Would MJ Win 6 Rings In Todays NBA?

[sam_slam911]

The league is no better than it was in Jordan's era. It's different, more athletic freaks on each team, less muscle in the paint and not as physically tough, but the league is not any better.

Michael and the Bulls grew up in that tough physical era where certain things were more important in the game of basketball than others, therefore he trained and perfected those things to get 6 rings.

Today things like athleticism and 3 point shooting are more important, so maybe if you just inserted MJ from 91 into today's game, he might be slightly less dominant. But that's obvious why, the league is different, but not better.

 

[Heej]

LOL, no handchecking anymore and the institution of Defensive 3-Seconds? Too easy for MJ. He'll get 6 rings easy, and I wonder how in the world the league could have possibly hoped to contain 25 year old MJ when he was dropping 37.1 ppg in an era where he would get hammered every time he drove the ball.

He'd easily dominate the league to the extent that Lebron is dominating the league now. Take Kobe's 05-06 chucking season except suddenly make Kobe an athletic freak of nature whose pure athleticism rivals that of Lebron and Wilt, and make his midrange game even more automatic, and his shooting percentage at a solid 50%.

That's what MJ in today's league would look like. If Kobe in 05-06 could drop 35 ppg while being nowhere near the athlete or midrange shooter MJ was in his prime, MJ could drop 40 a game easily if given offensive autonomy. Just like how Lebron could drop 40 a night if he played on a team like the Suns and was the only decent guy on his team and was a selfish jerk like pre-baseball MJ and current Kobe were/are.

 

[Houston RZ34]

I honestly think the Bulls could have had AT LEAST 8 straight if he wouldn't have been fucking around with "retirements" and shit.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

I think Jordan could win more than 6 titles. Mentally, he and the Bulls would completely own other teams. Jordan was the biggest trash talker when he was playing and he backed it up every night. Rodman was like an Andy but x10 on the irk level. Pippen could guard 1-4 and shut you down. Dwight Howard cringes like a little girl when Shaq talked trash to him. Imagine him being hounded by Rodman, dude would cry to his mama.

 

[futuristxen]

They wouldn't have beaten the Shaq-led Lakers. Shaq in his prime against Luc Longley and Bill Wennington would have been a joke. And Kobe would have focused in on Jordan, while Robert Horry rained down big shot after big shot.

I also think the Spurs would have beat them at least once.

So I think the Bulls could get 2 titles in this generation. The years the Heat and Celtics won it, I think the Bulls would take it.

Lebron hasn't really had the team around him yet to be in the discussion. But if this Cavs team wins it, then we'll see. Shaq even at this age would destroy all of the Bull's centers, so would Z. Rodman, Pippen, Jordan, and Harper would probably rotate defensively on Lebron, which is tough. And Harper would be posting up Mo Williams, just like MJ would post up Delonte or Parker. But who knows.

Jordan just had a ton of help. All of the dynasties were more than just one guy, even Hakeem's teams.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

They wouldn't have beaten the Shaq-led Lakers. Shaq in his prime against Luc Longley and Bill Wennington would have been a joke. And Kobe would have focused in on Jordan, while Robert Horry rained down big shot after big shot.

I also think the Spurs would have beat them at least once.

So I think the Bulls could get 2 titles in this generation. The years the Heat and Celtics won it, I think the Bulls would take it.

Lebron hasn't really had the team around him yet to be in the discussion. But if this Cavs team wins it, then we'll see. Shaq even at this age would destroy all of the Bull's centers, so would Z. Rodman, Pippen, Jordan, and Harper would probably rotate defensively on Lebron, which is tough. And Harper would be posting up Mo Williams, just like MJ would post up Delonte or Parker. But who knows.

Jordan just had a ton of help. All of the dynasties were more than just one guy, even Hakeem's teams.

Jordan would destroy Kobe and Lebron. If you think Kobe is a great defender, Jordan was at another level. Jordan and Pippen are the two most disruptive perimeter tandems in NBA history. No way they would win less than 6 championships.

 

[ice cream man]

Jordan (even though I didn't watch him) and his team would have a somewhat tougher time in todays NBA because of the increased athleticism and different officiating.

 

[ButterMPancakes]

Jordan (even though I didn't watch him) and his team would have a somewhat tougher time in todays NBA because of the increased athleticism and different officiating.

The athleticism "argument" has got to be one of the worse yet... you do realize if anything Jordan and his teammates would get the same physical treatment (if not better) than he rest of the league and be even more dominating athletically than anyone else... unless you honestly believe the Bulls back then were coupled with incredibly athletic guys and the rest of the league was filled with sub-par athletes.


Oh, and today:

no incredibly talented big men for every other team guarding the paint and almost ever leaving (no 3 second rule), no hand checking, and fouls being called if you breathe on the guy. MJ alone would probably average like 15 FTAs a game.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

Jordan (even though I didn't watch him) and his team would have a somewhat tougher time in todays NBA because of the increased athleticism and different officiating.

If you didn't watch Jordan play in his prime, then you don't really have no clue. I really don't understand the athleticism argument. If Jordan played in this era, wouldn't his teammates also be better athletically? Let's replace Will Perdue, Luc Longley and Bill Wennington with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Put those two with Jordan and Pippen. I wonder how many games they would've won?

Don't forget Jordan played in an era where they had superior centers. Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson, Smits, Eaton, Laimbeer etc....Those guys would eat up most starting centers of today for lunch. If Olajuwon played in today's NBA, he would be hands down the most athletic center and probably is more athletic than Lebron.

 

[Man Called X]

Okay, I love fucking reminiscing about the past, but this god damn love affair with Jordan has to end eventually.

Yes it was a more physical game, but the people I know that are my age are way too guilty of romanticizing it. Yeah, Jordan got hit. Let's be fucking honest, Lebron gets hit just as many times a game, but 3/4 of them never get called as fouls. Oh boy, Jordan got beat on by a bunch of stiff white guys that weren't nearly as strong or athletic. Now he gets beat on by people like Paul Millsap, Dwight, Perkins, etc.

Would Jordan's team have won 6 championships? I doubt it. I don't see 2 separate 3-peats, but I could see 3-4 chamionships total in a 10 year span.

Here's my biggest question about the debate; Does Jordan get called for carrying the ball? If so, he might win 2.

 

[Jon]

The main difference is every team has someone who can do at least some of the things Jordan used to do. You've got guys just as strong, just as tall, with all the moves. Why? Because an entire generation patterned their game after him.

A 1-2 punch of MJ+Pippen+the various fill-ins would still be a terrific team and they could still go far, but I don't think they would have as many advantages as they did.

 

[Nom]

Here is a question - would LeBron / DWade be what they are in that day?

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but today's NBA is all about driving to the hole and being bailed out by a foul call. DWade doesn't even try to make the shot - just draw the foul. Back then they weren't pampered. Can you imagine Paul Pierce not being able to just run into people and flair his arms?

The athleticism is probably better today - but the actually SKILLS aren't really comparable. I think a lot of today's stars would struggle in that environment.

 

[foucault87]

From what I know of the Bull's dynasty, their weakness was good centers. The Lakers of 99-01 could probably beat them. Duncan's Spurs too. Most other teams would have a terrible time guarding Jordan/Pippen and scoring on them.

Of course, I'm too young to remember any of MJ's career, but those are my two cents.

 

[PIP]

This NBA today is such hot garbage anyways....It's almost embarrassing to the league..

The Knicks team of the 90's would own this right now... This Lakers team with their soft interior play and limited bench would get worked in about 5 games against those Knicks IMO...They struggle with a team like Denver as is-- no way they would beat many of those teams..

The Sonics of the 90's was better than any of these teams... Jazz too...

 

[Silky Smooth]

This NBA today is such hot garbage anyways....It's almost embarrassing to the league..

The Knicks team of the 90's would own this right now... This Lakers team with their soft interior play and limited bench would get worked in about 5 games against those Knicks IMO...They struggle with a team like Denver as is-- no way they would beat many of those teams..

The Sonics of the 90's was better than any of these teams... Jazz too...

So true man. So true.