What Young NBA Players Think Of Michael Jordan

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For one generation, Michael Jordan is considered the GOAT. But what does this new generation of NBA players really think about MJ? As it turns out, Joel Embiid's opinions of the greatest of all time are a whole lot different than most. When asked about who between LeBron or Jordan should earn the title of the greatest of all time, Embiid responded by saying, Neither, he's not the GOAT. To me, you got Will Chamberlain. I mean, he has all the records. They're never gonna be beaten. I don't see anybody getting 100 points in the game. That's it. He's the GOAT. Embiid is certainly in the minority with that opinion. There's no question that Wilt is the undisputed GOAT of scoring and rebounding, but it's just flat out ridiculous to credit personal statistics as a means of being a GOAT without taking into account team production. And in the case of Wilt, despite averaging as high as 50 points a game during a season, he only went on to win two championships. With that being said, there's no doubt Embiid's decision was at least in part influenced by the fact Wilt had been both a big man like himself who played with the 76ers. Dallas Maverick star Luka Donchik can now cross meeting Michael Jordan off his bucket list after meeting the GOAT during All-Star Weekend this season. It was inevitable the two would cross paths. As an up and coming superstar on his second year in the league, Jordan had already made some remarks about Luka's game saying, Luka is a phenomenal player and at such a young age, he's demonstrating the skills it takes many guys years to develop. That hadn't been an empty compliment. At just 20 years old, Luka broke Jordan's record for longest 20.5 assist and 5 rebound streak at 19 games. Luka talked about the early comparisons he had been receiving with Jordan saying, There are a lot of stats going on. I think it's a little bit too much about stats. You can't compare anybody to Michael Jordan. He's one of a kind. Those are just stats. My thing is, I'm passionate for the game. I want to win. And sometimes I get out of control just because I want to win the whole time. I'm competitive. You can ask my family, even if it's not basketball, it's anything. I'm so competitive. So yeah, I've got to work on that for sure. On top of that, Luca had even selected the Jordan brand to be his official shoe sponsor in 2019, after signing a reported five-year deal with the brand. Despite Jordan's obvious respect for the 21-year-old, Luca still couldn't help but be starstruck when meeting him saying, I was too nervous. I forgot to ask for a picture. That comes as no surprise considering Luca hadn't even been born by the time Jordan had already won all six of his championships with the Bulls throughout the 90s. Like many, Utah jazz guard Donovan Mitchell found a role model in Michael Jordan. However, it wasn't for his success in basketball, it was instead for his time playing baseball. Similar to Jordan, Donovan had a fatherly connection to baseball. Donovan's father had been the New York Mets Director of Player Relations, which allowed him to enjoy the sport from a perspective not typically seen by most. Despite choosing basketball to be his main focus, Donovan always admired the sport of baseball, and what better figure of both sports than Michael Jordan. Starting in college, Donovan began to wear Jordan's baseball number 45 for his jersey number, a tradition he continued into the league. When asked about the number, Donovan responded, Everybody wants to be 23, but everybody forgets about 45
That's been my life. No one really notices me or everybody forgets about me. In rankings, whatever it may be, in high school. So I've always felt that extra chip on my shoulder. And that's pretty much why I stick with 45
The number choice was of no surprise to fans that followed Donovan, considering he's talked about MJ on Twitter in the past saying, would have loved to watch MJ practice and play baseball. People forget that feeling 6, 7 out of 10 times is elite in baseball. While it's been no secret that LeVar Ball has been convinced his son Lonzo have been given the powers to defeat Jordan in a 1v1 from birth, Lonzo has taken a slightly more realistic approach. As a basketball player who has to constantly be up keeping a clean record to keep his organization and sponsors happy, Lonzo hasn't nearly been outspoken as his father. While on Jimmy Kimball with his father, LeVar asserted his claim that he himself could be Jordan. And when Lonzo had been asked, he responded, right now, yes. It's not farfetched to assume that in the near 20 years since Jordan has played professional basketball, he's lost a bit of his talent. And while Lonzo is far from a superstar, matched up against a 57-year-old slightly out of shape legend might make for a good contest. Hypotheticals aside, we now know that Lonzo was thankfully a lot more grounded in reality than his father. In the past, Lonzo has even taken the position that Kobe Bryant had been the Jordan of his generation, saying, Not even LA. I think just globally in general. I mean, he was my generation's Michael Jordan if you think about it. He's the closest thing that we've seen to it. Everybody my age and around my age all watched him growing up. He was an influence on everybody's life. Like I said, we lost a legend today. And in case you were wondering, Jordan did respond to Levar's claim to beating him in a 1v1, saying, You gotta understand the source. I think he played college, maybe. He averaged 2.2 points a game. Really? It doesn't deserve a response. But I'm gonna give it to you because you asked the question. I don't think he could beat me if I was one leg. As an admirer of 90s basketball, it was a given that Jason Tatum would join up in the Jordan Goat Group. Despite having constant comparisons thrown at him with Jordan, as they would have matched up year by year, Tatum remains humble. After watching the Last Dance documentary, which follows the career of Michael Jordan, Tatum took the social media to talk about some takeaways, saying, Michael Jordan means so much to myself, and just the game of basketball, and all the millions of millions of people he inspires doing what he loves. Inspiring kids like myself, even though I never got the chance to see him play live, but watching highlights growing up. You know just understanding who he was and how much he meant to the game of basketball. With one of the greatest work ethics the game has seen since Kobe Bryant, Giannis Antetokounmpo has undergone some impressive improvements over the last few seasons. Coming with that improvement has been constant comparisons to Michael Jordan. His most recent comparison came about after Giannis had scored 50 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists in a game against the Utah Jazz, all the while having no turnovers. He had become now the fourth player in the league to do so in history. When asked about what the recognition meant to him, he responded saying, It's great. It's a compliment being next to a guy like Michael Jordan. Obviously one of the best players to ever play the game. But at the end of the day, what I care about is that I was decisive. When you're decisive, you don't turn the ball over. I was able to get better game by game. Find my angles, try to be low, and not try to play as much upright as I've been playing all season and just make the right play. Overcoming Jordan's records are one of the most common hallmark traits of superstar players. Just take a look at any of the league's greatest players since Kobe, LeBron, Durant and Carmelo all have received the honorable comparison at least during one point during their careers. In the past, Giannis has even gone as far to mention that playing in Chicago has been almost like a holy city to play in, knowing Jordan once called the city home. I try to lock in and focus on what I've got to do. But yeah, previous years, like when I saw number 23, and not just 23, when I saw 33, that was a guy I used to talk to a lot, Scotty. It definitely motivated me.