The NBA has seen many signature small forwards dominate the hardwood with their multiple skills. Indeed, a terrific three-man should be great and efficient scorer, solid defender, good rebounder and have the ability to play multiple positions. By virtue of their size and skills, they should be able to score from any spot on the floor and also find open teammates when the situation calls for it.

This explains why basketball historians and fans are all fond of players such as Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins and Scottie Pippen to name a few. These small forwards weren’t only great players, but they are all probably part of the top 50 players of the NBA’s rich history given their skill level and accomplishments. Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics should probably make a cameo on this list to some extent, but his career may well end up getting overshadowed by some of his contemporaries.
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When talks of the greatest NBA teams of all time come around, we often hear about the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers, the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, the1983 Philadelphia 76ers, the 1986 Boston Celtics and the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers to name a few because those teams dominated the regular season and playoffs from start to finish. But for whatever reason, one of the greatest teams ever often gets lost in the shuffle because of the era in which they played.

Indeed, the 1996 Chicago Bulls boasted the best ever regular season record (72-10) and also flexed their muscles during the postseason, going 15-3 in the playoffs on their way to the NBA title.

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Those who have followed the story of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls are fully aware of the struggles that they faced with the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s. Indeed, for three consecutive seasons, the Bulls’ season ended in a defeat at the hands of the Pistons. The Bad Boys they were called, because they did anything and everything humanly possible on the basketball court to get an edge.

The Bad Boys of Detroit would push, grab, clutch, hit, pull, shove and stare down opponents to inflict physical as well as psychological damage. If an opponent tried to establish position in the post, they would repeatedly elbow him in the back and even at times take shots at his ribs to throw him of his course and also get him thinking about the inflicted punishment as opposed to getting the ball and scoring.

Thus, when Michael Jordan came flying down the lane or tried to go down on the low block, that would be the kind of treatment he would receive. Mind you, MJ’s competitive spirit made it as such that he would accept any challenge placed before him, but early in his career he struggled to bring his teammates along with him for the ride. Consequently, the playoff match ups between the Bulls and Pistons were rarely about talent, but instead a battle of wills. And for the most part, the Pistons always won those types of confrontations.

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Michael Jordan is the greatest player the league has ever seen and it’s not close. Kobe Bryant is probably the closest thing to Air Jordan that we have ever seen and yet, he is nowhere near matching his Airness’ ability on and off the basketball court. MJ was undefeated in his six Finals appearances and also captured six NBA Finals MVP trophies as well as five League MVP awards.

When Michael was not busy playing basketball, he played the role of ambassador of the game with his trademark smile and carefully scripted interviews. In addition, he made us buy his shoes. All of them.

One could argue that Michael Jordan is not only the greatest basketball player of all time, but possibly the greatest and most successful athlete in modern sports history.

Consequently, if there was ever an athlete that had earned the right to excuse himself from a big game, it was him. And yet, when the opportunity presented itself, the GOAT (greatest of all time) said thanks, but no thanks.

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