10 NBA Legends Who Snubbed Michael Jordan as the GOAT

Michael Jordan's greatness in the NBA is well-documented, and not only is he regarded as one of the best players to ever step foot on the court, but he also ranks among the greatest athletes in history too.

The players who are on the record saying Michael Jordan is the GOAT - Yahoo Sports

A resume that speaks for itself, Air Jordan would win six titles across his career, including two three-peats. A perennial All-Star and multiple-time MVP, there is not many who would dispute that he goes down as the best.

But for these legends of the game - including former teammates of his and league MVPs - they don't consider MJ to be basketball's GOAT. Here are ten NBA stars who have declared that Jordan isn't the greatest player of all-time.

John Salley

A four-time NBA champion, it's easy to forget that John Salley was the first player in history to win the title with three different teams, and the first player also to win it in three decades as well. Salley is perhaps best known for his time with the Detroit Pistons, where he was a part of the infamous Bad Boys, and as a result, came up close and personal with Jordan.

I love Michael. I’m a Michael Jordan fan, like everyone else. I just don’t think he’s the greatest player ever. I think the greatest player I ever played against was Magic Johnson. Next was Larry Bird. Then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The hardest guy I ever had to guard? Hakeem Olajuwon.

Julius Erving

One of the greatest players of his era, Julius Erving inspired a whole generation with his explosiveness and athletic dunks. A star of both the ABA and the NBA, Dr J has gone on record to say that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is his GOAT choice. The center of course was the leading scorer in the league until LeBron James surpassed him, and is a multiple-time champion and NBA MVP.

Kareem was always the guy standing in my way. I was always in his shadow because of the years in which we played... Personally, that was the guy who I look at as probably the GOAT.

Scottie Pippen

The relationship between Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan has deteriorated somewhat since both of their playing days ended, and so it's no surprise that the former has played down suggestions MJ is the GOAT of basketball. Pippen was Jordan's running mate and co-star during the Bulls' legendary success of the 1990s, and goes down as one of the franchise's greatest ever players. But according to him, it was a rival star during the 80s who could lay claim to being the best of all-time.

You can’t ask me who’s the GOAT between LeBron and Michael. Neither one of them are GOATS. They both won differently. You can’t put them at the top of the pinnacle. Magic Johnson to me is a bigger GOAT than anybody because of how he led, how he brought a whole team. How when the greatest scorer in the game, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] was not there and him as a rookie steps in and plays a position that no one even knew he could play, that’s transcending what you can do as a player.

Derrick Rose

The youngest player to win the NBA's MVP award aged just 22, Derrick Rose's career is still a case of 'what if?' despite his record-breaking achievement. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the point guard, in his prime, was the greatest Bulls player since Jordan, but an untimely injury and subsequent setbacks cut deep into Rose's career. Having previously said MJ was the best of all-time, Rose has since changed his mind, instead opting for a fierce rival of the Bulls icon.

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I mean, my GOAT now is Isiah Thomas because he's from Chicago. The only guy who beat Magic [Johnson], Mike [Jordan], and [Larry] Bird all in their prime at 6-foot-3. I used to say MJ, but it wasn't MJ.

Mychal Thompson

Now recognised as the father of Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson, Mychal Thompson, carved out a similarly successful NBA career himself. The top draft pick in 1978, Thompson would win back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988 with the Los Angeles Lakers, and perhaps unsurprisingly, opted for one of his Showtime Lakers teammates as the greatest of all-time.

To me, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest player ever. He’s the greatest high school player ever. He’s the greatest college player ever, by far. And when you look at his resume in the NBA—six MVPs, five Finals MVPs—so to me, he’s the greatest ever.

Walt Frazier

One of the first fashion and style icons to come out of American sports, Walt Frazier blazed a trail for NBA players to come out of their shells and show their personality. But for all of Frazier's panache and sponsorship deals off the court, on it, he was one of the best point guards the game has ever seen. He would lead the New York Knicks to their only two NBA championships, and was voted into both the 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

Michael Jordan is not the leading scorer in the history of the game, he is not the winningest player in the history of the game, he is not the most versatile player in the history of the game, so how can you say he is the greatest player?

Bill Laimbeer

The enforcer of the Detroit Pistons during their heydays in the 1980s, Bill Laimbeer goes down as one of the dirtiest players in NBA history. Tales of the Pistons forward wiping out anybody who dared enter the paint are well-known, and Jordan himself suffered the brunt of that many a time when the Bulls met them in the Eastern Conference. It is maybe because of that rivalry and bad blood between the two sides, that Laimbeer has instead opted to go for LeBron James as his pick for the greatest of all-time.

I think LeBron in any generation would be doing what he's doing right now all these years. At the end of the day, I firmly believe that he's the best basketball player in the history of the game.

Shane Battier

One of Duke's standout players and the National College Player of the Year in 2001, Shane Battier enjoyed a fine career at NBA level too. Known for his defensive ability - he was named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year three times in a row between 1999 and 2001 - Battier was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team in back-to-back years while with the Houston Rockets. But, it was his spell playing for the Miami Heat alongside LeBron James when the duo won consecutive titles that prompted Battier to side with him as the GOAT.

As good as you think he was, he was that much better. I'm biased. I know. People will say LeBron or MJ? I said, you know, LeBron did something twice that I don't think Michael Jordan could ever do once. He won two NBA titles with Shane Battier as the starting power forward.

Jason Kidd

Now into a coaching career, Jason Kidd was one of the finest point guards of his generation. A 10-time All-Star, he was named to the All-NBA First Team on five occasions, and was the league leader in assists five times too. Kidd's two stints with the Dallas Mavericks meant that not only did he play against Michael Jordan in his prime, but he took to the court against LeBron James too, and is so perhaps best-placed to answer the GOAT debate.

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I think LeBron will go down as the greatest to do it. When you look at his numbers – what he's done on and off the floor – no one's done that. You've got to put the whole package together. He's the greatest of all-time.

Cedric Maxwell

Part of the Boston Celtics during the 1970s and 1980s, Cedric Maxwell was a key reason behind the franchise's title wins in 1981 and 1984. In fact, it was in the 1981 triumph that Maxwell would win the Finals MVP award, and while Kevin McHale would take up his starting power forward job over the coming years, he remained an instrumental figure for the Celtics - so much so that the team decided to retire his no.31 jersey.

They're saying Michael Jordan is the greatest ever, and I think he's among the greatest ever. But I'm not calling him the greatest ever. I look at other guys; Bill Russell, who won 11 championships, eight in a row, one as a player-coach. Is he the greatest of all-time? I look at Hakeem Olajuwon, who controlled more of the game than any player has ever done in the NBA.

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