“He had an exhibition … That’s why they say he is the biggest” – Walt Frazier says that MJ is only called the goat because he had the most televised matches

The title of the “biggest of all time” in sport has always been a slippery slope, tangled with nostalgia, moments of highlighting and generational biases. But from time to time, a legend of the game speaks fairly clearly to force a break.

A name that always seems to appear is Michael Jordan. For its role in the direction of the Chicago Bulls dynasty and its impact on the game in general, MJ is often labeled the greatest. But not everyone shares the feeling.

Jordan’s exhibition

Walt “Clyde” Frazier, the double champion of the NBA and guardian of the renowned temple which orchestrated the golden era of the New York Knicks in the early 1970s, adopted a different approach to explain why Michael is the final figure in the minds of many people.

Advertisement

“He had an exhibition,” Said Frazier. “As Jordan played, [the NBA was] bigger than football. [The NBA’s] The notes were higher than football. This is why they say that he is the greatest.

“Who saw Wilt Chamberlain? How many people are alive who saw him play? It is the same thing with the Heisman trophy; the guys from the west coast did not win him because we sleep. In the east, when they play, the people who vote were sleeping,” He added.

It was not alone in domination – although Jordan had a lot. It was when and how he dominated. Frazier’s point was that visibility made the myth.

When cable television was booming and the world’s global thrust was barely starting, MJ became a walking brand. It arrived at the right time, just as the networks began to televise more national games and Nike launched the Air Jordan line which would transform both shoes and marketing of athletes.

Advertisement

But Frazier, who played in the 1960s and 70s when the NBA final was broadcast on Tapelay delay, said that was not always the case. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single match, recorded more than 50 points on average in one season and collected rebound titles such as trading cards. However, his career, filled with exploits which still seem unreal, took place mainly in a shaded corner of the sports media.

Without television shows, some players and games could not be seen. For decades, the Heisman tended to strongly lean towards the players in the oriental and central time zones, where the voters were more likely to have seen the games live. Visibility, once again, has shaped greatness. We had to remember. Literally.

Related: “When I needed money, he said,” How much? “” – John Salley says that Shaquille O’Neal lent him $ 70,000 when he was mowed and did not want it to come back

A different era

MJ was impossible to miss like the face of the NBA.

Advertisement

From the mid -1980s to the late 1990s, he appeared on national emissions at a frequency that no other player could match. The 1993 NBA finals between the Bulls of Jordan and Phoenix Suns of Charles Barkley attracted an average of 17.9 million viewers, exceeding the World Series of this year and corresponded almost to the Super Bowl. And it was just a chapter of the domination of Michael’s media.

“The players’ exhibition and advertising can make you [the greatest]”” Said Frazier.

It was less a question of denying Jordan’s brilliance and more of unpacking the factors that helped to raise his legend. After all, the NBA saw a rotating distribution of generational talents – Bill Russell won 11 championships, Chamberlain has established many records, and Oscar Robertson has an average of a triple -double before the statistical line becomes one thing.

Even in recent years, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson have redefined the rivalries, and Kareem Abdul -Jabbar withdraws with the most points in the history of the NBA – a record that has experienced nearly four decades. However, none of them has become the cultural icon that Jordan has made.

Advertisement

Jordan’s greatness, of course, was not a stroke of luck. Six championships, five MVP prizes, 10 score titles and a double -meaning match which even terrified the most elite opponents. But Frazier’s argument does not dispute the curriculum vitae. He calls into question the criteria by which he is mythologized.

Related: “He was in trouble and complained because he could not beat the pistons” – Walt Frazier on the reason why he refuses to call Michael Jordan the goat