Is Michael Jordan the Greatest Team Sports Athlete of All Time?

[Kobe187]

As European and big sports fan i don't even really know half the people you listed.

Babe Ruth -> no idea who he is and what sport he played
Wayne Gretzky -> i've heard of him, hockey player. But hockey ain't that big globally
Joe Montana -> heard of him before, QB, but nobody outside of the hardcore football fans in Europe / Germany would know him
Jerry Rice -> don't know him
Jim Brown -> heard of him, because Lebron greeted him once at a Cavs game. Is he football?
Bo Jackson -> never heard of him

You guys with your obesession for GOATs is pretty ridiculous. My favorit sports is football (soccer) and i have never once discussed with someone else for longer then 2min about some GOAT.

You seriously say you havent heard of Babe Ruth? I havent seen a second of Baseball, but I heard of Babe Ruth, He is legendary name, just like Joe DiMaggio, those are 2 Baseball names that everyone heard of, even if you havent heard anything about the sport. they Define time period, when you think of early 1900s, its Babe Ruth, its Al Capone, its Charlie Chaplin, you dont even need to be aware of their work you know these people.

Jep, i am seriously saying that. Absolutly noboby knows Babe Ruth in Germany (maybe some hardcore baseball fans). The avarage sports fan can not tell you 5 current baseball players or even 5 all timers. Joe DiMaggio? Never heard of him.

It's always stunning to me how Americans think there sports are that popular. i have read an article a few weeks ago. The order of popular sports was like this:
Soccer
Cricket
Hockey (not ice hockey, real hockey)
Tennis
volleyball

Basketball for sure was top 10, but i am not sure about baseball.

Lol thought Ice Hockey was real hockey, what’s this hockey your referring to, grass hockey?

[UcanUwill]

As European and big sports fan i don't even really know half the people you listed.

Babe Ruth -> no idea who he is and what sport he played
Wayne Gretzky -> i've heard of him, hockey player. But hockey ain't that big globally
Joe Montana -> heard of him before, QB, but nobody outside of the hardcore football fans in Europe / Germany would know him
Jerry Rice -> don't know him
Jim Brown -> heard of him, because Lebron greeted him once at a Cavs game. Is he football?
Bo Jackson -> never heard of him

You guys with your obesession for GOATs is pretty ridiculous. My favorit sports is football (soccer) and i have never once discussed with someone else for longer then 2min about some GOAT.

You seriously say you havent heard of Babe Ruth? I havent seen a second of Baseball, but I heard of Babe Ruth, He is legendary name, just like Joe DiMaggio, those are 2 Baseball names that everyone heard of, even if you havent heard anything about the sport. they Define time period, when you think of early 1900s, its Babe Ruth, its Al Capone, its Charlie Chaplin, you dont even need to be aware of their work you know these people.

Jep, i am seriously saying that. Absolutly noboby knows Babe Ruth in Germany (maybe some hardcore baseball fans). The avarage sports fan can not tell you 5 current baseball players or even 5 all timers. Joe DiMaggio? Never heard of him.

It's always stunning to me how Americans think there sports are that popular. i have read an article a few weeks ago. The order of popular sports was like this:
Soccer
Cricket
Hockey (not ice hockey, real hockey)
Tennis
volleyball

Basketball for sure was top 10, but i am not sure about baseball.

I am European too. I dont even know how Baseball is played, but maybe I am overrated Americas cultural impact if people really dont know Babe Ruth here. I mean I get that a lot of Europeans dont know him, but I thought at least English speaking Europeans in this forum would know him. As a person who seen many American movies and all, I seem to always knew Babe Ruth, he is so popular in American culture, he is so often referenced, its like hes Frank Sinatra of sports.

[Metallikid]

The gap between Gretzky and every other hockey player is greater than any other GOAT in any other team sport.

True, but in terms of global impact and culture he’s not as high as Jordan, Pele and Ruth.

Gretzky statistically blows the 2nd greatest hockey player out of the water, but just like Wilt we shouldn’t focus only on the numbers. Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all time, but Lemieux, Orr, & Howe aren’t far behind in terms of dominance and impact on the game.

That's actually pretty arguable. He was traded to the Kings in 1988 and without that it's very likely that hockey never takes off in California, including the movie the Might Ducks, the expansion to Anaheim and San Jose, and if you didn't know, California produces an incredibly large amount of players nowadays.. He was very much a Vince Carter like influence for Hockey in the US outside of the Original Six cities of New York, Chicago, Boston and Detroit.

https://www.nhl.com/news/gretzky-trade-led-to-hockey-boom-in-california/c-679824

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/vv9499/gretzky-going-hollywood-changed-everything-for-hockey-in-california

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/wayne-gretzky-the-great-ones-impact-on-los-angeles/

[Galloisdaman]

Its cool that Jordan and Gretz shared much of their eras. I would put Wayne first and then Jordan. I was not alive during Ruths days but he was probably pretty good as well

[Drou]

I'm not a football fan at all but, for my generation at least, Pele was considered the king of kings.

[Bertrob]

Michael Jordan’s popularity worldwide is overrated. Yes hes popular but the way people talk about him it’s like you can go into a random village in Cambodia or the Congo and ask a random person if they know him and they’ll know which just isn’t true

[Drakeem]

We talking "athlete" or having the most team success? How on earth is Babe Ruth included?

Federer is the greatest tennis player in history and is still top 3 at the age of 36. He's the most graceful athlete I've ever seen. His has elite level hand eye coordination, lateral movement, anticipation, clutch performance, stamina...and yes some hops. I would put him up there with Gretzky, LeBron, Jordan and over guys like Vince Carter who have incredible vertical games but, but not the soft hands, dribbling etc.

Except Fed is definitely not the consensus #1 like some of these other players. He has a losing record against his two biggest competitors (Djokovic and Nadal), dominated early in a fairly weak era of Tennis, and doesn't have the supplementary achievements like some of his peers (Golden Masters and season peaks like Novak for example).

His only claim to fame is his Grand Slam wins at the moment, and if it wasn't for COVID, Nadal probably goes to tie him since he's at 19, and Novak is close behind at 17 (Federer has 20). While you can make the argument, it's far from fact, and will probably lean more AWAY from him being the Tennis GOAT than towards it.

But popularity? Probably.

[Maximus74]

Gretzky.

[jinxed]

Lance Armstrong isn't the best cyclist ever, but he definitely wins on fame and cultural impact. Relative to other cyclists Lance is far more famous and impactful than the 2nd most popular cyclist ever, than any other team sport athlete is to the 2nd most popular player in their sport.

[Sofia]

This thread is all over the shop.

If we’re talking about “greatest (physical) athlete”, as per the thread title, the list needs more Wilt and less Gretzky..

But we’ve included Gretzky, so we must mean greatest athlete in terms of dominance within their sport, right?

In that case, cultural importance is not relevant to athletic prowess within a sport. It doesn’t matter who has heard of Babe Ruth, or how many kids in Bangladesh are playing ice hockey on weekends and sewing shoes for Jordan on weekdays...

[Lalouie]

Is Jordan the Greatest Team Sports Athlete of All Time?

Babe Ruth
Wayne Gretzky
Tom Brady
Joe Montana
Jerry Rice
Jim Brown
Bo Jackson
Pele’
Maradona

There have been some legendary players in team sports throughout history that have completely revolutionized the game and changed the culture of the sport they play.

Michael Jordan likely had the greatest impact, more than any other athlete in history. Everyone wanted to be like Mike; his swagger, the way he played the game, the way he moved, the dunks, the buzz he created was phenomenal.

He revolutionized the game by showcasing how dominant a guard be. The cultural impact was huge from the low top shoes, to the gold chain, shorts being lower to the knee, etc. Jordan is not only the GOAT in basketball but all of team sports. Thoughts?

1. Jordan
2. Ruth
3. Gretzky
4. Pele’

''basketball" is an individual sport wrapped in a "team sport" burrito. or maybe it's a "team sport" wrapped in an "individual sport" burrito. i haven't decided yet.

what i DO know is it is soooo different from baseball and football it's not funny. athletes in basketball are not to be compared to athletes in other team sports. just on pure numbers alone, basketball has fewer players on the field save beach volleyball. that in itself gives the basketball player a 40m head start on the field.

and you're getting too wrapped up in the jordan/nike duo. it is coloring your perception unless you prefer to make the nike thing part of your argument. i won't. but russell impacted the game far more than mj, and magic/bird paved the way for mj. "saving the nba" was not far from the truth.

and because basketball is largely individual, there is a LINEAGE in basketball that is not as apparent in football or baseball. ie, in basketball the game styles are handed down from player to player. elgin beget thompson beget the doctor beget mj beget kobe. that is the nature of evolution in basketball. thus it emboldens the basketball player but also tells you that a player, even one such as mj, doesn't exist in a vacuum

and btw, based on your list,,,it's babe ruth and this is not even an argument...are you kidding
there have been adjectives, dictionary definitions, candy bars, and leagues named after "BABE RUTH". all mj has is shoes and memes

[TheGOATRises007]

This is impossible to answer.

There is no GOAT sports athlete.

[infinite11285]

He is not even the greatest team sport athlete in basketball.

How can you be the best TEAM sport athlete while berating those around you, physically assaulting your own teammates, and engaging in destructive behavior both inside and outside of the team environment while burning bridges along the way?

MJ was a self-absorbed, "me-first" ****. I don't really see how it's debatable for those who are knowledgeable on the man.

[infinite11285]

Michael Jordan likely had the greatest impact, more than any other athlete in history. Everyone wanted to be like Mike; his swagger, the way he played the game, the way he moved, the dunks, the buzz he created was phenomenal.

What does any of this have to do with the concept of "team"?

[therealbig3]

We talking "athlete" or having the most team success? How on earth is Babe Ruth included?

Federer is the greatest tennis player in history and is still top 3 at the age of 36. He's the most graceful athlete I've ever seen. His has elite level hand eye coordination, lateral movement, anticipation, clutch performance, stamina...and yes some hops. I would put him up there with Gretzky, LeBron, Jordan and over guys like Vince Carter who have incredible vertical games but, but not the soft hands, dribbling etc.

Except Fed is definitely not the consensus #1 like some of these other players. He has a losing record against his two biggest competitors (Djokovic and Nadal), dominated early in a fairly weak era of Tennis, and doesn't have the supplementary achievements like some of his peers (Golden Masters and season peaks like Novak for example).

His only claim to fame is his Grand Slam wins at the moment, and if it wasn't for COVID, Nadal probably goes to tie him since he's at 19, and Novak is close behind at 17 (Federer has 20). While you can make the argument, it's far from fact, and will probably lean more AWAY from him being the Tennis GOAT than towards it.

But popularity? Probably.

Nadal is the greatest clay court player of all time. 12 of his 19 are the French Open, where's he's basically unbeatable. He can't really be argued as the GOAT. His claim to fame honestly is the 19 Grand Slams and the H2H winning percentage against Federer which isn't really that impressive anymore since Federer has seemingly figured him out and has been beating him more times than not lately (he's won 6 of their last 7 matches).

GOAT is between Federer and Djokovic imo. They're the two most well-rounded players I've ever seen. Djokovic has been more dominant in the last decade, but at the same time, he's younger and came up as Federer aged. I think I would take a peak Federer over a peak Djokovic, but it's splitting hairs.

[Pg81]

Yeah you will have to live with the fact that not everybody subscribes to what the media tells you over and over.

i dont care what media says. He is absolutly the best basketball player ever and there is no other athlete who comes close to how he made nba a global game watched by people around the world.

Whatever makes you sleep better.

[twyzted]

He is not even the greatest team sport athlete in basketball.

How can you be the best TEAM sport athlete while berating those around you, physically assaulting your own teammates, and engaging in destructive behavior both inside and outside of the team environment while burning bridges along the way?

MJ was a self-absorbed, "me-first" ****. I don't really see how it's debatable for those who are knowledgeable on the man.

Did you read the op? Did he ask who was the best teammate?

Is Jordan the Greatest Team Sports Athlete of All Time?

Babe Ruth
Wayne Gretzky
Tom Brady
Joe Montana
Jerry Rice
Jim Brown
Bo Jackson
Pele’
Maradona

There have been some legendary players in team sports throughout history that have completely revolutionized the game and changed the culture of the sport they play.

Michael Jordan likely had the greatest impact, more than any other athlete in history. Everyone wanted to be like Mike; his swagger, the way he played the game, the way he moved, the dunks, the buzz he created was phenomenal.

He revolutionized the game by showcasing how dominant a guard be. The cultural impact was huge from the low top shoes, to the gold chain, shorts being lower to the knee, etc. Jordan is not only the GOAT in basketball but all of team sports. Thoughts?

1. Jordan
2. Ruth
3. Gretzky
4. Pele’

No he did not so take your hate somewhere else

[twyzted]

Yeah you will have to live with the fact that not everybody subscribes to what the media tells you over and over.

i dont care what media says. He is absolutly the best basketball player ever and there is no other athlete who comes close to how he made nba a global game watched by people around the world.

Whatever makes you sleep better.

[NPZ]

LeBron is the greatest human being to ever walk the planet and to play sports. Internalize that natural truth.

[infinite11285]

How can you be the best TEAM sport athlete while berating those around you, physically assaulting your own teammates, and engaging in destructive behavior both inside and outside of the team environment while burning bridges along the way?

MJ was a self-absorbed, "me-first" ****. I don't really see how it's debatable for those who are knowledgeable on the man.

Did you read the op? Did he ask who was the best teammate?

Is Jordan the Greatest Team Sports Athlete of All Time?

Babe Ruth
Wayne Gretzky
Tom Brady
Joe Montana
Jerry Rice
Jim Brown
Bo Jackson
Pele’
Maradona

There have been some legendary players in team sports throughout history that have completely revolutionized the game and changed the culture of the sport they play.

Michael Jordan likely had the greatest impact, more than any other athlete in history. Everyone wanted to be like Mike; his swagger, the way he played the game, the way he moved, the dunks, the buzz he created was phenomenal.

He revolutionized the game by showcasing how dominant a guard be. The cultural impact was huge from the low top shoes, to the gold chain, shorts being lower to the knee, etc. Jordan is not only the GOAT in basketball but all of team sports. Thoughts?

1. Jordan
2. Ruth
3. Gretzky
4. Pele’

No he did not so take your hate somewhere else

The context of the OP and thread title literally says, "Is Michael Jordan the Greatest TEAM Sports Athlete of All Time?".

Hate my ass. I'm old enough to have viewed MJ throughout his entire career, acknowledge him as the GOAT, and still don't succumb to the deity status some insist on putting him on.