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Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan
Without question, Michael Jordan is the baddest man to ever put on a pair of basketball shorts. A fierce competitor, Jordan took pleasure in breaking opponents’ wills and making them eat their words at mid-court. For motivation, Jordan would manufacture perceived slights and disrespect before he would go ballistic, drop 50, and eventually muscle his way to six championships.
As a young star, Jordan was often ridiculed as a gunner out for his own stats. In the 1986-1987 season, he averaged 37.1 points per game, as he largely refused to accommodate his own teammates. For years, the Bad Boy Pistons would install the “Jordan Rules” — they would collapse their defense upon No. 23, dare him to share the ball, and physically dominate the Bulls. Jordan, of course, did not emerge as the ultimate winner until 1991, when he learned to trust the likes of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, John Paxson, and head coach Phil Jackson. That year, Jordan and his supporting cast finally swept the Pistons out of the playoffs en route to establishing a Bulls dynasty.
By then, Air Jordan had transformed his game to that of a complete player. He ultimately closed out a 15-year career having posted 30-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist, and 2-steal per game averages. In his prime, Jordan had no weaknesses on the floor.
