Michael Jordan deserves early mention, probably the first, in any debate over the best basketball player that ever lived. There is one argument he wins every time: He’s No. 1 as a ruthless competitor.
There may be no greater example than the 1992 Olympics. Jordan and his Chicago Bulls co-conspirator, Scottie Pippen, set out to embarrass team general manager Jerry Krause by way of punishing Croatia’s Toni Kukoc. Kukoc was Krause’s discovery, the next great Bull. MJ and Pip -- both already fed up with the GM -- made a tag-team pact to destroy the new guy.
In a 103-70 Dream Team victory, MJ and Pip tortured Kukoc for every second of his 34 minutes. He produced four points on 2-of-11 shooting and committed seven turnovers.
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It’s one thing to humiliate Kukoc before an international audience, quite another to try that with Kevin Durant.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of a mythical matchup between any of the six Chicago championship teams against the last two Warriors title squads is the defense the Bulls would throw at KD. I don’t see one that would work, particularly when Durant has Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on his side.
Somebody is getting Rodney McCray or Trent Tucker or Ron Harper. And KD gets a mismatch.
Through the persuasion of his pride, and after Durant drops 12 points in the first five minutes, MJ would demand the challenge. And, barring an effort to defend-by-annoyance – hello, Patrick Beverley – he’d struggle. Struggle nearly as badly as KD would attempting to guard Jordan.
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Just as Jordan would break down KD and slip past him to the cup, Durant would rise for fadeaways even MJ couldn’t reach. At 6-11, KD is too rangy. Indeed, centers aside, he might be the most challenging physical matchup in league history. Small forwards succumb to his length, power forwards to his quicks and craftiness.
In the 74-year history of the NBA, Jordan is on any credible top-five list. Durant is on any credible top 1-percent list, and in the top half of that. Insofar as more than 4,400 men have been on a roster, that puts KD in the top 22.
In this instance, the distance between being in the top five and the top 22 is largely image. And Jordan, as the face of the league and so much more, wins that battle in any “greatest of all time” comparison. He was the first NBA player to become symbolic of excellence beyond sports and entertainment, as in “the Michael Jordan of CEOs”
In Jordan’s prime, say 1990 to 1998, he played and won alongside one all-time great in Pippen. MJ played against maybe six all-time greats in their primes, and most of them were teammates on the ’92 Dream Team.
In Durant’s prime, say 2012 to 2019, he played and won alongside one all-time great in Curry. KD played against no more than four or five others, with LeBron James at the top.
When Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Warriors in 2016, one NBA lifer said the Warriors “just added the best player in the world.” When I mentioned LeBron, his response was, “Durant has more skills. He has to because he doesn’t have LeBron’s physical strength. Durant is the better shooter and the better rim protector? Which would you rather play with?”
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In a comparison of naked accomplishments, it’s MJ beats KD in a rout. He won six championships in six NBA Finals and is a six-time finals MVP. Durant won two championships in three finals and is a two-time finals MVP. Jordan owns five MVP awards, Durant has one. Jordan has 11 scoring titles, Durant has four. Jordan played in 14 All-Star games, Durant 10.
No, I wouldn’t dare suggest Kevin Durant is the basketball equal of Michael Jordan. MJ is the most popular GOAT choice of all time. He is the only player in league history to carry not only a historically great team but also the aspirations of a league with an audacious plan to go global. He succeeded wildly at both.
Durant, however, stood eye-to-eye against the primary yardstick of his era -- LeBron -- and often prevailed in individual matchups.
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If MJ and KD were to play one-on-one in their primes, the money would run to Jordan. Because he’s Jordan.
But Durant is no Bryon Russell or Craig Ehlo or even Clyde Drexler. Jordan never saw anything like KD. He has the attributes to force MJ to bring his best.