“He went through Shaq when Shaq had shooting… Michael Jordan dismantled them” - Chris Broussard says he has a hard time believing any team would beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls, cites the players he defeated
Chris Broussard outlined his difficulty believing anyone could beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls due to the amount of elite players MJ defeated during his reign.
After Draymond Green claimed his squad could best the 1998 Bulls, analysts have explained why they believe he's wrong.
Broussard said:
“We never saw Michael Jordan lose in the finals, so, I’m sorry, it’s going to be tough for anyone. Why should I believe any of these teams would beat the Bulls? … He went through Patrick Ewing. He went through Alonzo Mourning. He went through Shaq when Shaq had shooting.”
Michael Jordan ‘dismantled’ even the greatest players
Analyst Chris Broussard said:
“Penny Hardaway would have been a top 10 point guard of all time had he not gotten hurt, and that’s the Penny Hardaway that was playing with Shaq, and Michael Jordan dismantled them, swept them.”
Michael Jordan’s elite dominance is well known in the history of basketball. There has yet to be a player to surpass his level of success both on and off the floor.
Even so, Draymond Green recently said that his Warriors squad could beat Jordan’s Bulls, sparking Broussard's response.
Rob Parker said Green is just the most recent case of "prisoner of the moment" bias:
“Prisoner of the moment," Parker said. "Everybody thinks that everything that happens today is better than anything that ever happened. It’s just not true.”
When one thinks back on the bigs that Jordan absolutely plowed through, the Warriors' ability to come out victorious seems like a stretch.
MJ's record of being undefeated in six NBA Finals shows a rare level of tenacity. His Bulls remain the only squad to have more than one Finals appearance and be undefeated. (The Toronto Raptors are undefeated in the Finals, but only have one appearance, in 2019.)
Standing alone in that regard makes Jordan the most clutch player in history. Pair that with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman against Green and Klay Thompson, and Golden State starts to look real small.
Steph Curry’s shooting ability minimizes in the face of Jordan and as a result, the Bulls likely have an edge. Jordan has won over too many insurmountably dominant bigs to come second to the Warriors, who do not even have an elite big man.
Green would have his hands full with Rodman, and Jordan would dismantle everyone else.
Green has been notably confident since his championship win this year, so the comments could be a result of his current ego inflation. But in any case, Jordan’s Bulls would still arguably come out victorious and dominant.
Never losing an NBA Finals is a different level of clutch.