of why he’ll never be near GOAT status to me & I don’t think I could place him higher than 4th all time at best no matter what else he accomplishes. I have him 5th all time currently.
thats an argument you can make then despite the previous year the heat were struggling before bron got there. But once Bron took the 2018 cavs to the finals despite being unfavored in every playoff series, its hard to unlegitimize his finals appearance. Truth is, regardless who he teamed up with...he was the best player and those teams would never win championships or even get to the finals without him.
@@WissMongler Yes, but on the flip side without Wade & Bosh he wouldn't have those 2 rings which need to be placed in the proper perspective in how they were accomplished. Lebron was the best player on every team but that still doesn't take away from the fact that Wade was a top 5 player in the entire league when Lebron joined up with him & Bosh was a top 5 player in the entire Eastern Conference for the 2010 season. They actually underachieved a bit with that team only going 2 for 4 when they should have won at least 3 out of 4. Jordan, Magic & Bird viewed that move to Miami as weak & said they never would have done that. They were as polite as possible in how they made their statements but it was heavily implied they thought it was a weak move. When it comes to a GOAT list I have to evaluate their entire career & put everything in context. Bill Russell would be the GOAT for instance but unfortunately he played in a much weaker era than when Jordan 3-peated twice in the 90s as well as not being the greatest on offense so that has to go against him to be fair to Jordan. The majority of the time Lebron made the Finals the East was way weaker than the West. If he played in the West he might have only made 4 or 5 Finals at most in his career.
@@johng4099 His East was no weaker than the expansion era the Bulls played through which keep in mind even Larry bird called weak. LBJs east looked weak because he made it look that way. They faced MVP Rose who's team was 16 games above .500 against the west, 60-win hawks' team who had 4 All Stars they were 14 games above .500 against the west, Toronto, Celtics, etc. where all way above .500 against the west. Its also not a coincidence LeBron goes west and stars start going east.
Awesome need more vids like this. It ain't hate either it's just needed info to truly measure how great these dudes were. It shows that the elite of the elite have to fight to overcome stuff just like anyone else. And these guys are alldefinitely elite.
The 1995 Magic were just a better team than Chicago. No shame in that.
That was not the case with Detroit in 04 & Dallas in 11 though.
I agree with everything you stated. You also left out the final two minutes of game 6 Spurs vs Heat which Lebron absolutely choked. The only one worse than James in the final two minutes was Greg Popovich. He removed Tim Duncan twice in the final minutes and failed to deliberately foul allowing Ray Allen's game typing 3. He also failed game 7 by letting James shoot all game long instead of being aggressive with Kawai Leonard.
That Lakers team was the Sexual Assault hall of Fame
😂
Clearly, the biggest failure for these 3 gentlemen is their hairlines.
My biggest critiques of each player is the fan made myths that have come up around each. I think it takes great/amazing players and undermines that by playing fantasy about who they are as players. Personally I think the LeBron fan base is the worst and that LeBron himself feeds into it with his words but every great has these. You even talked about one here with Jordan's Orlando playoff loss .
I would love to see videos where you break down the big myths of each GOAT candidate. Things like LeBron is a pass first player, or that he makes all his teammates better. For Jordan it would be that his competitive attitude was what separated him from everyone else and not his insane athletic abilities and skill levels. Things like that.
i think the way that people treat jordan and kobe like god and jesus is way worse than bron's fanbase. but they all have bad fanbases
LeBron fans are much less harsh on other GOAT candidates. If someone has LeBron at #1, they almost always have MJ at #2. Then you have MJ fans who treat him like the Messiah and say LeBron is a choker and isn't top 5. MJ fans put down LeBron to lift up MJ, while LeBron fans can lift up LeBron without without putting down MJ
@@sir_sackman Gtfoh, lebron fanboys are the ONLY “fans” that push the BS narratives about Jordan. Easily the worst of the bunch, probably because it’s mostly kids that never saw Jordan or even prime Kobe.
@@reeseon10 MJ's fans are the most disrespectful for sure. I also think they have the worst case of downplaying others. That isn't what I was talking about though.
I was talking enforcing narratives around the player themselves and in that regard I think LeBron fans are the worst.
@@sir_sack I agree the worst MJ fans, and there are a lot of them, are the worst when it comes to other players. And definitely around newer players. It is like they have placed their own validity on everything from their "better" era proving them superior.
What I was talking about here though is I think LeBron fans are the worst about creating narratives and myths around LeBron.
Love you Jonny
Who's here after SOLZ & SAGE couldn't stop talking all over the video 👀?
Got to be honest, man, you spent a lot of time trying to justify your inclusion of Jordan on here when it was one game. I mean, you spent more time on MJ than you did on the other two even though Jordan’s “choke” was way, way less devastating to the chances of the Bulls winning a chip that year than what Kobe or LeBron did. Jordan basically did in that game what Kobe did in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals. He also was terrific the rest of that series, as you yourself pointed out.
Also, Jordan never made an excuse saying “I was playing baseball.” And the trainer said that it would be hurt his basketball career in the section where they talk about his decision to quit basketball in 1993, bot when they’re talking about Game 1 of 1995. I think you are being a little biased against Jordan here, just so you can put him in the same category as LeBron or Kobe, when objectively, Jordan was infinitely better than them in their respective series you have here.
I will say that I feel you’re talking more to Jordan stans here than actually critiquing Jordan, but if so, that’s a bad way to approach it, as it’s not fair to MJ. He did not make excuses, unless we watched a different documentary. I think a better example of Jordan not meeting the moment would be in 1989, when he stunk the last three games of the ECF.
Great video Jonny!
I don't know??? With Horace Grant in action. Perhaps that talented Magic team would have stood more of a chance? We'll never know?
The 2011 Finals and 2004 Finals illustrate the difference between LeBron and Kobe pretty much to a T.
One will shoot you in the ground, and the other won’t even pull his gun out.
@@kobejordan0823Pause dude😂😂😂
you have amazing videos bro
Every Houston Rockets fan from the 90s gives a massive THANK YOU to you sir for your review of mid 90s Michael Jordan's failure in the Eastern Semi-Finals. The "Jordan wasn't at full speed yet" excuse has always been used to discredit the Rockets 2 championships in 1994 and 1995, while people conveniently forget MJ was dropping 55 in Madison Sqaure Garden when he came back, and even putting up stellar Jordan numbers in the playoffs.
Its still a valid point. Not an excuse. Jordan came back right hefore the playoffs started, he only played 17 season games, he wasn't at full capacity. The thing is Jordan is so good that he could still score 55 even while not in full capacity. But playoffs are another story so full capacity is needed.
@@crosswiz6 he said in the last dance he had been secretly training with the bulls long before he made his comeback. The bulls 100% needed an inside presence which is why they went and got dennis rodman. MJ is the 🐐 but the 95 excuse really is played out.
@@hernanbenitez2828 everyone knew he was practicing with the Bulls at the time, but no one knew or really believed that he (or anyone) would ever 'unretire'. You're correct, but it wasn't a secret. And I've never heard anyone discredit the Rockets' championships, besides the highly unlikely fact that the Bulls would have ran 8 straight.
A large roster change with less than 15 games in the regular season is definitely a valid excuse. Its just straight up facts
@@crosswiz6 Jordan still lost. It's not the Rocket's fault that Jordan wasn't there those 2 years. They played who they played and won. The same can be reversed against the Rockets and I would agree with it, it's not MJ and the Bull's fault the Rockets weren't there in 1991-'93 or 1996-'98. But Jordan still lost in 1995.
Interesting to point out that only MJ didn’t have a Finals critique 😁
Jordan just had one bad playoff game out of 6 games against Orlando ... he was great the rest of the series as the stats you showed ... this criticism is nitpicking at Jordan because you can't blame him for one bad game of an entire series ... On the other hand both Lebron and Kobe had a bad series that caused them to lose in the finals
It’s extremely nit-picky and Arnett engages in straw man argumentation. One of his worst videos, imo.
@@UTNatlChamps Arnett has a tendency to put on this "I'm not like other MJ fans" gimmick so that non-MJ fans can accept him as "legitimate".
5:04 Kobe played hero ball and lost
Disagree with you on the Jordan take, there's a reason they say the best ability is availability. Jordan wasn't available for the majority of the season, so he wasn't able to get in full basketball shape. Thats not only a very valid "excuse" but its the entire reason players in any sport practice and always play prior to the season..to get in proper shape.
Love this. Favorite ball video ever. Always disagreed with your takes (active bronsexual) but this is how we talk about legacies and careers outside of just ball specifics
If you watched the 2004 finals, you will agree that no superstar failed their team more than Kobe.
That is not worst than lebron meltdown 😭😭😭 that man lost to the mavs
@@z-mane1438 He choked hard and they would've been champs if LeBron avg at least 20, but "the mavs"? That team swept the defending champs and destroyed OKC. They were far better than what people are trying to portray them and they sure are a lot better than the 04 pistons. Kobe felt like he was "IT" when he's not.
@@nicksamp515 woulda coulda shoulda and lebron was in his prime averaged 17 ppg with kobe averaging 22 ppg against one of the best defensive teams in modern history plus nobody looked at the mavs as a threat, they came outta nowhere ..it’s a reason why ppl remember that 2011 over the 2004 finals
Yours videos are always amazing
It wasn't failure but jordan played really bad in 96 finals. He was excellent in first 3 games and they took 3-0 lead but in next 3 games he was scoring 23.7ppg on 36%fg and in game 6 which they won he shoot 5/19 from field
Iirc , they put Payton on Jordan the final 3 games.
He played so bad he got Finals MVP
🤦🏻♂️
After all the love you always give these legends it’s only right that you remind us of their imperfections
I think that Lebron might have been in wrong mindset in 2011. Like for all of his career he had to put his team on his back for anything to happen. He came to Miami to lighten the burden however he might have believed that he didn’t need to give everything to win which wasn’t the case. By the time he understood that it was too late…
Na. He got exposed.
Exposed how? they dint even do anything special. bron just played bad@@LawAbidingCitizen33
Good job, Jonny. Really enjoyed this.
I know the purpose of your video is to show how the best have their faults but when Jordan’s worst critique is him not playing a full season and losing in the playoffs, I’m very okay with that Lol 😂 not a bad place to be.
Thank you Johnny for the bit on Jordan. I actually never knew he came back near the end of the regular season.
Now repeat this for all GOAT candidates
One of the many reasons why Jonny is one of the best basketball channels is because he has the ability to make a video like this without sounding bias at all. Jordan and Kobe are my favorite players and I just accept the L of those failures. Respect 💯🔥
The fact that we have to nitpick specific game(s) from these GOATs just to prove a point speaks to their greatness
THANK YOU for saying this! No offense, I love Jordan and still think he’s the GOAT, but I’ve always thought the excuse that he was not in basketball shape against the Magic in 1995 was BS. Sure he was rusty the first few games coming back (as any player would), but then he scored 55 against the Knicks and averaged around 31 points during the playoffs. Jordan choked in the 1995 playoffs, but that’s okay. Even though he’s considered the GOAT, he’s still human, and even the greatest can fail sometimes. The good thing as you said is that he was able to bounce back from it.
I think Jordan's weakness and the reason he retired prematurely 2 times, is that he gambled, smoked cigars, drank, pkayed golf and didn't sleep for so many years straight, that he burned himself out. If he had led a more "normal" lifestyle, even normal for an NBA superstar, he probably really COULD have won 9-10 rings in a row. In hindsight, he and his fans make wxcuses for him instead of just admitting he had that one weakness of going to hard all of the time.
Still never understood the argument against LeBron "4-6 in the finals" like okay? He made thw finals 10 times? What's that say about everyone else?
The east was weak asf 😂
Jonny goatnett
This is really Good bro. I want to hear ur critique for other legend as well
Eh... Nah. Listen, you're right, but you're not right on MJ. Yes, his conditioning was probably not that important, that is a bit of P.R. to blunt the edge. But if you think one steal in game is the decider in that series, I have some bad news for you: Chicago *DID* steal home court advantage in the next game. The series was tied 1 - 1 going into Chicago for game 3. Let's look at what happened then, shall we?
Game 3, Jordan popped off dropping 40 points, but it didn't matter because nobody could stop Shaq and Horace. Some subpar performances from Kukoč and the Bull's bench didn't help, either.
Game 4, the Bulls win, due to good performances from Pip and Kukoč, and some awful shooting by Penny Hardaway, and a merely mortal 17 points from Shaq.
Game 5, the series is tied 2 - 2, and MJ drops 39 in a monstrous performance: 15 of 28 from the field and 8 for 8 from the stripe. 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, zero trunovers. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the team had their game stolen by the Monstars. Pippen went 4 for 13 and 1 of 6 from the line. Kukoč dropped 2 of 6 and missed 1 of 2 free throws. Even the normally reliable B.J. Armstrong had a bad night, going 6 for 16 from the field.
By Game 6, the Magic smelled blood, and Shaq blew up, scoring 27, pulling down 13 boards, and nabbing 4 steals. Merely ordinary performances from Jordan and Pippen could not turn the tide.
The real difference, as you mentioned, was the lack of interior presence. It was the despised Jerry Krause picking San Antonio's pocket, trading Will Purdue for *Dennis Rodman* whic secured the Bulls' next threepeat. Nobody ever wins or loses a game by themselves. And if you look at MJ's overall stats, instead of fixating on one play, in one game, Michael Jordan was still the best player on the court in that entire series. I'd argue he played better when *losing* in 1995 than he did when *winning* in 1996, when you look at his personal contribution to the team.
Ay Jhonny is that you on the pub? Nice meeting you man!
I honestly had no idea about that Jordan series, but it discredits the idea that Jordan would have gone 8-0 if he never retired entirely. Not only was it speculation to begin with but there was literally a season between the 3-peats that they didn't even make the finals.
The next three peat discredits your point he started the season and he was himself
And dont tel me about rodman as great he was we show in 1998 seson with rodman on the bench and with Scottie for a big part injured mj still being the best player in the league and leading Chicago to the championship
@@ntinoskap4413 he seemed to be playing like himself perfectly fine in games 2-6 and towards the end of the season. Dropping 50+. The Bulls lost due to the roster construction, even with Jordan on it averaging 33 they lost, which means in 3 games after the game 1 loss, his 33 points per game weren't enough to win 3 other games.
It’s crazy how Jordan’s low point is so minuscule compared to the others. Michael also gave Horace grant his credit, so I find that point sort of disingenuous.
We know the 1995 ECSF happened. Hell, I was working at the UC during that series. We just know he wasn't completely in basketball shape and it showed.
They are not completely wrong though. MJ's style of play was never the same after his first retirement. Even George Karl made a critique about it and said that he's not a high flyer anymore and more of a mid range shooter.
Kobe fans love to disregard 2004 finals
Not this one. I really wish Kobe would have toned it back that series. Was honestly hard to watch. Dude was in mental agony in Shaq's shadow
You can't and don't speak for all Kobe fans.
No they don’t.
My fav wilt story was told by Larry Brown. He was coaching at UCLA and Magic Johnson would organize pick up games in the summer. One day, 43 year old wilt was there playing with 4 UCLA freshman against Magic, Bernard King, Worthy, Scott and Green. Wilt got mad when Magic called wilt for a goaltend. Wilt said “We’ll play again, to twelve, and there will be no more baskets made of this goal.” He then proceeded to block, every, shot that anyone attempted. Again, he was 43.
If Kobe realized he needed to be 2nd to a big man like Shaq or Gasol to win he could've had way more rings
Great video!!
This video perfectly shows that no hero is perfect. It doesn't take away their greatness. It shows that everyone had their moments of weakness. I didn't know Horace Grant was out of almost the entire series in 1996. It certainly wouldn't have been 4-0, but I believe the Bulls would have won anyway.