"I'm sorry for Jordan fans out there" - Former Sonics player once claimed that there was a player who could have destroyed Michael Jordan

Former Seattle SuperSonics player Olden Polynice once claimed that there was a player who could have destroyed Michael Jordan. Polynice thought that former Maryland star and Boston Celtics draft pick Len Bias was better than Jordan.

In an appearance on Chris Broussard's "In The Zone" podcast in 2018, Polynice was asked about playing against Bias in the ACC. The Haitian national faced off against Bias as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers. Jordan was also in the ACC, playing for North Carolina.

"He owned Mike in college," Polynice said. "He owned a lot of us. ... He would have superseded Mike. Mike would have become great, but he had the edge on Mike. He was the better shooter. He was a better athlete."

Olden Polynice added that Len Bias was better than Jordan in almost every aspect of the game. Polynice even compared Bias with LeBron James but with a shooting touch.

"He was bigger and stronger. He was a slimmer LeBron, but with a jump shot. Oh, he was a beast. I'm sorry for Jordan fans out there. He would have done him. He did him in college."

---

Who was Len Bias?

Len Bias playing for Maryland

Len Bias is considered one of the greatest college players of all time. He played four years for the Maryland Terrapins and was inducted in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. He was selected second overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft.

However, Bias died of cocaine overdose two days later after getting drafted by the Celtics. He was only 22 at the time and became one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history. He could have been the star the Celtics needed in the 1990s and might have rivaled Michael Jordan as the best player of that decade.

---

Would Len Bias have become better player than Michael Jordan?

Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls

Len Bias was ahead of his time in terms of the skills he had. He stood at 6-foot-8 and weighed around 210 pounds. He was athletic, strong like a bull, could shoot and defend multiple positions. He would certainly have been like LeBron James if he had played in today's NBA.

However, would he have been a better player than Michael Jordan had he played for the Boston Celtics? He would have been one of the best players in the league, going by his exploits in college basketball.

Michael Jordan would likely have been the same player or even better considering how competitive he was. Playing against someone like Bias would have made him a better player, like how he did so by playing against the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas.

​