Charlotte Hornets owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan spoke his mind about the NBA's superteam era, saying it will hurt the overall aspect of the league from a competitive standpoint. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Jordan said the superteam era will leave the league with one or two great teams while the 28 other teams “are going to be garbage." Jordan said these 28 teams will have a tough time surviving in terms of the business aspect of the game. While Jordan did not mention the two great teams, it’s safe to assume that they are the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who faced off in the NBA Finals in each of the last three seasons.
Warriors, Cavaliers still top teams
However, the Warriors and the Cavaliers are facing a tough challenge from other teams that upgraded their respective line-ups in the offseason. In the Western Conference, the Warriors will go up against the Houston Rockets who now have Chris Paul and James Harden. The Oklahoma City Thunder now boast a big three of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. While the Spurs did not make a big splash in the offseason, they remain a threat with Kawhi Leonard leading the charge. The Warriors have kept the corps of last season’s championship team and added firepower in Nick Young and Omri Casspi in the offseason.
In the East, the Cavaliers remain as the top squad but the Boston Celtics have boosted their stock with the addition of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
The Cavaliers traded Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick and 2020 second-round pick. The Cavaliers also added Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, who will start in the backcourt for Cleveland.
Jordan speaks about GOAT debate
In his career, Jordan won six NBA championships in the 1990s with the Chicago Bulls, with help from his reliable partner in Scottie Pippen and dependable role players such as Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Horace Grant, Luc Longley, and Ron Harper.
While he’s considered the greatest of all-time (GOAT), Jordan said that comparing one player to another is unfair. Jordan said he never had a chance to compete against Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, making it unfair to say that one is greater than the other. When it comes to number of NBA titles, Jordan said Bill Russell won 11 championship rings but it cannot be used as a point of comparison because they played in different eras.
