“I deserve massive credit for having the courage to give respect to Kareem, even at the expense of everyone’s idol Michael Jordan” - NBA analyst says his top 50 list is the best ever compiled
Michael Jordan is not the greatest basketball player of all time, according to Nick Wright. The popular NBA analyst believes that both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James are better than the Chicago Bulls legend.
Back in April, Wright published his top 50 NBA players of all time. The list is controversial, to say the least. However, the analyst defended his selections on his podcast. He believes he should get a lot of credit for not choosing Michael Jordan as the GOAT.
"I think it is the definitive and best ranking of NBA players that anyone's ever put together and I think that I deserve massive credit for having the courage to give respect to Kareem even at the expense of everyone's idol Michael Jordan."
Nick Wright is clearly not a big fan of Jordan. He doesn't think the Bulls legend is a better defender than LeBron James, despite winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Wright also doesn't believe that Jordan's flawless record in the NBA Finals is as important as many think it is.
Most of the top 50 lists rank Michael Jordan at the very top, but the NBA analyst decided to spice things up. He didn't even put Jordan as the second-best player of all time, as he believes that this spot belongs to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
In the end, the five best players in the history of the league are Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, and James.
The top of the list is not the only controversial part of it as Wright ranked Luka Doncic in the 20th spot, ahead of legends like Chris Paul, Kevin Garnett, and David Robinson.
What would Nick Wright change about his list that has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ahead of Michael Jordan?
Nick Wright pointed out how he doesn't have any regrets over his top 50 list. However, he did admit that he would make some changes to it if he were to publish it again.
The NBA analyst published his rankings in April, when the 2021-22 NBA season wasn't over. He didn't include Nikola Jokic on the list, but stressed that he would replace Bernard King with the two-time MVP if he were to republish it.
.@getnickwright breaks down the rules of his Top 50 NBA Players of the Last 50 years list:
・ Players from Kareem's Rookie season - now
・ What doesn't matter
・ What DOES matter
#WhatsWrightTop50 https://t.co/V2dHhN0lEu
Another change that he would make is push Kawhi Leonard higher. Leonard was ranked 32nd, lower than Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, James Harden, and many others.
However, Wright did not mention anything about changing Jordan's position. It appears that the six-time NBA champion will forever be behind LeBron James on Wright's list. That is unlikely to change, especially if James wins another ring.